Lui Lok (; born Lui Mo Lok (); 16 May 1920 – 13 May 2010) dubbed as 'The Five-Hundred-Million-Dollar Inspector', was a former

Hong Kong Hong Kong ( (US) or (UK); , ), officially the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region of the People's Republic of China ( abbr. Hong Kong SAR or HKSAR), is a city and special administrative region of China on the eastern Pearl River Delt ...

Detective Staff Sergeant I. He became notorious for his acts of corruption during the 1960s to 1970s during

British Hong Kong Hong Kong was a colony and later a dependent territory of the British Empire from 1841 to 1997, apart from a period of occupation under the Japanese Empire from 1941 to 1945 during the Pacific War. The colonial period began with the Briti ...

period, and being wanted by ICAC.

Biography

Lui Mo Lok was born in

Haifeng County Haifeng County ( postal: Hoifung; ) is a county under the administration of Shanwei, in the southeast of Guangdong Province, China. History Hakka peasants from nearby villages of Chengxiang county (modern-day Meixian) immigrated to Haifeng, for ...

Guangdong Guangdong (, ), alternatively romanized as Canton or Kwangtung, is a coastal province in South China on the north shore of the South China Sea. The capital of the province is Guangzhou. With a population of 126.01 million (as of 2020) ...

and spent his childhood there. Lui immigrated to

Cheung Chau Cheung Chau (lit. "Long Island") is an island southwest of Hong Kong Island. It is nicknamed the 'dumbbell island (啞鈴島)' due to its shape. It has been inhabited for longer than most other places in Hong Kong, and had a population of 2 ...

before moving to

, there he survived as a shoeshiner, a postman and a rickshaw driver before joining the

Hong Kong Police Force The Hong Kong Police Force (HKPF) is the primary law enforcement, investigative agency, and largest Hong Kong Disciplined Services, disciplined service under the Security Bureau (Hong Kong), Security Bureau of Hong Kong. The Royal Hong Kong Po ...

. On 9 November 1940, Lui became a police officer in the Patrol Sub Unit of the

. He was then promoted to a detective. While working in the Criminal Investigation Department, he was promoted by Senior Detective Chan Lap, and then CPL, Police Corporal by 1951. That same year, he was transferred to

Sham Shui Po Police Station Sham Shui Po Police Station situated at the junction of Lai Chi Kok Road and Yen Chow Street, Sham Shui Po. It was built in 1924 with three storeys. It is graded as Grade III historic building.14K was one of the four biggest triads in Hong Kong. While 14K was holding a feast in a school located in

Diamond Hill Diamond Hill is a hill in the east of Kowloon, Hong Kong. The name also refers to the area on or adjacent to the hill. It is surrounded by Ngau Chi Wan, San Po Kong, Wong Tai Sin and Tsz Wan Shan. Its northeast is limited by the ridge. It is pr ...

, Lui arrested them with his team. Lui was made famous for wiping out the triad with confessions obtained through torture,

forced disappearances An enforced disappearance (or forced disappearance) is the secret abduction or imprisonment of a person by a state or political organization, or by a third party with the authorization, support, or acquiescence of a state or political organiza ...

and

extrajudicial executions An extrajudicial killing (also known as extrajudicial execution or extralegal killing) is the deliberate killing of a person without the lawful authority granted by a judicial proceeding. It typically refers to government authorities, whether ...

. As a result, he was promoted to SCPL, Senior Corporal in 1956. In 1956, the

Hong Kong 1956 riots The 1956 Hong Kong riots, also known as the Double Ten riots ( zh, t=雙十暴動), were the result of escalating provocations between the pro-Kuomintang and pro-CCP camps on Double Ten Day, 10 October 1956.HKheadline.com.HKheadline.com" ''� ...

happened. Because of Lui's experience in dealing with the triads, he was arranged in an important position by the administration of the police force. Because of his outstanding work, he was promoted to be the DS/SGT II in

New Territories The New Territories is one of the three main regions of Hong Kong, alongside Hong Kong Island and the Kowloon Peninsula. It makes up 86.2% of Hong Kong's territory, and contains around half of the population of Hong Kong. Historically, it ...

District, stationed in

Tsuen Wan Tsuen Wan (formerly also spelled Tsun Wan) is a town built on a bay in the western New Territories of Hong Kong, opposite of Tsing Yi Island across Rambler Channel. The market town of Tsuen Wan emerged from the surrounding villages and flee ...

