Even a thousand letters would be useless!

Greedy cop pays heavy price

Winnie Chong Friday, June 07, 2013


Accepting restaurant gifts worth HK$5,000 has cost a senior cop his freedom, his job and up to HK$6 million in pension.
Titus Wong Koon-ho was earning HK$80,000 a month as a Wan Chai superintendent after 27 years in the police.A flood of letters supporting 51-year- old Wong failed to move magistrate Adriana Tse Ching, who said she had never before come across such poor evidence as that offered by Wong."Even 1,000 letters would be useless," Tse said in Eastern Magistrates' Court.Wong was convicted of misconduct in public office by receiving HK$5,000 in gifts and discounts from a restaurant for turning a blind eye to its liquor license violations. In jailing Wong for a year, Tse condemned him for blatantly violating the law by inviting his subordinates at the Liquor Licensing Board to dine at the restaurant, ignoring that it was selling spirits without a license. She said Wong put his subordinates "into a position of a conflict of interest."She called the case very serious, especially as Wong did not show remorse and his evidence was full of lies. "I have not come across such poor evidence since I became a magistrate," she said. Tse rejected a bail application pending an appeal. In his plea, barrister Albert Luk Wai- hung submitted 60 letters of mitigation from people, including the assistant commissioner of police, the central government liaison office and the US consulate-general. Wong's divorced wife also praised him as a good father.But the magistrate said Wong should have learned from the case of senior superintendent Sin Kam-wah, who was found guilty of misconduct by receiving free sex from prostitutes. "If there is no strong reason for mitigation, even a thousand letters would be useless," she said. Luk also asked the magistrate to consider Wong a person of good conduct who served the community for years, especially as the case did not involve a large amount of money.Wong had lost his police job and would lose his pension.But Tse said it was trouble of his own making. "Police officers do not serve society for free. They are well paid for it," the magistrate said.The court heard that Wong and his colleagues dined on three occasions at Chen Teen Bistro between June and early August in 2011 and were given discounts each time. These included a HK$2,200 meal, for which Wong paid only HK$300.He was also given a HK$1,000 bottle of whisky while dining in the VIP room of before the restaurant was allowed to serve alcohol. Luk said outside court that Wong would appeal and may apply to the High Court for bail.Wong joined the force in 1986. Eric Tung Yiu-ming, spokesman for the Junior Police Officers' Association, guessed Wong would lose his pension of HK$5 million to HK$6 million.A police spokesman said the force has zero tolerance for corruption and illegal activity, and Wong's case was an isolated incident.The Civil Service Bureau said authorities study court records and details of cases and consider disciplinary action if a civil servant is convicted of a criminal offense.