An off-duty Hong Kong policeman attempted to grab a firearm from a police officer inside a police station after he was arrested for allegedly taking upskirting photos, local media reported.
The scuffle, which occurred inside the Tsim Sha Tsui Police Station on Wednesday, injured the suspect – a constable who works for the national security department of the Hong Kong Police Force – and two other police officers, local media reported, citing sources.
The suspect has been arrested for alleged voyeurism and attempted robbery.
According to a police statement, a 39-year-old man was arrested on suspicion of voyeurism in Tsim Sha Tsui on Wednesday afternoon after a 35-year-old woman reported he took upskirt photos of her on an escalator.
The suspect, who turned out to be an off-duty police officer, was taken for further questioning to a police station, where he attempted to seize a firearm from a male police officer and was subdued by the officers present, the statement said.
The suspect – and two male police officers who were injured in the scuffle – were sent to hospital for treatment, police said, adding that the suspect is currently being detained.
“The police force places great importance on the integrity of its personnel, and any illegal behaviour by officers will not be tolerated or condoned, and will be dealt with severely,” the police said in the Chinese-language statement.
HKFP has contacted the police, but they refused to give further comments.
Image-based sexual violence
Since October 2021, Hong Kong has criminalised four offences that fall under image-based sexual violence, including voyeurism, unlawful recording or observation of intimate parts, publication of images originating from the offences above, and publication or threatened publication of intimate images without consent.
Under Hong Kong law, anyone convicted of voyeurism can see five years imprisonment.
Meanwhile, anyone convicted of robbery can see a penalty of up to life imprisonment.
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