Cop pays heavy price for illegal restaurant gifts

Titus Wong Koon-ho, a Wan Chai superintendent earning HK$80,000 a month after 27 years in the police, 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. This has cost the senior cop his freedom, his job and up to HK$6 million in pension.

A flood of letters supporting 51-year-old Wong, including letters of mitigation from the Assistant Commissioner of Police, the Central Government Liason Office and the US Consultate-General, 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.

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 and putting 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, and stated that 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.

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.

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.