Police Station. In 1958, Lui was transferred to

Yau Ma Tei Yau Ma Tei is an area in the Yau Tsim Mong District in the south of the Kowloon Peninsula in Hong Kong. Name ''Yau Ma Tei'' is a phonetic transliteration of the name (originally written as ) in Cantonese. It can also be spelt as Yaumatei, ...

to replace the retired DS/SGT II Lau Fuk. In 1962, the Hong Kong Police Force reset the position of DS/SGT I, and Lui was promoted one of two DS/SGT I positions, Nam Gong was promoted to the other. Lui stationed in

Hong Kong Island Hong Kong Island is an Islands and peninsulas of Hong Kong, island in the southern part of Hong Kong. Known colloquially and on road signs simply as Hong Kong, the island has a population of 1,289,500 and its population density is 16,390/km ...

while Nam was stationed in

Kowloon Kowloon () is an urban area in Hong Kong comprising the Kowloon Peninsula and New Kowloon. With a population of 2,019,533 and a population density of in 2006, it is the most populous area in Hong Kong, compared with Hong Kong Island and t ...

and

. On 1 April 1962, Lui was awarded the Colonial Police Medal by

Queen Elizabeth II Elizabeth II (Elizabeth Alexandra Mary; 21 April 1926 – 8 September 2022) was Queen of the United Kingdom and other Commonwealth realms from 6 February 1952 until Death and state funeral of Elizabeth II, her death in 2022. She was queen ...

on Queen’s Birthday at Hong Kong’s

Government House Government House is the name of many of the official residences of governors-general, governors and lieutenant-governors in the Commonwealth and the remaining colonies of the British Empire. The name is also used in some other countries. Gover ...

. In 1963, Lui was appointed by

Hong Kong Governor The governor of Hong Kong was the representative of the British Crown in Hong Kong from 1843 to 1997. In this capacity, the governor was president of the Executive Council and commander-in-chief of the British Forces Overseas Hong Kong. ...

Sir Robert Black to a

blue ribbon commission In the United States, a blue-ribbon committee (or panel or commission) is a group of exceptional people appointed to investigate, study or analyze a given question. Blue-ribbon committees generally have a degree of independence from political infl ...

to study

police reform Criminal justice reform addresses structural issues in criminal justice systems such as racial profiling, police brutality, overcriminalization, mass incarceration, and recidivism. Criminal justice reform can take place at any point where the cr ...

. In 1967, Lui and Nam were transferred to other stations by the Police Force in a case of serious corruption. In 1968, Lui took early retirement from the police force. In 1973, Lui immigrated to Canada with his wife Choi Chun (蔡珍) and eight children. In 1974, the ICAC was founded, and a wanted notice for Lui was issued in 1976, by then he was settled in Taiwan. He was charged with having assets "disproportionate to and unable to be explained or accounted for by his official emoluments, awards, or allowance'" and many of his assets were frozen by the ICAC. The Hong Kong court recovered part of his assets in 1977, and some of which were later recovered through his estate in 1986. He was unable to be extradited due to the lack of an extradition treaty with Taiwan and legal complications with Hong Kong's treaty with Canada. In 1979, Lui purchased a luxury apartment in Taipei, Taiwan, where he would reside in low profile for more than 30 years. His daughter became a Taiwanese citizen and was a civil servant, while his seven sons were resided in Canada. He died due to gastric cancer on 13 May 2010 in

Vancouver Vancouver ( ) is a major city in western Canada, located in the Lower Mainland region of British Columbia. As the List of cities in British Columbia, most populous city in the province, the 2021 Canadian census recorded 662,248 people in the ...

, British Columbia, Canada. His funeral was attended by 80 family members and friends at Forest Lawn Memorial Park in

Burnaby Burnaby is a city in the Lower Mainland region of British Columbia, Canada. Located in the centre of the Burrard Peninsula, it neighbours the City of Vancouver to the west, the District of North Vancouver across the confluence of the Burrard I ...

, where he was buried.

Honours

* **

UK_Colonial_Police_Medal_for_Meritorious_Service_ribbon_bar

Recipient of the Colonial Police Medal (CPM) (1962)

Depictions in media

Lui has been depicted in various films and TV Series due to his notoriety. * '' To Be Number One'' (1991), Character Tiger Lui, portrayed by

Kenneth Tsang Kenneth Tsang Kong (; 5 October 1934 – 27 April 2022) was a Hong Kong actor. Tsang's career spanned 50 years and included a variety of acting roles. Tsang won the Best Supporting Actor Award at the 34th Hong Kong Film Awards in 2015. Early ...

. * ''Legend of the Brothers'' (1991), Character Lui Kwok Tin, portrayed by Kenneth Tsang. * ''

Lee Rock ''Lee Rock'' () is a 1991 Hong Kong crime film directed by Lawrence Ah Mon, and starring Andy Lau as the title character. The film chronicles the rise and fall of a corrupt police force that Lee Rock becomes a part of. The film was followed b ...

'' (1991), Character Lee Rock, portrayed by

Andy Lau Andy Lau Tak-wah (; born 27 September 1961) is a Hong Kong actor, singer-songwriter and film producer. He has been one of Hong Kong's most commercially successful film actors since the mid-1980s, performing in more than 160 films while maint ...

