A former senior police inspector has been jailed for 30 months over misconduct in public office and accepting HK$1.4 million in bribes in exchange for leaking case details and dropping an investigation into a suspect.

During sentencing on Tuesday, Deputy District Judge Terence Wai reprimanded former chief inspector of police Ho Siu-tung, 40, “for undermining public confidence in the Police, eroding Hong Kong’s proud reputation for integrity, and striking at the foundation of the city’s rule of law,” the city’s anti-graft watchdog said in a statement issued the same day.

“The judge also ordered the defendant to make restitution of over $1.14 million to the Government, equivalent to the total sum of bribes involved in the present case, within 42 months after serving his jail term,” the Independent Commission Against Corruption (ICAC) added.

Last week, Ho pleaded guilty to two counts of misconduct in public office and two counts of accepting an advantage as a public servant.

According to the ICAC, the defendant, who was posted to Wan Chai District, was responsible for overseeing criminal investigations conducted by the District Anti-Triad Squad and the District Crime Squad.

In June 2021, he became acquainted with a merchant who reported a deception case. The merchant was also involved in an assault case, which was investigated by the Anti-Triad Squad under Ho’s supervision.

In August 2021, Ho recommended to his supervisor, a police superintendent, that the merchant be excluded from prosecution in the assault case and attempted to terminate the investigation. The defendant also ignored two enquiries from his superior as to whether further inquiries were needed.

Instead, Ho ordered his own subordinate to release the merchant, despite his being identified as the assailant by the victim in the assault case.

‘Favourably disposed’

The ICAC’s investigation revealed that over one and a half years, Ho accepted two HK$500,000 cash payments from the merchant, as well as gifts worth over HK$140,000, such as Burberry and Ralph Lauren children’s clothing, a Chanel handbag, a red packet for his son and wife, and the payment of medical bills for his mother.

Between September 2021 and October 2022, Ho told the merchant information from the police investigation, including personal data of suspects and individuals involved in two cases, police interview summaries, and bail statuses.

The two cases were the deception case reported by the merchant and a case of false instruments involving a friend of the merchant.

Ho was “favourably disposed to the merchant and his friend” during relevant investigations, “including abusing his authority to extend the Police bail of the suspect in the deception case, and abusing his authority at the merchant’s request to prolong or curtail the relevant investigative work in the use of false instruments case without justification,” the ICAC said in the statement.

In mitigation, the defence said that Ho faced mental and financial pressure from family issues and “fell into the abyss of selling his soul.” Considering Ho’s guilty plea and mitigation, Judge Wai handed down a 30-month prison sentence, down from a starting point of four years.