CHRIS LAU CHRIS.LAU@SCMP.COM
PUBLISHED : Wednesday, 14 October, 2015, 11:12am
UPDATED : Wednesday, 14 October, 2015, 11:21am
Former Sha Tin divisional commander Franklin Chu retired in July. Photo: SCMP Pictures
A former Hong Kong police commander caught on camera hitting an Occupy protester with his baton was not required to give evidence in a separate case today after prosecutors dropped charges against a man accused of making nuisance phone calls to him.
Lawrence Tsui Lai-lok, 30, rang retired superintendent Franklin Chu King-wai 13 times between November 28 and December 1 last year, on both his mobile and home landline, causing him annoyance, needless nuisance and inconvenience, prosecutor Jasmine Ching alleged at Tsuen Wan Court.
Tsui was charged with two counts of making persistent phone calls, but was bound over by a sum of HK$1,500 for 18 months after prosecutors told the court minutes before the trial was due to start that they would not press charges. He was also ordered to pay HK$800 in court costs.
“During this period, you should not commit any behaviour in relation to breach of privacy and causing nuisance,” Deputy Magistrate Jim Chun-ki warned Tsui.
Had the trial proceeded, Chu, who faces complaints substantiated by the Independent Police Complaints Council for hitting a protester in Mong Kok on November 26 last year, would have testified as a witness.
The court heard that Tsui’s calls came after he found the retired policeman’s contact details in a post on internet forum hkgolden.com, which suggested users should call Chu to punish him for the alleged assault.
Under police caution, Tsui admitted he called Chu “for fun”.
The magistrate earlier questioned whether 13 phone calls constituted the persistency stated in the charges.
Asked outside court how he felt about the outcome of his case, Tsui said: “That’s the way it is.”
He said, however, it was unfair that Chu had not yet been held criminally responsible for the alleged Mong Kok assault.
http://m.scmp.com/news/hong-kong/law-crime/article/1867402/hook-nuisance-caller-who-rang-former-hong-kong-police
