A former Hong Kong police sergeant has been sentenced to 23 years and 10 months in prison for supplying more than 24 kilograms of methamphetamine seized during an operation to a dealer with whom he was having an affair.
Ex-Sergeant Hui Sze-hon, 45, and Wong Yeuk-nam, 32, appeared in the High Court on Wednesday, local media reported, after pleading guilty to one count of conspiracy to traffic a dangerous drug. Wong was sentenced to 16 years and 6 months.
Hui was involved in an operation to seize nearly 300 kilograms of methamphetamine, with a street value of more than HK$1 billion, in late April 2020, according to case details.
In early May, month police raided a hotel room in Tsim Sha Tsui where Wong was staying and seized 152 grams of methamphetamine. While they were searching the room, Hui, who was off-duty that day, entered it using a key card and was found to be carrying two kilograms of the drug, known as “ice.”
Police later found 22.5 kilograms of methamphetamine in a unit in Kowloon which Hui kept for use by police to handle undercover operatives.
CCTV footage showed Hui leaving Yau Ma Tei police station with two suitcases just one day after the original drug seizure. From late April to early May in 2020, he entered the unit in Kowloon multiple times.
The pair had been remanded in custody pending trial for the past three years, local media reported.
The then-police chief Chris Tang said in May 2020 he was “shocked and heartbroken” by the case and announced that the officers involved had been suspended from duty, the Oriental Dailyreported.
Betrayal of trust
Prosecutors told the High Court that law enforcement officers who abused their powers must be punished severely as their behaviour undermined public confidence.
The defence said Hui, who is married, had performed well in combating crime and received commendations. He regretted his offence.
Hui was having an affair with Wong, who got involved in the case because she believed he was willing to start a family with her.
Judge Judianna Barnes noted that the case involved more than 24 kilograms of illegal drugs. While Wong acted as the trafficker, Hui had stolen the drugs for her. The judge set the starting point of Hui’s sentence at 36 years’ imprisonment and at 32 years for Wong, with reductions for their guilty pleas and other factors.
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