Description

Searchlights were installed at a number of police stations and posts along the land boundary of Hong Kong. They were usually mounted on the rooftops of police stations. It was important to provide searchlights for border police officers because illegal immigrants would normally sneak across the border in the dark. The police observation posts in the border area, also commonly known as "MacIntosh Forts"—a fort-style post named in honour of then Hong Kong Police Commissioner Duncan MacIntosh—were equipped with a number of searchlights, which were used by police officers at night to illuminate the barbed wire fence along the Hong Kong border. When an irregularity was detected, it would be reported immediately by radio to the Border District Police Headquarters and officers would be sent to investigate or intercept the illegal immigrants. The searchlights delineated the perimeters of the police facilities and, hence, the presence of the police force. Thus, they served as a deterrent to illegal immigrants. The searchlight was originally installed at the old Sha Tin Police Station, located on a hill at Sha Tin Tau Village. This old building served as the Japanese army's command centre during the Japanese occupation. The building was demolished in the 1950s and its function was changed.