Senior policeman jailed 11 months for misconduct

A senior police inspector who used his authority to obtain internal documents and confidential papers and gave them to an alleged fraud victim in the hope of financial rewards was jailed for 11 months yesterday.

The judge criticised the officer of nine years for exploiting a loophole in the way police handled documents and causing the public to lose their trust in the force.

Former police inspector Francis Lam Koon-wah, 41, was sentenced in the District Court for misconduct in public office for getting the confidential reports and giving them to businessman Cheung Wai-keung from 2005 to 2007.

'The defendant ... abused the power given by his position, exploited a loophole in police handling of documents and took advantage of the trust of his co-workers and subordinates to obtain confidential documents for his benefit and gave them to unauthorised people,' Deputy Judge Ada Yim Shun-yee said.

She sentenced Lam to 30 months in jail, which was reduced to 11 months for his guilty plea, psychological disorders he had suffered since the arrest and his previous contribution to the public and police.

The court heard Lam was handling Cheung's complaint that he was cheated of HK$5.8 million by French business partner Michel Rene Gilles Peline in November 2005. He repeatedly suggested to Cheung that the police would not be able to gather enough evidence to press charges against Peline and suggested Cheung hire a private detective.