Tsui's motive was to embarrass police force, psychologist says

Constable Tsui Po-ko allegedly murdered fellow officer Leung Shing-yan in March 2001 to steal his revolver for a bank robbery and embarrass the police force, the Coroner's Court heard yesterday.

Tsui allegedly committed the bank robbery nine months later - in which security guard Zafar Iqbal Khan was also shot dead.

'Tsui intended to steal Leung's revolver in order to challenge and embarrass the police force ... I believe the robbery was already part of his plan in early 2001,' police clinical psychologist Ephraem Tsui Pui-wan testified in a joint inquest of Tsui, Khan, Leung and constable Tsang Kwok-hang.

Dr Tsui believed the killings were not part of the plan, but he suspected Tsui allegedly killed Leung because he had resisted. He also believed Khan was killed because he intended to return fire with his shotgun.

'The robbery was an unusual one. The lone robber chose to rob a bank that was a particularly difficult task [among many crimes]. The execution of the robbery was very much a demonstration of his ability,' he said.

The court also heard HK$557,000 from a suspicious source was traced to eight investment accounts opened by Tsui in February 2002, who died along with Tsang in the Tsim Sha Tsui shoot-out last year. Tsui lost HK$370,000 in 2003 and 2004 from those investments.