According to Saturday's Standard, the Court of Appeal on Friday overturned a lower ruling, awarding Chan 1.45 million HK dollars, saying high-ranking officers were negligent in sending out Chan's team "hopelessly outmatched" -- without sufficient equipment for facing with a gang of robbers armed with assault rifles.

The court also praised 42-year-old Chan for his courageous efforts of rescuing his fellow policemen.

Chan told reporters that "today is a very sunny day for me" after he received court ruling that descried his acts as "heroic."

He said he felt excited about the judgment which gave back his innocence.

The English daily said Chan, on April 24, 1992, led two police teams launching a raid on a gang of car thieves in an apartment building in Kowloon. The thieves fired at the Police with assault rifles, chasing the retreating officers outside an iron gate surrounding the building.

Chan, fearing that some of his partners were trapped inside, tried to pry open the gate -- a decision appeal judge Peter Cheung described as "a classic rescue situation."

Then he was shot in his head, leaving a bullet in his brain. Chan received emergency rescue, four months of hospitalization,and three major operations between 1992 and 2001.

Chan originally brought an over 1.7 million HK dollars (219,256 U.S. dollars) civil proceeding to the police force and one of his superior officers, alleging that higher ranking officers in the department failed to properly prepare Chan and his team for the raid, despite having information that the car thieves were equipped with heavy arms. Enditem