A chief inspector may be demoted after being accused of sexual harassment and sending indecent photos to female colleagues.
Rajindarpal Singh Pannu, a 44-year-old of Indian origin and the chief inspector of Kwun Tong Police Station, has been accused of sending photos of his private parts via his phone to female subordinates after a Christmas party in 2015, Headline Daily reported.
The police force’s disciplinary adjudication unit on Thursday ruled that Pannu committed a disciplinary offense following a disciplinary hearing which lasted more than a year. They added that his actions affected the reputation of the police force.
The panel sent the ruling to commissioner Stephen Lo Wai-chung for a final decision, a police source was quoted as saying, adding that from past experience, the highest punishment would be a demotion.
In 2015, Pannu was accused of sending photos of his private parts and a 12-second video clip of a woman taking off her clothes via his phone to his subordinate, a female inspector.
Pannu then sent a message saying “can you call me pls” through WhatsApp to the female inspector, who did not reply. She said she felt she was being harassed as she discovered the next morning that Pannu had called her at least 10 times. She then filed a complaint to senior management.
Pannu was then deployed to the traffic investigation and support division in Kowloon East and later sent the female inspector messages apologizing for his actions.
It is understood that during the disciplinary hearing, Pannu denied the allegations and claimed he was drunk after the Christmas party, the Sing Tao Daily reported.
Pannu also told the panel that his relationship with his wife was not good. His wife told the panel that she was unhappy because Pannu came home late at night. She checked Pannu’s phone and found the indecent photos and video, so she sent out the photos and video randomly to a few people as revenge.
Pannu’s wife said she did not know who the recipients were.
Earlier media reports said Pannu’s family had served in the police force for three generations.