Ex-Hong Kong policeman jailed for 15 months over stealing from 2 burglary victims, tourist

A Hong Kong court has slammed a former policeman for bringing the force into disrepute by stealing from two burglary victims and a tourist, with the presiding magistrate sentencing him to 15 months in jail.

Hui Ho-shing, 31, was escorted to Fanling Court on Tuesday to be sentenced on three counts of theft after he admitted committing the crimes out of greed.

Hui, formerly a detective constable with the Tai Po district crime squad, stole a gold necklace and bracelet from a house in Tung Tsz village after he and his colleagues were called to the scene to investigate a suspected break-in on December 11, 2022.

The defendant also stole an iPad Air worth HK$5,988 (US$770) on March 31 of last year while investigating a burglary at a stand-alone house at St Andrews Place estate in Sheung Shui.

Connie Yam Wai-fun, the iPad’s owner, later used a mobile app to locate her device at a restaurant near Cheong Shing Court in Fanling.

Further inquiries showed Hui had attempted to decrypt the stolen iPad and searched its contents before discarding the device on the podium floor of Cheong Siu House, the building where he lived.