There were a total of 5 418 violent crime cases in the first half of this year, a decrease of 10.8 per cent when compared with the corresponding period last year.

 

Mr Lo said the figures of most crimes recorded drops of more than 10 per cent, including homicide (down 75.5 per cent), rape (down 62.7 per cent), robbery (down 31 per cent), indecent assault (down 26.4 per cent), juvenile crimes (down 20.2 per cent), burglary (down 18.3 per cent), domestic violence (criminal) (down 13.2 per cent), wounding and serious assault (down 12.5 per cent), triad-related cases (down 11.6 per cent) and criminal damage (down 10.7 per cent).

 

 

There were 4 372 cases of deception in the first half of 2014, a rise of 787 cases or 22 per cent when compared with the same period of 2013.  More increases were seen in online business fraud, social media fraud, telephone deception and email scams (corporate level).

 

The first half of 2014 also saw a total of 1 180 online business fraud cases, an increase of 530 cases or 82 per cent over the same period of 2013. The pecuniary loss rose by nearly 50 per cent to around $26 million. Fifty-eight per cent of online business fraud involved online auction or shopping while the remaining 42 per cent were related to online business or credit card misuse.

 

"A task force was formed by Police earlier and regular operations were launched to target frauds related to online auction or shopping. In an operation conducted on June 18, Police arrested four people for being connected with 79 cases involving pecuniary loss of $550 000," Mr Lo said.

 

In social media fraud, there were 466 reported cases in the first half of 2014, an increase of 357 cases or more than three-fold over the 109 cases in the same period of 2013. The pecuniary loss increased by more than one-fold to around $43 million.

 

"Such increase was caused by a number of deception cases initiated by instant messaging applications in the said period. Fraudsters first logged in to an account with unlawful means and contacted friends on the user's directory. Targets were told to buy Game Cards at convenience stores and were further requested to send the serial number as well as PIN number thereon to him or her. Upon receiving these particulars, fraudsters would sell the Game Cards for money.

 

"Liaison with relevant application developers has facilitated the update of such applications with enhanced user authentication function. Focal publicity campaigns have also heightened public awareness of the related modus operandi. A sharp drop in figures was thus noted from its peak in May," Mr Lo added.

 

In the first half of 2014, Police received 1 178 reports of telephone deception cases, a rise of 308 cases or 35.4 per cent. The 69.9 per cent rate of failed attempts was higher than the 63 per cent recorded in the same period of 2013. Almost all cases were committed by modus operandi of "virtual kidnapping" and "guess who I am" which recorded 629 and 545 cases respectively.

 

In email scam at corporate level, Police received 569 reported cases in the first half of 2014, representing an increase of 58 cases or more than 10 per cent when compared with the same period of last year.  The amount of loss went up from about $310 million in the first half of 2013 to $570 million in the same period of 2014, representing an increase of about 80 per cent. Only around 29 per cent of the victims were Hong Kong companies.

 

"To tackle various types of scams, Commercial Crime Bureau rolled out a scam prevention platform, 'Fight Scams Together', this month. By optimising the use of HKP Mobile App and YouTube Channel, Police made timely dissemination of the latest modus operandi and preventive messages in the form of video clips and text", Mr Lo said.

 

In blackmail, there were 422 reports in the first six months of 2014, an increase of 172 cases or 68.8 per cent over the same period of 2013.  The increase was mainly attributed to the rise in blackmail cases related to "naked chat".  In the first half of 2014, Police received 317 blackmail cases related to "naked chat", an increase of nearly 1.4-fold when compared with the 131 cases in the same period of 2013. Pecuniary loss ranged from several hundred dollars to nearly $70 000.

 

"Police had initiated intelligence gathering and analysis into all 'naked chat' blackmail cases reported in Hong Kong since 2013, and took initiative to exchange relevant intelligence with overseas law enforcement agencies during an Interpol conference to secure their co-operation. The Interpol, with the intelligence furnished by Hong Kong Police, launched a joint operation targeting such cases with the active participation by other law enforcement agencies. As a result, 58 persons were arrested at a number of locations in the Philippines in May 2014," Mr Lo said.

 

"The operation brought positive effect to the combat against 'naked chat' cases.  Hong Kong Police will continue to maintain close co-operation with overseas law enforcement agencies and exchange intelligence. In respect of publicity and education, Police enriched the video contents of the 'Fight Scams Together' platform with 'naked chat' cases with a view to conveying related messages to the public," he added.

 

 

There were 13 homicide cases in the first half of 2014, a decrease of 75.5 per cent when compared with the 53 cases in the same period of last year.  If the 39 cases related to the Lamma incident was set aside, the figure for the first half of 2014 still dropped by one case from the same period of last year.

