Michael Shum

A 39-year-old off-duty police officer, who had been arrested for taking upskirt photos, attempted to snatch the service revolver of a colleague in the reporting room of Tsim Sha Tsui police station yesterday, according to sources.

During the altercation, the suspect and two officers sustained minor injuries and were taken to Kwong Wah Hospital in Yau Ma Tei.

Sources said the suspect is a constable who had been arrested for taking photos up a 35-year-old woman's skirt on an escalator in Tsim Sha Tsui MTR station.

At around 4 pm, while under processing at the police station, he reportedly experienced an emotional breakdown and tried to grab the revolver from officers when they were handing over the case.

He is understood to have regretted having taken those photos and was trying to commit suicide.

He was quickly subdued and failed to get at the revolver.

The constable was arrested for attempted robbery and voyeurism and is currently being detained. The case is being handled by the Yau Ma Tei district crime unit.

Following the attempt, a significant number of officers cordoned off the area and initiated an investigation.

This marks the third gun-snatching incident in the past six months.

On July 9, a 38-year-old man tried to seize an officer's pistol in the intensive care unit of Queen Elizabeth Hospital in Jordan.

Another incident saw a male and female officer escorting a suspect to North District Hospital in Sheung Shui when a 35-year-old male patient assaulted the male officer.

During the struggle, the patient was able to get a hand on the officer's service revolver but the officer managed to stop him with his extendable baton.

The female officer also intervened with her baton and pepper spray.

The officers injured during the tussle in Tsim Sha Tsui police station with the suspect wait at Kwong Wah Hospital.

Upskirt cop fails in gun-grab suicide bid