A senior Hong Kong police officer has been sentenced to 240 hours of community service and had his driving licence suspended for six months for operating a vehicle under the influence of alcohol and biting a colleague who tried to stop him.
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A District Court judge said on Tuesday that the superintendent’s career had been “destroyed” as a result of the trial, which had also put a strain on his family relationships, with his wife and children facing discrimination and ridicule due to the media coverage.
“In the future, the defendant will also need to bear this stain on his record for life. He has already got a serious penalty. The chance of re-offending is low,” Deputy District Judge Katherine Lo Kit-yee said.
Superintendent Joseph Luk Chun-chung was sentenced to 150 hours of community service for dangerous driving and 240 hours for assault causing bodily harm, but judge Lo put the final sentence at 240 hours out of proportionality concerns and the concurrent start times of the two penalties.
The officer, who has been suspended from his role as Sha Tau Kok divisional commander following his arrest in August 2022, had been cleared of five other counts: two of assault-related offences for allegedly attacking two other officers after a dinner to bid farewell to a chief inspector in July 2022; and three of indecent assault against a probationary inspector a month earlier.
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Luk’s driving licence will be revoked for six months. He will also need to finish a driving improvement course before he can regain his licence.