Massage parlour scandal wasn’t criminal: police chief

Police commissioner Raymond Siu said on Saturday that no “criminal element” was involved in an incident in which the director of the police’s national security bureau was found at an unlicensed massage parlour.

It was revealed in May that senior assistant commissioner Frederic Choi was caught at the den in Wan Chai during a police raid in late March.

Speaking to reporters, Siu said the force had sought the legal opinion of the Department of Justice over the matter, which decided that there was nothing criminal about it

But the police commissioner said following an initial disciplinary review, the force has now referred the case to the Civil Service Bureau’s secretariat on civil service discipline for further action. He said the secretariat will handle the case in accordance with established procedures.

He stressed that the force believes there is a need to refer the case to the Civil Service Bureau, as it involves a senior police officer, adding that they are concerns about whether there was any breach of regulations.

Siu said Choi remained on leave, but the force will arrange for him to return to work in mid-August, when he will take up his new role as the director of the force’s personnel and training department.