Hong Kong police officer admits taking upskirt photos and videos – including 12 of his colleague inside the station

A Hong Kong police officer on Monday admitted taking upskirt images on 311 occasions, including a dozen of his colleague inside Yau Ma Tei police station.

Investigators found 1,628 photos and 290 videos of different women on Chu Ho-lap’s smartphone and West Kowloon Court heard the stash included 12 of his colleague, taken while Chu was on duty on October 16 last year. The photos were taken over a total of three months.

Chu, 27, was arrested the following day after two plain clothes officers found him taking upskirt pictures of a woman at Mong Kok MTR station. His phone has since been confiscated.

On Monday, Chu pleaded guilty to one count of committing an act outraging public decency and 19 others of access to a computer with dishonest intent, an offence punishable by five years’ imprisonment.

But Chu’s defence counsel Van Ma argued for unpaid community service.

Ma said Chu was different from a mentally sound officer who knowingly broke the law because serious depression – diagnosed after the offence – impaired his self control and led to out of character conduct.