Policeman who threatened prostitute into fleeing Hong Kong after refusing to pay $200 for sex jailed
The father-of-two was tasked with tackling vice in the Yau Tsim Mong district
A married police sergeant who had sex with a mainland prostitute before refusing to pay and threatening to lock her up if she didn’t leave Hong Kong in three hours was sentenced to 20 months in jail on Thursday.
District Judge Joseph To Ho-shing said at the District Court that Chu Chi-ho’s behaviour “fundamentally destroyed the function and responsibilities of a police officer” as he committed an “extremely serious offence.”
Chu, 44, was convicted last Thursday despite denying misconduct in public office.
The court heard he stopped the woman – who cannot be named for legal reasons – at Temple Street, Yau Ma Tei, in the early hours of May 28 last year. She had arrived from the mainland the previous day with a friend, and begun selling sex.
Chu inquired the price of her services, and identified himself as a police officer after she confirmed at her rented flat that it cost HK$200.
He also learned that she was a visitor from the mainland. But instead of questioning her for breaching her conditions of stay, he had sex with her and didn’t pay afterwards.
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He then told the woman to leave Hong Kong in three hours or he would lock her up for seven days, so she packed her belongings and left while he took away her keys in case she returned.
The judge said there was no reasonable defence as even Chu could not explain why he committed the crime.
The judge also pointed out that Chu not only failed to enforce the law, he took benefits from an offender and committed a serious criminal act by having sex with her without paying and threatening her afterwards.
Chu also ruined the chances of further investigation when he took away the keys to her flat, he added.
The judge accepted the mitigation that the conviction had already cost Chu dear – such as the loss of quarters and pension – but said these were all to be expected and sentenced Chu to 20 months in jail. Chu, dressed all in black, did not react to the sentence.
The father-of-two joined the force in 1989 and had been tasked with anti-vice work since being assigned to the Yau Tsim Mong district in 2013.
His daily duties included liaising with building owners at Temple Street to ensure their flats were not leased out for prostitution.
