A Detective Senior Police Constable, charged by the ICAC, was today (Thursday) sentenced to three years' imprisonment at Kowloon City Magistracy for taking a $10,000 bribe from a man for not prosecuting him for a suspected deception offence, and blackmail ing another person to collect the bribe for him.

Yiu Shu-pui, 43, was earlier found guilty of one count of public servant accepting an advantage, contrary to Section 4(2)(a) of the Prevention of Bribery Ordinance, and one of blackmail.

In sentencing, Magistrate Mrs Adriana C. Tse commented that the defendant had taken the road to his doom. In view of the seriousness of the bribery and blackmail offences, the defendant deserved a heavy custodial sentence, said Mrs Tse.

The court heard that on April 12 this year, Yiu solicited $10,000 from a suspect of an alleged deception case, as a reward for abstaining from taking appropriate action against the latter.

The suspect then reported the matter with the ICAC. Under the arrangement of the ICAC, the suspect contacted Yiu after he was released on police bail.

Over the telephone, Yiu instructed the suspect to place the $10,000 cash inside a metal container and put it into a recycle bin located inside the Ho Man Tin Police Quarters.

Yiu then asked a woman to pick up the metal container from the recycle bin, and threatened to prosecute her if she failed to accomplish the task.

The prosecution was today represented by Senior Government Counsel William Tam, assisted by ICAC officer Eric Wong.