Upskirting officer attempts to swipe gun at reporting station

A 39-year-old off-duty police officer, who was earlier arrested for upskirting, attempted to snatch a service revolver from his colleague at the reporting room of the Tsim Sha Tsui Police Station, according to sources.

During the scuffle, the suspect and two on-duty police officers sustained minor injuries and were taken to Kwong Wah Hospital in Yau Ma Tei for treatment.

Sources said the suspect is an off-duty police constable and was earlier arrested for taking photos up a 35-year-old woman’s skirt on a escalator in Tsim Sha Tsui MTR Station.

He was taken to the Tsim Sha Tsui Police Station at around 4pm on Wednesday (Jan 15) before suddenly experiencing an emotional meltdown and attempting to snatch a gun from his fellow on-duty colleagues when they were handing over the case, sources said.

It is understood that he regretted his own behavior and attempted to grab the gun to commit suicide.

The suspect was immediately subdued at the scene and failed to snatch the gun, according to sources, while no shot was fired during the incident.

The suspect was arrested for attempted robbery and voyeurism and is currently being detained for further investigation. The case is being followed up by the Yau Ma Tei district crime unit.

A large number of officers subsequently cordoned off the scene and launched a probe into the incident.
This would mark the third gun-snatching incident within half a year.

On July 9 last year, a 38-year-old man attempted to snatch an officer’s pistol in the intensive care unit of Queen Elizabeth Hospital in Jordan.

In a separate incident, a male and a female officer were escorting a suspect to the North District Hospital in Sheung Shui for treatment, when a 35-year-old male patient at the hospital assaulted the male officer.

During the scuffle, the patient was able to grab onto the handle of the male officer’s service revolver, and the male officer immediately stopped him with his extendable baton. The female officer also tried to stop him by using her baton and pepper spray.

(Michael Shum and Cheng Wong)
(Updated at 9.02 pm)