bodyType

customContents

entityId

entityUuid

articlePageQuery

filter

article

articleBaseAdvertisingInfoArticle

articleListArticle

articleSeoArticle

hooksArticleAcknowledgementGateOverlayArticle

hooksTrackPageViewArticle

hooksContentInterestArticle

articleLinkingDataContent

hooksAmpRedirectArticle

articleSchemaContent

liveArticle

advertZone

sentiment

contentLock

topics

types

sections

paywallTypes

createdDate

publishedDate

sponsorType

urlAlias

moreOnThisArticles

commentCount

authorLocations

authors

corrections

displaySlideShow

multimediaEmbed

printHeadline

seriesContainer

articleSpeeches

socialHeadline

headline

images

flag

firstTopic

glossary

flattenTypeIds

image

relatedLinks

relatedNewsletters

__typename

sponsor

pdfFiles

seriesReverseOrder

series

disableOffPlatformContent

published

updatedDate

summary

subHeadline

body

keywords

readingTime

customTimezone

liveContents

SCMP Reporter

FBI expert says constable craved excitement

Constable Tsui Po-ko was likely to have had a serious personality disorder and craved the excitement in criminal acts that was absent from his routine police duties, an FBI expert told the Coroner's Court yesterday.

FBI's criminal investigative analysis specialist James McNamara said an FBI study of Tsui based on information provided by Hong Kong police concluded the constable  satisfied seven out of nine indicators of a personality disorder.

Tsui was shot dead in a gunfight with two other patrolling constables in Tsim Sha Tsui last year.

'The excitement which was absent in [Tsui's] position as a police constable may have been found in his carrying out of the criminal acts,' Mr McNamara said. 'Tsui probably had schizotypal personality disorder'.

The disorder is characterised by social isolation, odd behaviour and thinking, and often unconventional beliefs. Mr McNamara said the behavioural assessment on Tsui's personality was made on the assumption that he killed fellow constable Leung Shing-yan and bank security guard Zafar Iqbal Khan, both in 2001, as well as constable Tsang Kwok-hang last year.

'[The disorder] could begin in childhood or adolescence with symptoms  of  solitariness, poor relationships with peers, peculiar thoughts or even underachievement in school,' the FBI expert said.

'It was not a mental illness or disease by [definition] ... Three per cent of the population demonstrate  symptoms of personality disorder and only a very small number  of these people will develop a mental illness.'

The expert said Tsui did not enjoy being a uniformed police constable and his desire for challenges, excitement and extreme sports were acted out by allegedly ambushing patrolling policemen, robbing a bank and killing a bank security guard, as well as conducting surveillance on government officials and legislators.

'Fitness was very important to him. He was active and extreme in sports,' said Mr McNamara. 'He would keep his [target-shooting papers] and appreciated them in camp when he achieved a good shooting performance.'

Mr McNamara also cited in his report Tsui's complaint to a colleague as an example of his suspicious nature leading to a false belief about a superior. Tsui claimed a female sergeant evaluating his performance had given him an unjustly low grade because she was told Tsui had browsed pornographic websites at his police station.  'It turned out that female sergeant had given him a B grade, which was by no means poor,' he said.

Tsui's lack of close friends other than his immediate family was typical of individuals suffering from the schizotypal personality disorder.

Mr McNamara believed  Tsui had displayed other odd behaviour.

In one case, he crossed the border at Lo Wu chanting anti-communist slogans. In another example, the expert witness thought it odd  Tsui attributed so much significance to his work handing out traffic tickets.

Mr McNamara analysed a poem,  assumed to be written by Tsui, which said 'peace only makes things stop; Conflicts, confrontation and wars make life'. He said it was an odd philosophy to be adopted by a police officer.

The inquest continues today.

A troubled mind

Psychiatrists say a patient has shizotypal personality disorder if they display five or more of the following symptoms. FBI official James McNamara says Tsui displayed seven:

1 Ideas of reference (exaggerated form of self-consciousness)   NO

2 Odd beliefs or magical thinking that influences behaviour and is inconsistent with subcultural norms    YES

3 Unusual perceptual experiences, including bodily illusions   NO

4 Odd thinking and speech   YES

5 Suspicious or paranoid   YES

6 Inappropriate or constricted affect (mild reduction in range and intensity of emotional expression)   YES

7 Behaviour or appearance that is odd, eccentric or peculiar    YES

8 Lack of close friends or confidants other than first-degree relatives     YES

9 Excessive social anxiety that does not diminish with familiarity     YES

SOURCE: WWW.MENTALHEALTH.COM



Tsui may have had disorder: witness