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Two convicted for bogus CAPO complaints
 CAPO counter: An officer attends to a customer at the offices of CAPO Hong Kong Island in Causeway Bay |
Stiff penalties were recently meted out by the courts to two people who filed malicious and false complaints against police officers.
In two separate cases, a woman drug addict and a male thief accused officers of planting evidence and assault, respectively.
They filed cases with the Complaints Against Police Office which launched investigations into the two alleged incidents. However, the pair later withdrew their complaints.
CAPO officers then reviewed the cases and pressed charges of misleading police by making false accusations.
The woman was sentenced to two months prison by a magistrate who suspended the sentence noting her mitigation of being the single parent of two young children. She was also ordered to pay $500 costs. She had alleged officers planted evidence on her when arrested on a drugs charge.
The thief was convicted of the same charge and sentenced to 21 days prison after withdrawing his complaint he had been beaten by officers while in custody.
Forensic evidence was presented to the court showing bruising on his body had been self-inflicted.
Woman Chief Inspector Julia Lau To Yuet-ha of CAPO Hong Kong Island (Team Seven) said the courts took a strong view to false reports. Convictions can bring a maximum penalty of $5,000 and six months prison. "We take a very serious view of every complaint report that comes into CAPO and try our best to find out what happened, as it is through public feedback we can monitor the conduct of our officers," WCIP Lau said.
"However, when we have evidence the report is maliciously-made and people are abusing the system we do not hesitate to take action as it not only wastes police resources it also has a damaging effect on morale and the Force's image."
The two cases were the first convictions since two people were fined for the same offence in 1997. WCIP Lau was quick to emphasise not all false reports were malicious.
"Sometimes there are tactical complaints raised by a defendant, or cases of complainants being unfamiliar with the police actions taken or other misunderstandings, whereby we usually issue a warning. We certainly do not want to discourage the public from making reports. CAPO is here to ensure justice is done for both complainants and officers by conducting impartial investigations into both sides."
She said the work done by officers involved in the cases highlighted the importance of gathering relevant evidence on the false claim, such as making thorough records of the case and collecting medical evidence for court presentation. These along with good photographs of injuries from alleged assaults for analysis by forensic experts, will greatly assist the prosecution.
However, some legal restrictions cause difficulties in taking proper action, mainly the six-month legal time limit for initiating criminal proceedings. Investigations must be initiated within six months of the complaint being made, which presents problems when cases are complicated or concern sub-judice.
CAPO officers must wait until after criminal proceedings before they can conclude investigations which can be time-consuming.
The Force is now looking at ways to rectify the situation and a proposal to change the legislation is now under internal review.
Of the 3,195 cases endorsed by the Independent Police Complaints Council last year, 167 were found to be substantiated representing 17.4 per cent of the 959 fully-investigated cases. Out of these, six officers were convicted of criminal offences and 23 were found guilty in formal disciplinary proceedings. Some 440 officers were given advice.