. * ''

Lee Rock II ''Lee Rock II'' is a 1991 Hong Kong crime drama film directed by Lawrence Ah Mon and starring Andy Lau, Sharla Cheung, Aaron Kwok and Chingmy Yau. The film is a direct sequel to ''Lee Rock'' released earlier in the same year, which is inspired b ...

'' (1991), Character Lee Rock, portrayed by Andy Lau. * ''Arrest the Restless'' (1992), Character Tiger Lui, portrayed by Andy Lau. * ''

The Prince of Temple Street ''The Prince of Temple Street'' is a 1992 Hong Kong crime drama film directed by Jeffrey Chiang and starring Andy Lau, Joey Wong, Deanie Ip and Ng Man-tat. Aside of portraying the titular protagonist in the film, Lau also briefly reprises his ...

'' (1992), Character Lee Rock, portrayed by Andy Lau. * ''Powerful Four'' (1992), Character Lui Kit, portrayed by

Simon Yam Simon Yam Tat-wah (; born 19 March 1955) is a Hong Kong actor and film producer. He received international acclaim for his performances in international film festival and box office hits such as ''Naked Killer'', '' SPL: Sha Po Lang'', ''Election' ...

. * ''

The Greed of Man ''The Greed of Man'' is a Hong Kong television series first broadcast on TVB Jade in 1992.Dianying.com.Dianying.com" ''The Greed of Man.'' Retrieved on 2009-08-11. The story, spanning three decades from the 1970s to the 1990s in Hong Kong and Ta ...

'' (1992), Character Lung Sing-Bond, portrayed by Kenneth Tsang. * ''

He Ain't Heavy, He's My Father ''He Ain't Heavy, He's My Father'', also known as ''He Ain't Heavy, He's My Brother'' (新難兄難弟), is a 1993 Hong Kong comedy-drama film directed by Peter Chan and Lee Chi-ngai and starring Tony Leung Ka-fai, Tony Leung Chiu-wai, Carina ...

'' (1993), Character Sgt Rocky, portrayed by Andrew Kam. * '' Old Time Buddy: To Catch a Thief'' (1998), Character Lui King, portrayed by

Felix Lok Felix Lok Ying-kwan is a Hong Kong actor. His television appearances include roles in ''Looking Back in Anger'', ''The Drive of Life'' and '' The Academy''. Filmography Television series Films *''Heroes of the Underground'' (1976) *''The Happ ...

. * ''The H.K. Triad'' (1999), Character Lok, portrayed by

Francis Ng Francis Ng Chun-yu (; born 21 December 1961) is a Hong Kong actor and director. He is known for his roles in the TVB series ''Triumph in the Skies'' and in films such as ''Young and Dangerous'', '' Once Upon a Time in Triad Society'', ''A Ma ...

. * '' I Corrupt All Cops'' (2009), Character Lak Chui, portrayed by

Tony Leung Ka-Fai Tony Leung Ka-fai (; born 1 February 1958) is a Hong Kong actor who is a four-time winner of the Hong Kong Film Award for Best Actor. As he is often confused with actor Tony Leung Chiu-wai, Tony Leung Ka-fai is known as "Big Tony," while Tony Leu ...

. * ''

Chasing the Dragon "Chasing the dragon" (CTD) (), or "foily" in Australian English, refers to inhaling the vapor from a heated solution of a powdered psychoactive drug on a sheet of aluminum foil. The moving vapor is chased after with a tube (often rolled foil) ...

'' (2017), Character Lee Rock, portrayed by Andy Lau. * ''The One Billion Dollar Inspector'' (2020), Character Xu Le, portrayed by Vincent Wong. * '' Once Upon a Time in Hong Kong'' (2021), Character Chui Lok, portrayed by Francis Ng. * ''

Where the Wind Blows ''Where the Wind Blows'' (Chinese: 風再起時), previously known as ''Theory of Ambitions'', is a 2022 Hong Kong crime thriller film written and directed by Philip Yung and starring Aaron Kwok and Tony Leung Chiu-wai respectively as Lui Lok a ...

'' (TBA), portrayed by

Aaron Kwok Aaron Kwok Fu-shing (born 26 October 1965) is a Hong Kong singer, dancer and actor. Active since the 1980s, Kwok is known as one of the "Four Heavenly Kings" of Hong Kong pop music. Dubbed the "God of Dance", Kwok's onstage dancing is influenc ...

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Lui, Lok 1920 births 2010 deaths Hong Kong police officers People from Haifeng County Corruption in Hong Kong Recipients of the Colonial Police Medal Deaths from stomach cancer Deaths from cancer in British Columbia Chinese emigrants to British Hong Kong