2 Hong Kong police officers seek to overturn convictions, sentences for framing homeless man
Hong Kong Free Press
Two Hong Kong police officers are seeking to overturn their convictions and prison sentences for perverting the course of justice over an attempt to plant drugs on a homeless man.
Pong Chun-sze and Wan Pak-sze filed applications to appeal against their convictions and prison sentences last Friday, a day after they were jailed, according to a court document seen by HKFP.
The two women were among six officers sentenced last week for attempting to frame a homeless Vietnamese man in a drugs sweep four years ago.
Pong, now aged 33, is due to appear in court on November 7 to apply for bail pending the result of her appeal, according to Judiciary records.
She was sentenced to two years and one month in prison for covering up a surveillance camera with a plastic bag while her colleagues carried out the sweep.
Wan, 29, was handed three years and one month in jail for attempting to plant drugs on street sleeper Le Van Muoi and claiming in notebooks and statements that officers had seized a black box containing suspected drugs from Le’s tent.
‘Brought into disrepute’
District Judge Kathie Cheung found the pair guilty of perverting the course of justice, ruling that they, along with the other four officers, had sought to “trump up a charge” against the homeless man and had “brought the police force into disrepute.”
See also: Homeless man ‘died by suicide’ at detention centre, Hong Kong coroner’s court rules
The case involved two police drug sweeps on April 4 and April 24, 2020, around Tung Chau Street Park in Sham Shui Po – home to many street sleepers.
Eight officers were charged but pleaded not guilty to a total of 10 charges: five counts of intending to pervert the course of justice, two counts of misconduct in public office, two counts of criminal damage, and one count of inflicting grievous bodily harm on another person.
Six were convicted, while two were acquitted. Cheung found there was not enough evidence that items destroyed by officer Kwok Chin-sing, who was charged with two counts of criminal damage, belonged to street sleepers.
Constable Hon Ting-kwong was cleared of a misconduct charge over his alleged refusal to stop Kwok, his superior.
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