Former Hong Kong police sergeant jailed for unlawfully borrowing money from junior officers and attempt to destroy evidence of act
- Court sentences former station sergeant Wong Chi-ming to almost two years behind bars for borrowing HK$330,000 from junior colleagues
- Wong also asked junior colleague to delete all messages between them to keep the loan deal under wraps
A former Hong Kong police sergeant has been jailed for nearly two years for unlawfully borrowing HK$330,000 (US$42,132) from junior colleagues and asking one of them to erase evidence after an investigation by the city’s anti-corruption watchdog was launched.
Ex-station sergeant Wong Chi-ming, 54, also secured early payment of his pension and a loan from the force’s credit union by concealing HK$1.4 million in outstanding debts, West Kowloon Court heard on Tuesday.
Deputy Judge Ada Yim Shun-yee told the police veteran he should have known not to compromise his integrity under any circumstances.
“The defendant served the force for more than 30 years. He should have known the importance of integrity and the consequences of committing a crime,” she said.
Yim added the disgraced officer also committed a “very serious” offence by attempting to impede the investigation into him.
Wong pleaded guilty to 11 charges – five counts of accepting an advantage by a prescribed officer, three of soliciting an advantage, and one each of deception, fraud and perverting the course of justice.
The Prevention of Bribery Ordinance bars civil servants from obtaining unauthorised loans.
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A 2010 chief executive directive ruled a civil servant can only borrow up to HK$3,000 from close personal friends, and up to half that amount from anyone else. Any loans must be repaid within 30 days.
The court heard Wong became heavily indebted after a failed stock market investment.
Yim was told he asked for loans totalling HK$439,200 from constables Ng Yun-sum and Tse Wan-tin, his subordinates in a police patrol subunit of Kwai Chung division, seven times between May 2020 and April 2021.
Ng agreed to lend Wong HK$310,000 and Tse HK$20,000.
Wong also approached his then supervisor, Inspector Li Jinpeng, for an HK$80,000 loan, but was refused.
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An inquiry by the Independent Commission Against Corruption revealed Wong had made false declarations about his finances when he applied for early retirement and re-employment in December 2018.
The accused received HK$2.56 million for his pension five years before his retirement age by concealing that he owed a total of HK$1.4 million to moneylenders.
Wong secured an HK$80,100 loan from the Police Credit Union in September 2020 after he lied about not being in debt.
Wong asked Ng to delete all messages between them to keep the loan deal under wraps after being interviewed by the commission in April 2021.
That request was recorded on a dashcam inside the former sergeant’s car, which was later used as evidence in his prosecution.
Wong was arrested in June 2021 and sacked a year later. He had been working as a taxi driver before his sentence.
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Defence lawyers said the accused had lost everything he had worked for over the years and put his family under immense pressure.
Wong’s financial problems also led to uncertainties over his daughter’s plans to pursue a degree in dentistry, the court heard.
Yim expressed concerns about Wong’s ability to make repayments and noted that he still owed HK$265,000 to Ng on the day of sentencing.
The former policeman’s promise to repay his former colleague in three years after his release from prison was “not very practical” either, she added.
Yim jailed Wong for 22 months after she cut 14 months from a starting point of three years because of his guilty plea, loss of his career and pension and his fall from grace.
The court also ordered a nominal restitution to the government of HK$5 because of Wong’s financial difficulties.
