HONG KONG, March 25 (Xinhua) -- The Hong Kong Broadcasting Authority has received 143 complaints less than 24 hours after a local television announced its plan to air a program about a dead policeman who was also a suspect involved in last week's street gun shooting in the city.

    The 30-minute show, which will include suspect Tsui Po-ko's appearance on the game show "Who Wants to be a Millionaire?" in 2001, will be shown on the Home Channel of Asian Television Station (ATV) Saturday evening,

    A spokesman for the authority described the number of complaints as "rare" for a program that had not even been aired, local newspaper South China Morning Post said Saturday.

    Some complaints criticized the television station for making its broadcasting plan merely for hiking its audience rating, saying the airing of the program would create emotional disturbances and ignored the feelings of Tsui's family.

    Others said the program would affect the investigation into the shooting case and would damage the image of police.

    The shooting case, taking place in Tsim Sha Tsui on March 17, resulted in the death of Tsui and a policeman and serious wounding of another policeman. Tsui was an off-duty policeman when they exchanged fire in the wee hours and the case is still under investigation.

    The newspaper quoted a social scientist as saying that Tsui is still a suspect but the society and the media have come to the conclusion that he is a murderer and a newspaper even called him a"devil cop." Enditem