A Hong Kong police officer has had 28 minutes of pay docked from his salary after he was caught visiting a prostitute while on duty, a news report said on Thursday.
Sergeant Wing Sing-tak (34) was also demoted after being spotted going into a brothel in his uniform for 28 minutes while he was on patrol in the city’s red-light district.
The 28-minute deduction of salary — about $6,40, based on a Hong Kong police sergeant’s earnings of about $100 — was made in line with force rules on skipping duty.
The police officer, now a constable, has filed a High Court writ contesting the decision after the incident in June 2001, the South China Morning Post reported.
Wing claimed he was investigating a robbery at the time although a police investigation found there was no such incident in the vicinity of the brothel at the time.
Wong joined the police force in 1981 and was promoted to sergeant in 1999. He was stationed in Hong Kong’s red-light Mongkok district at the time of the incident, the newspaper said.
In his writ, Wong described the police tribunal as ”irrational” and says it failed to establish what he was doing at the brothel when he was spotted by neighbours going in and out. — Sapa-DPA