A police constable facing gambling debts swindled more than HK$90,000 from a suspect and the wife of another suspect, claiming various sums were bail money and also a 'settlement' payment, the District Court heard yesterday.
Lau Chun-wai, 33, pleaded guilty to 16 counts of fraud, one of accepting an advantage as an officer and one of perverting justice.
He fleeced a total of HK$93,410 from a 24-year-old man accused of molesting a domestic helper and the wife of man charged with criminal intimidation.
Lau, who had been a constable for 10 years before he was arrested, said he committed the offences to settle gambling debts. He had declared bankruptcy.
Senior public prosecutor Olivia Tsang Oi-kei said Lau was arrested after the woman made a report to the Independent Commission Against Corruption when her husband was released and Lau refused to return 'bail money'.
The court heard that on April 1, 2008 Lau asked Chan Wai-ngor to hand over HK$5,000 bail money for the release of her husband. Chan complied, but her husband was not released the next day. Lau promised to return the money.
