Frederic Choi Chin-pang (; born 28 August 1970) is a former director of the National Security Division of the Hong Kong Police Force. He was sanctioned by the United States in early 2021 for his role in implementing the Hong Kong national security law. Choi was suspended from the police force in May 2021 after reportedly being caught in a raid at an unlicensed massage parlour.

Early life

Choi was born on 28 August 1970 in Hong Kong. He studied at

Hong Kong Baptist University Hong Kong Baptist University (HKBU) is a publicly funded tertiary liberal arts education, liberal arts institution with a Christian ethics, Christian education heritage. It was established as Hong Kong Baptist College with the support of Ame ...

, graduating with a bachelor of social sciences in

China studies Sinology, or Chinese studies, is an academic discipline that focuses on the study of China primarily through Chinese philosophy, language, literature, culture and history and often refers to Western scholarship. Its origin "may be traced to the ex ...

in 1992.

Career

Choi joined the Royal Hong Kong Police in 1995 as an inspector. He was promoted to senior superintendent in 2014. He was promoted again to chief superintendent in 2017, and to assistant commissioner in January 2019, commanding the police force's security wing. In July 2020, following the passage of the Hong Kong national security law, Choi was promoted to the rank of senior assistant commissioner and was tasked with commanding the National Security Department of the Hong Kong Police Force. In May 2021, he was placed on leave pending investigation for alleged misconduct. The police force did not provide details. However, the ''

South China Morning Post The ''South China Morning Post'' (''SCMP''), with its Sunday edition, the ''Sunday Morning Post'', is a Hong Kong-based English-language newspaper owned by Alibaba Group. Founded in 1903 by Tse Tsan-tai and Alfred Cunningham, it has remained ...

'' reported that Choi had been caught in a raid on an unlicensed massage parlour. The venue was later revealed to be Viet Spa, on

Johnston Road Johnston Road () is a major road in Wan Chai on the Hong Kong Island of Hong Kong. Location Johnston Road spans from the junction with Heard Street, Hennessy Road and Stewart Road on its east, towards another junction with Hennessy Road and ...

Wan Chai Wan Chai is situated at the western part of the Wan Chai District on the northern shore of Hong Kong Island, in Hong Kong. Its other boundaries are Canal Road, Hong Kong, Canal Road to the east, Arsenal Street to the west and Bowen Road to th ...

. In October 2021, a judge ruled that prosecutors (led by Claudia Ko Hoi-yee), charging the massage parlour's managers, had heavily edited the CCTV footage to hide Choi's face, and forced the prosecutors to provide the unedited footage. The defense lawyers for the managers had asked for the unedited footage to see if Choi was a regular customer. Besides the CCTV footage, the prosecutors had also withheld Choi's police statements. In August 2022, Choi testified that he had visited the massage parlour 4 to 5 times from 2020 to 2021, and claimed he never received any sexual services. Choi also said he was not offered any sexual services, and never saw any such services either.

Sanctions

On 15 January 2021, Choi was sanctioned by the United States under Executive Order 13936 for his role in regards to the National Security Law.

Decorations

Choi was awarded the Police Medal for Distinguished Service in 2020 in recognition of "his outstanding performance and dedicated service in the Hong Kong Police Force for over 25 years". On 10 February 2021, Choi and other police officials sanctioned by the United States were awarded the Chief Executive's Commendation for Government and Public Service by Chief Executive

Carrie Lam Carrie Lam Cheng Yuet-ngor ( Cheng; ; born 13 May 1957) is a retired Hong Kong politician who served as the 4th Chief Executive of Hong Kong from 2017 to 2022. She served as Chief Secretary for Administration between 2012 and 2017 and Secr ...

(who herself was also sanctioned).

Personal life

According to an official biography, Choi holds master's degrees in human rights law and public policy and management. In March 2021, it was reported that he owned a fully paid-off flat in Fo Tan then valued at HK$13.09 million.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Choi, Frederic Chin-pang 1970 births Alumni of Hong Kong Baptist University Living people Hong Kong police officers Individuals sanctioned by the United States under the Hong Kong Autonomy Act Specially Designated Nationals and Blocked Persons List