6 Hong Kong police officers found guilty of framing street sleeper for drug possession

Six Hong Kong police officers have been found guilty of framing a street sleeper for drug possession and tampering with surveillance cameras that captured the attempted cover-up at a park four years ago.

The District Court on Friday convicted the four men and two women of five counts of perverting the course of justice over the crime at Sham Shui Po’s Tung Chau Street Park on February 4, 2020.

But the court cleared two other officers after finding another street sleeper, who accused them of assaulting him and vandalising his property on February 4 and 24 respectively, did not tell the whole truth during the trial.

The eight officers’ prosecution arose from two anti-drug operations at the park, which is home to more than 100 street sleepers. The officers have been suspended by the force over the case.

Sergeant Lam Wah-ka, 47, and officers Mok Chi-shing and Wan Pak-sze, both 29, were found to have fabricated evidence against Le Van Muoi by claiming in their notebooks and witness statements they had seized a black plastic box containing suspected narcotics from his tent.

Security footage at the park showed the suspected drugs were uncovered from a tent occupied by other street sleepers and officers had put them inside a black cylinder that did not belong to Le.