The government is claiming more than HK$3.5 million from the estate of 'devil cop' Tsui Po-ko for compensation it paid over the death and injuries of two police officers he gunned down.
On the instructions of the commissioner of police, the secretary for justice has filed a writ in the High Court, seeking the money it paid to seriously injured Constable Wilson Sin Ka-keung and the family of Constable Tsang Kwok-hang.
Tsang killed Tsui in a shoot-out in a Tsim Sha Tsui underpass in 2006 before dying of his own injuries.
Tsui earned the nickname 'devil cop' after killing two colleagues and a bank guard in three incidents between 2001 and 2006.
As well as a refund of the compensation, the government is seeking costs it incurred during litigation over claims by Sin and Tsang in the District Court.
After a dramatic hearing that captivated the Hong Kong public in April 2007, an inquest jury found that Tsui unlawfully shot Tsang dead and that Tsang lawfully killed Tsui.