Man impersonated police officer 'out of fear'
A MAN pretended to be a police officer on duty outside a disco because he feared for his safety after an earlier argument with a group of teenagers, a court heard yesterday.
Ho Yiu-tung, 23, a ship repair worker, pleaded guilty in South Kowloon Court to two counts of impersonating a police officer.
He was accused of pretending to be a policeman and an anti-triad officer in a corridor of Energy Plaza in Granville Road, Tsim Sha Tsui East, on January 22.
Magistrate Fergal Sweeney fined him $2,000.
The court heard Ho approached five teenagers and said he was a police officer as they were leaving the Fever Disco at Energy Plaza at 6.20 pm. Ho questioned them before letting them go.
Later, four of the five-strong group were confronted by Ho in the corridor of the building.
Ho declared himself to be an anti-triad officer by showing an entry permit of his company.
Ho demanded their wallets and returned them without taking anything, the court heard.
The matter was reported to police when the group rejoined and felt that Ho was not a policeman.
In mitigation, the court heard earlier Ho had bumped into one of the youngsters on his way to the toilet, which resulted in an argument.
He was so worried that he would get into trouble when he saw them outside the disco that he said he was a police officer and asked to see their identity cards.
Ho's employer wrote to the court saying Ho was an honest, hard-working young man and his performance was satisfactory.
