Dead 'cop' tried to steal guns

2006-03-20 10:18

Hong Kong - A rogue Hong Kong cop killed along with a police constable in a shoot-out was trying to steal the pistols of two uniformed officers, a news report said on Monday.

Tsui Po-ko sparked last Friday's bloody showdown by trying to ambush the two officers and steal their guns while they were on a late-night patrol, the South China Morning Post reported.

Tsui had just finished work when he went in plain clothes and a wig to the subway, the newspaper said.

He then adjusted the mirrors in the subway to conceal the spot where he attempted to steal the officers' pistols, a police source quoted in the report said.

The ambush took place near where a patrol record book which officers sign at certain points along their route was hanging, the newspaper said.

Ten shots were fired in the ferocious gun fight last Friday morning which left Tsui and one of the uniformed officers dead. A second officer, who shot Tsui, was critically injured.

The pistol used by Tsui in the shootout was itself stolen from another police constable who was murdered with his own firearm in 2001. No one was ever arrested for that killing.

Police are now investigating why Tsui - who has been linked to an underground gambling syndicate - wanted to steal more guns and whether he was responsible for the 2001 murder, said the Post.

The bloody shootout in Hong Kong's Tsim Sha Tsui shopping district has caused shock in Hong Kong, a former British colony with a reputation for its safe streets and low levels of violent crime.

- SAPA