Director of Crime and Security (D C&S) Au Chi-kwong led a seven-member delegation, comprising Assistant Commissioner (Crime) Chung Siu-yeung, Acting Chief Superintendent of the Criminal Intelligence Bureau Yam Wai-kwok, Senior Superintendent (SSP) of Crime New Territories North Regional Headquarters Chan Tsan-wing and SSP of the Financial Investigation Division of the Narcotics Bureau Wong Chi-kwong, to visit the Guangdong Provincial Public Security Department (GD PSD) and Shenzhen Municipal Public Security Bureau (SZ PSB) on January 9.

The delegates held meetings with their counterparts, including Director of the Criminal Investigation Department under GD PSD Mr Lin Weixiong, Deputy Director of SZ PSB Mr Shi Zhigang and the head of the Criminal Investigation Detachment under SZ PSB Mr Li Ping, and they agreed to strengthen partnership to combat cross-boundary crimes.

The delegation also went to the Shenzhen Research Centre on Combatting Crimes in Relation to New Telecommunications Networks and the Shenzhen Municipal Anti-telemarketing and Anti-Internet Scam Centre. Both sides exchanged views about ways to tackle email and telephone scams at strategic and working levels.

In a bid to stop the flow of illegal funds arising from telephone or email scams, the Hong Kong Police Force and SZ PSB have jointly put the "Stop Payment Mechanism" into operation from last October. Under the mechanism, Team 3A of the Regional Crime Unit of Kowloon East Region on behalf of the Force would notify the Shenzhen counterparts regarding Mainland bank accounts that are related to telephone deception. Both sides had so far handled 36 notifications and a total of $670,000 had been intercepted.