Two men arrested over police-themed ‘gay sex video’
Three men allegedly wore police uniforms during the sex tape. (Screen capture via The Standard)
Two men were arrested in Hong Kong on Monday (10 May) in connection to a nine-year-old video of three men having sex in police uniforms.
The two suspects, identified as 40-year-old Ng and 45-year-old Chow, were detained in their apartment complex in Yuen Long, a town in the New Territories.
Ng and Chow have been detained for police questioning, The Standard, an English-language Hong Kong newspaper, reported.
As police raided their home, they seized a walkie-talkie, a pair of handcuffs, an extendable baton, a BB gun, a fake police warrant card and alleged police officer uniforms.
They are being held on a raft of charges that includes distributing obscene articles, possessing offensive weapons and false instruments, handling stolen goods and the unauthorized use of police uniforms.
Cyber-crime inspectors said that only one of the men appeared in the 2012 video, which involved three men wearing the uniforms of Hong Kong Police Department officers.
It was just 10-seconds-long and went viral on local social media earlier this year. Two men can be seen in the video wearing constable uniforms, while a third man bears the stripes of a sergeant.
None of the men in the footage were cops, technology crime bureau senior inspector Lau Chun-yu told the newspaper.
In Hong Kong law, wearing the uniform of a law enforcement officer, or even clothing that “closely resembles” it, carries a thumping HK$1,000 fine or a six month jail sentence.
While publishing so-called “obscene articles” carries a hefty HK$1 million fine and three years imprisonment.
“Anyone in possession of offensive weapons, such as handcuffs, could have breached section 17 of the Summary Offences Ordinance and is liable to a two-year imprisonment,” Chun-yu said.
“And anyone in possession of false instruments, such as fake police warrant cards, could have breached section 75 of the Crimes Ordinance and is liable to a 14-year imprisonment.”
“Equipment seized from the apartment, such as a BB gun, a handcuff and an extendable baton, are not police constables’ typical equipment,” he added.
“But the uniforms do bear a strong resemblance to the genuine ones, and police are still investigating their origin and authenticity.”
It comes after police launched an investigation in January after two men were caught on the city’s Mass Transit Railway having sex.
In Hong Kong, LGBT+ people must wade through the mixed messages sent out by legislatures and the courts. With decision-makers seemingly doing a step-by-step approach to LGBT+ rights as they inch close to equality.
LGBT+ government employees, for example, enjoy anti-discrimination laws, but those working outside of the government do not.
There is only very limited recognition of same-sex couples, with only certain rights, such as under the Domestic Violence Ordinance, currently in effect. Others remain distant dreams for queer couples.
Last year, the courts handed down both a victory and defeat to Hong Kong’s LGBT+ rights movement. One verdict emphatically said queer people deserve equal homeownership rights, but another brushed aside any hopes of marriage equality.
