The trail of events that ended in a bloodbath in a Tsim Sha Tsui underpass early on Friday, March 17, can be traced to an internal police probe into soccer gambling six years ago, a Sunday Morning Post investigation has found.
According to separate sources, the 2000-01 probe - which focused on Ngau Tau Kok police station - quickly reached the conclusion that the problem of illegal soccer gambling within police ranks was widespread.
So widespread, in fact, that the then-top brass decided to bury the investigation because it was too hot to handle. It is understood the case file remains under lock and key in police headquarters.
'The alarm bells started ringing when relatively junior officers started turning up at work in BMWs and Mercedes; the car park was filling up with top-line motors,' a police source close to the original probe told the Sunday Morning Post.
'It was found that some of the main organisers of a soccer betting operation - confined to inside the police force - were at that time working out of Ngau Tau Kok.'
As the probe progressed, it became clear that the problem was not confined to that station. It had infected significant parts of the force, but the investigation was halted.