 

All the 13 homicide cases were detected. Four cases involved domestic violence and relatives committed another four, while the remaining five cases resulted from different kinds of disputes, debt-related issues or mental illness.

 

Serious drug cases totalled 1 083, a slight decrease of three cases when compared with the same period of 2013.  Cases involving Ice were on the rise while decreases were recorded in serious drug cases involving ketamine, cocaine and cannabis.

 

As regard the seizure of dangerous drugs made by Police and Customs and Excise Department, there were rises in Ice, ketamine and cannabis, and drops in cocaine, heroin and ecstasy pills. Ketamine made up the largest percentage of seizure, followed by Ice and ecstasy pills.

 

A total of 2 287 juveniles and youngsters were arrested for crime in the first half of 2014, a drop of 579 persons or 20 per cent when compared with the same period of last year. Most of them were arrested for wounding and serious assault, shop theft and miscellaneous thefts, serious drug offences and criminal damage.

 

 

In the three cases involving mailing of firearms that occurred in June and July, Police seized seven suspected genuine firearms, firearms accessories and more than 10 000 rounds of ammunition. Police are conducting an exhaustive investigation into these cases as well as the shooting case that took place at Kai Ching Estate, including tracing the sources of the arms involved.

 

Police will maintain close liaison and strengthen intelligence exchange with Customs and Excise Department and law enforcement agencies in the Mainland, Macau and overseas countries to interdict the inflow of illegal firearms.

 

In addition, during the World Cup 2014 between June and July, Police mounted vigorous operations against illegal gambling activities, resulting in the arrest of 176 people and seizure of $13 million and betting slips amounting to more than $750 million which hit a record high.

 

In conclusion, Mr Lo said the sustainable improvement in the overall law and order situation in Hong Kong in the first half of 2014 was the result of a law-abiding society, effective law enforcement and Police-public co-operation.

 

"Police will continue to provide the highest quality service and we are also looking forward to the public's continuous support to assist us in safeguarding public safety and public order so that Hong Kong will remain one of the safest and most stable societies in the world," Mr Lo said.

 

 

Police will continue to enhance road safety through the three-pronged approach of enforcement, education and publicity, said Acting Director of Operations Cheung Tak-keung at the press conference.

 

Reviewing the general road safety in Hong Kong, Mr Cheung said the number of traffic accidents in the first six months of 2014 was 7 553, representing a decrease of 253 when compared with the same period of last year. The number of fatal traffic accidents also decreased by six to 42.

 

Overall traffic enforcement actions totalled 800 754 in the first half of 2014, representing an increase of two per cent over the 787 635 in the same period of last year. Enforcement was targeted at offences such as speeding, dangerous driving, careless driving, failing to comply with traffic signals, drink driving, drug driving, cycling offences and pedestrian offences.

 

As a result of the introduction of the Random Breath Test on February 9, 2009, the number of drink driving-related traffic accidents has dropped significantly from 680 in 2008 to 234 in 2013. Drivers arrested for drink driving in the first six months of this year increased from 442 to 467 when compared with the same period of last year. Pre-screening tests increased from 79 049 to 89 485, up 13 per cent when compared with the same period of last year.

 

As of June 30, 2014, 18 drug drivers were arrested, compared with 17 in the corresponding period of last year. Only one drug driver was arrested in a traffic accident, compared with three in the same period in 2013.

 

In the first half of 2014, there were 1 184 cycling related accidents, representing a decrease of five per cent when compared with 1 242 in the same period last year.  The number of fatality involving cycling accidents also decreased by one to four.

 

To address concerns over cycling safety, Police have taken stringent enforcement actions against cycling offences. A total of 5 597 verbal warnings and 5 470 summonses were issued against cycling offences in the first half of 2014.

 

Seventeen elderly pedestrians were killed in traffic accidents, five persons less when compared with the same period last year. Police will strengthen education on road safety for elderly pedestrians and take stringent enforcement actions against pedestrian offences at accident blacksites.

 

 

Regarding crimes committed by Mainland visitors (MVs), Mr Cheung said that from January to June in 2014, there were around 21.69 million MV arrivals, a rise of about 3.01 million over the same period of last year. Among them, 725 were arrested for committing criminal offences, an increase of 88 when compared with the same period of last year. The main offences committed by MVs were shop theft, miscellaneous thefts, deception and using a false instrument.

 

Between January and June this year, 2 266 MVs were arrested for involvement in prostitution, representing an increase of 786 or 53 per cent when compared with the same period of last year. A total of 633 illegal Mainland workers were also arrested in the past six months, a decrease of 336 compared with the same period of last year.

 

"Police and other law enforcement agencies will continue adopting the three-level approach, including effective screening at all immigration control points and enhancing joint enforcement actions to tackle the problem of Mainland visitors committing crime in Hong Kong," Mr Cheung said.