A Hong Kong police officer was suspended from duty on Wednesday after disparaging a senior inspector who was killed during an anti-smuggling operation last week, making him the fourth member of the disciplined services to land in hot water over similar comments.
The constable, who was attached to Ma On Shan Police Station, allegedly mocked his deceased colleague, Lam Yuen-yee, 37, on social media, saying she “deserved” to die.
A police spokesman said the force had discovered the “inappropriate comments” regarding Lam’s death and suspended the constable from duty, pending investigation.
“The force attaches great importance to officers’ conduct,” he said. “Police vow zero tolerance for any misconduct. We will handle the matter seriously.”
Senior Inspector Lam died at sea during an anti-smuggling operation on Saturday. She and three colleagues were thrown overboard after their vessel was rammed by a turbocharged speedboat they were trying to intercept off Sha Chau.
While the three other officers were rescued immediately, Lam’s body was not found until Monday morning, when it was spotted floating in the waters off Yi O Hau on Lantau Island.
Also on Wednesday, government sources said the Fire Services Department had suspended two firefighters after receiving complaints about online remarks allegedly made about Lam’s death.
The Correctional Services Department has also suspended an assistant officer for the same reason.
The Disciplined Services Consultative Council and the Government Disciplined Services General Union, two umbrella groups representing many unions in the sector, both condemned speech that “rubbed salt in the wound” on Wednesday.
Separately, another government source said a customary mourning ceremony to honour Lam would be held at the Universal Funeral Parlour in Hung Hom on November 2. Lam will be given an official police funeral with full honours and laid to rest at Gallant Garden, a plot of land at the Wo Hop Shek Public Cemetery in Fanling reserved for civil servants who lost their lives in the line of duty.
Lam joined the police force as a constable in 2007, and was promoted to inspector in 2010. She joined the marine police in 2015 and was attached to the small boat division.
The unit Lam led had intercepted more than 70 speedboats and made over 100 arrests, earning her more than 40 formal compliments from her supervisors. Lam also received two commendations from regional commanders and one from the police commissioner for her excellent job performance.
Police and customs officers often conduct operations near Sha Chau to combat cross-border smuggling activities, in which fishing craft, cargo vessels and speedboats carry contraband such as frozen meat from Hong Kong to mainland China.
Hong Kong police crack down on smuggling gangs after officer’s death at sea
In January 2020, three customs officers were killed when their boat capsized in waters off Hong Kong International Airport. Two crew members survived the accident.
Police last held a funeral with full honours in April 2018 for Senior Constable Lum Hoi-wan, 51, who was hit by a truck and killed as he was preparing to leave the scene of an accident he was attending to on the East Kowloon Corridor near Wo Chung Street in Hung Hom.
