There are many examples in which the child follows the footstep of the parent and joins the Force. Cases of both father and son coming to the same unique position, however, are rare. 46-year-old Patrick, an instructor for probationary inspector (PI) at the Police College (the College), and his father Dick, are one of such rare cases. “When I was a child, Dad was an instructor in the College and he would take me to the social events outside office hours occasionally. His dignity in front of his colleagues and trainees was very admirable. He was also very responsible and rigorous at work. Even when Dad was off duty, he would immediately report duty once he received an urgent task, regardless of the day or night.”

Influenced by his father’s professionalism, Patrick aspired to join the Force and serve the public when he grew up. After returning to Hong Kong from studying overseas, Patrick applied for PI. Yet he encountered a setback: after living overseas for a long time, he failed in the PI Chinese test paper.

Patrick did not give up. “I applied to be a police constable to accumulate frontline experience. At the same time, I studied Chinese to prepare for the PI test again.”

Patrick joined the Force in 1998. A few years later, he was stationed in New Territories North, the same Region as his father’s. Though not having the opportunity to work with his father, Patrick always kept his father’s words in mind when handling his work. “Being a police officer, you must be righteous and impartial, and resist all temptations. To serve the public, you must equip yourself constantly so that you can improve your standard of work.”

Having worked hard for over a decade, Patrick was promoted to Inspector in 2011, with his ambition for many years fulfilled. He worked even harder then. In 2017, he was assigned to take part in planning the Police Base of the Hong Kong-Zhuhai-Macao Bridge Hong Kong Port. He spared no effort in co-ordinating the project with various government departments and officials from Zhuhai and Macao. In the riot in 2019, Patrick led his colleagues at the front line to fight against the rioters and uphold law and order.

After training in different positions, Patrick was promoted to Chief Inspector in 2022 and was posted to teach at the College last year, following the same trajectory as his father’s. He hopes to integrate his frontline experience into the policing theory he is teaching. Furthermore, he wants to extend the professionalism of the former generations who worked hard for long hours to the future pillars of the Force. “When serving the people, we need to uphold the integrity and overcome the ever-changing challenges in the daily duties with flexibility,” he shared.