Case 2
Assault – False

   
7.14
 The complainant (COM) was the defendant in a 'Trafficking in Dangerous Drugs' ('Trafficking') case. COM raised a complaint in open court that during statement-taking, three unidentified plainclothes male police officers, namely Police Constable A (PC A), Police Constable B (PC B) and Sergeant C (SGT C), who were involved in his arrest, had fisted his chest, belly, waist and back for 10 times. COM also claimed that PC B burnt his pubic hair with a cigarette lighter ('Assault'). COM was sent to hospital for medical treatment, and was later discharged with findings of 'tenderness and redness on chest wall, burnt ends over pubic hair and fracture on left seventh rib'.  However, COM refused to be examined by the Forensic Pathologist.
   
7.15
 Subsequent CAPO investigation revealed that three other detainees were with COM in the same temporary cell at the police station where COM was detained at the material time.  Two detainees testified that they had witnessed COM burning his pubic hair with a lighter inside the temporary cell in the early morning of the date when he lodged his complaint in court.
   
7.16
 Although COM had renewed his 'Assault' allegation against the three officers in subsequent court hearings of the 'Trafficking' case, he was eventually convicted on his own plea, and was sentenced to four years' imprisonment.  Following his conviction of the 'Trafficking' case, CAPO sought legal advice on the weight of evidence in charging COM for making a malicious complaint against the police officers involved.  Acting upon the advice, CAPO formally charged COM with two counts of 'Making a False Report of the Commission of an Offence'. COM pleaded guilty to both charges, and was sentenced to two months' imprisonment for each charge with one month to run concurrently, i.e. a total of three months.  In light of COM's own plea to the two charges of 'Making a False Report of the Commission of an Offence', CAPO considered that COM's 'Assault' allegation had been judicially resolved, and therefore classified it as 'False'.
   
7.17
 After examining the case, the IPCC requested CAPO to clarify the source of the cigarette lighter which COM used to burn his pubic hair.  According to the relevant Police Orders, a detained person should be searched by the Duty Officer of a Report Room, or any officer detailed by the Duty Officer, prior to his being secured in a Temporary Holding Area or a cell block.  In response, CAPO conducted further investigation with a view to identifying the source of the cigarette lighter, but to no avail.  CAPO advised that the presence of the cigarette lighter might either be an omission by the searching and witnessing officer, or it might have been left behind by other detained persons.  That said, CAPO recognized that access to smoking materials by detained persons inside police cells was a serious matter which might result in serious consequence, and had advised the concerned police formation to look into the matter with a view to tightening up controls to avoid any recurrence.
   
7.18
 The IPCC endorsed CAPO's investigation result of this case.
   
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