Four police officers have lost their bid to overturn their convictions and sentences for framing a man sleeping on the street for drug possession and concealing evidence of their actions six years ago, with judges ruling they had abandoned the rule of law.
The Court of Appeal ruled against four police officers on Thursday, saying in a ruling that the officers intended to pervert the course of justice when they tried to block surveillance cameras while their colleagues provided evidence of the homeless.
After being found guilty in September 2024, police officers Leung Fei-pang, Pong Chun-sze and Chan Sau-yip sought to have their convictions and sentences overturned, while Wan Pak-sze only filed an appeal against her conviction.
The four officers, along with two others, were found guilty of perverting the course of justice for framing Le Van Muoi, a Vietnamese rough sleeper.
The case involved two police drug sweeps in 2020 around Tung Chau Road Park – home to many of the city’s rough sleepers.
As Wan wrote in her notebook that Le had drugs on her, Leung, Pong and Chan obstructed surveillance cameras in the area, according to the trial.
Separately from the six officers convicted, two others – Kwok Chin-sing and Hon Ting-kwong – were acquitted after the judge found there was insufficient evidence to convict them.
‘Leaving the rule of law’
In his ruling Thursday, Judge Derek Pang said interfering with surveillance footage, which serves to ensure an objective record, “inevitably has a tendency to pervert the course of justice.”
Pang, along with Justices Keith Yeung and Andrew Chan, rejected the officers’ argument that their cover-up had no material impact on legal proceedings and that they did not intend to interfere with the course of justice.
Pang added: “The public naturally expects police officers to actively fight crime. But if they become overzealous to the point of framing someone without evidence because they believe that person is guilty, it becomes another crime that causes even greater harm and marks a departure from the rule of law.”
Citing the lower court’s ruling, which considered the case a serious matter, Pang also rejected the officers’ argument that they were acting under orders.
Le, a 54-year-old rough sleeper from Vietnam, was arrested after the incident and charged with drug possession. He died while in the custody of the Correctional Services Department (CSD) six months later. His death was decided a suicide by the Court of Inquiry in November 2023.
