Hong Kong police chief furious over ‘dishonour brought to the force’ by recent string of arrests among ranks

Hong Kong’s police chief has reacted with fury over the “dishonour brought to the force” by the arrest of 18 officers for various offences over the past three weeks, including nine detained on Friday in connection with actions against street sleepers.

Commissioner of Police Chris Tang Ping-keung said the behaviour of the officers concerned had brought disgrace to the force and dealt a severe blow to its credibility and nullified efforts achieved over the years.

“As commissioner, I am not just furious over the dishonour brought to the force by such lawbreaking officers,” he wrote in an internal memo to the 31,000-strong force. “I am deeply upset indeed to imagine that the efforts of other colleagues go in vain.”

The series of arrests also prompted the force to review its internal management strategy.

Tang’s comments followed the arrest of nine of his officers on Friday morning for various offences linked to two cases involving operations against street sleepers in Sham Shui Po.

On Friday night, two more officers, a senior inspector and a constable, were arrested in connection with a methamphetamine seizure.

That followed the arrest of two officers on Thursday for possessing more than HK$12 million (US$1.9 million) worth of drugs, which the force believed were stolen from a record haul of crystal meth seized last week.

The drugs allegedly stolen by an officer were suspected to have been taken from the crime scene before the force announced its record seizure of nearly 300kg of meth, police sources said.

That brought the number of arrests to 18 for various offences over the past three weeks.

According to a police spokesman, the nine officers work in the Sham Shui Po special duty squad and were arrested for perverting the course of justice and misconduct in public office in connection with two cases in the district’s Tung Chau Street Park in February.

The group – seven men and two women – consisted of one sergeant and eight constables.

“Eight of them are accused of making false accusations against a suspect by claiming illegal drugs were seized from the suspect instead of being found on the ground during an anti-crime patrol on February 4,” a police source said, adding that nearby surveillance cameras captured their act.

The other case occurred on February 24 and involved four of the officers.

“One of them is accused of smashing a homeless man’s property,” the source said. “The other three took no action to stop him and this was in breach of the law on misconduct in public office.”

In March, the constable who allegedly smashed the property was arrested for criminal damage. He was granted bail pending investigations.

After checking surveillance camera footage to gather evidence and seeking advice from the Department of Justice, officers from the commercial crime bureau arrested the nine at Sham Shui Po Police Station on Friday morning.

As of Friday evening, all nine suspects were being held for questioning and none had been charged.

Another source said he believed it was the first time in a decade that nine officers were arrested in one operation.

Since April 19, 18 officers have been arrested, including for serious offences such as drug trafficking, which carries a maximum sentence of life imprisonment upon conviction.

Police suspend officer accused of assaulting homeless man, smashing his belongings

There were 24 arrests in the force for the whole of 2019.

The Junior Police Officers’ Association (JPOA), which represents 80 per cent of the force, expressed heartache over the series of arrests, saying it could leave a stain on an organisation that had been doing its best to combat crime.

JPOA chairman Lam Chi-wai refused to comment on the cases but said he was upset by the arrests.

“Police have been doing their utmost best to combat serious crime and protect residents. The officers concerned could put a strain on the force,” Lam said.

“Police acted swiftly on the arrests and vowed there would be no tolerance of police misconduct. As our police chief said, we arrest lawbreakers regardless of their identity and social status.”

Opposition lawmaker Shiu Ka-chun, who had complained to police on behalf of the street sleepers, said he welcomed the arrests.