Police officers paid HK$950 million for overtime

Police officers have been racking up overtime due to Hong Kong's anti-government protests. File photo: RTHK

Timmy Sung reports

The police force has paid officers a total of HK$950 million in overtime allowances over the past six months, according to the Security Bureau.



The bureau revealed in a document submitted to Legco’s Finance Committee that on average, about 11,000 police officers received the extra payments each month.



The document said officers only work overtime when it’s "strictly unavoidable", and they are normally compensated with time off in lieu.



But officers are given overtime allowances when granting them time off isn't possible.



The bureau says officers can work a maximum of 60 hours of overtime each month, with those earning up to HK$105,000 a month eligible for the allowances.



Pro-democracy lawmaker Chu Hoi-dick said he believes officers have actually received far more extra pay than just the overtime salary, saying there are at least another nine types of payments available, including for handling dogs or going undercover.



He estimated that an allowance for wearing a gas mask could have cost HK$95 million since June.



"All these sorts of allowances should be disclosed to the general public to let us know the whole picture of the amount of money that has been spent over the past six months," he said.



The police received HK$20.2 billion this financial year to pay for officers’ wages, allowances and other operational expenses.