Commissioner Lo Wai-chung went to the China Ferry Terminal in Tsim Sha Tsui on the afternoon of April 13 to observe an inter-departmental counter terrorism exercise, codenamed "MOONEXPLORER", which was staged by the Emergency Unit of Kowloon West (EU KW). This was part of his ongoing initiatives to further engage frontline officers.

The Commissioner was greeted by the management of KW Region on arrival. Then he observed the running of the exercise at different locations under the escort of Platoon Commander of EU KW Cheung Lap-yeung. Mr Cheung briefed him on the exercise's details, including its objectives and plan as well as the tactics deployed by the officers.

The exercise simulated several armed terrorists who planned to hijack a vessel but the plan turned overt before execution. It eventually escalated into a gunfight and hostage taking, leading to mass casualties. With the efforts of various police units, the hostages were rescued. The exercise also tested the interoperability among the related government departments during a terrorist attack. It focused in particular on the Customs, Immigration and Quarantine process at a control point and the triage of mass casualties.

Afterwards, all the participating departments/units, including the ferry operator, the Marine Department, the Fire Services Department, the Customs and Excise Department, the Immigration Department, the Small Boat Division, the Counter Terrorism Response Unit, the Police Tactical Unit and EU KW, exchanged their views about the exercise in a sharing session on the spot.

The Commissioner highly praised all the participating departments/units for their performance and he particularly thanked EU KW for organising the exercise. He added that similar exercises would be conducted to cope with the evolving global terrorist threat and to better prepare for the opening of new control points later this year.

Frontline Police representatives enjoyed refreshments with the Commissioner after the exercise. Mr Lo took the opportunity to know more about their work and to show his gratitude for their efforts in upholding law and order as well as serving the community.

After the meeting with the Commissioner, the frontline officers said that they were delighted to have direct communication with the Force senior management and this could foster mutual understanding.