The back view of a riot police officer carrying a child in his arms spoke volumes about the soft side of the tough man, and it even became a much-discussed scene on the Internet. The officer has been carrying out anti-riot duties as a member of the Marine Region Tier 2 ("Mar T2") since June last year. On February 2, he was stationed at the Kowloon Bay Health Centre General Out-patient Clinic that had been designated as a clinic to treat suspected coronavirus patients. In the evening, a district councillor brought a four-year-old boy who lost contact with his family to the Police for help.

Recounting the incident to OffBeat, riot police officer Ah Kin said the boy could not provide any information about his family members. The Police immediately made the boy a priority and reallocated manpower to help find his family, by asking security guards and shopkeepers throughout the housing estate for clues about the identity of the boy.

Meanwhile, the boy was brought to the district councillor's office to take a rest. When the weather turned cold at night, riot police officer Ah Ming, who was responsible for accompanying the boy, noticed his running nose. Ah Ming immediately took off his jacket and let the boy wear it to keep warm. When he heard the boy saying, "Mr Policeman, I am exhausted," Ah Ming took the boy into his arms, and the boy fell asleep shortly afterwards. The back view captured in the photo circulating online is indeed Ah Ming's, but there is no way to find out who photographed the moment.

However, against a backdrop of tension between the public and the Force, this heartwarming act of kindness was regrettably misinterpreted, as some residents in the neighbourhood surrounded Ah Ming and shouted, "You can't even leave a kid alone?" The misunderstanding went on until the district councillor who had sought help from the Police clearly explained the situation to the residents. After searching for nearly two hours, the "Mar T2" eventually found the guardian of the boy—mission accomplished. Ah Ming said, "If people from all sectors of society can put aside their differences while compromising and collaborating more, I believe we can soon see the long-lost smile on the faces of Hong Kong people again."

Riot police officers have been at the forefront of the anti-extradition law amendment bill saga. They have been at the receiving end of an avalanche of misinformation and smear campaigns. Oftentimes, the officers could not talk some sense into their critics, so they could only remain dedicated to their duties. Another member of the "Mar T2" said, "Some youngsters who were taken to the police station asked, 'Why haven't you hit me yet?', which utterly perplexed us. So, the greatest rebuttal is reasonable law enforcement, and it will eventually dawn on them that they have just been misled all along."

Ah Ming said he never would have thought that a brief moment of him executing his duties would become part of the Force's latest publicity campaign. However, he also stressed that, "Law enforcement is only one of the duties of police officers, as serving society on the whole is the mission of every one of us. All members of the Force take pride in our ability to safeguard Hong Kong and serve this home of ours."