Although the Tuen Mun Police Community Relations Office
has set up Junior Police school clubs in 30 secondary
schools and 25 primary schools in the district and has
about 15,000 members, this was a first for a Vietnamese
camp. The Junior Police Call school club in Pillar Point
was formed in April with 74 students from the school being
recruited as JPC members.
"At first, many Vietnamese parents were afraid that their
children would become 'agents' of the police and hesitated
in giving approval for them to participate. So we invited
the camp interpreter to explain the JPC's objectives to
them, after which they agreed to let their children join,Ó s
aid JPC Liaison Officer, Woman Sergeant Sze Yuet-ming.
Junior Police Call school club members participate in
fight crime and anti-drug carnivals, variety shows, police
open days, sports competitions, camps and a variety of
classes.
After forming their JPC school club, 19 Vietnamese
children, together with other local JPCs, were given the
opportunity to tour the Regional Command and Control
Centre in the New Territories which sparked off a lot of
excited conversation. This was followed by a JPC activity day inside the camp with all 74 members participating in a variety of games.
"Materially speaking," says Woman Sergeant Sze, "life in the camp is extremely poor. There is only one football playground and the children are seldom in contact with the local community because of the remote location of the camp to which there is no public transportation.
"Because they don't have experience in the outside world, they tend to find everything fascinating. While they are playing, their laughter is no different from the local kids. Most were brought up in Hong Kong and speak Cantonese very well. They have really welcomed the JPC activities."
Says school principal Anthony Adzah: "I was very pleased with the quick response of the Hong Kong Police in helping the children of Pillar Point. Any opportunity for these kids to have positive contact with the Hong Kong community is useful.
"Apart from providing the opportunity to make new friends, JPC activities strongly influence the students' concepts of law and order. It is will definitely have a positive effect in keeping the children away from drugs and other crimes that are all too common within the camp."
THANKS to the excellent work of the District Special
Duty Squad 1 (DSDS) of Kwun Tong an obscene publication
syndicate has been successfully neutralized and the
district made a cleaner and more decent place to live.
Their operation began in late February when squad members
noticed that some outlets in Kwun Tong were selling
obscene VCDs under the guise of legitimate video shops.
Enforcement action was taken resulting in several arrests
with a substantial amount of obscene VCDs seized. By
March, however, there were at least seven shops still
selling obscene VCDs in the district.
"The sale of obscene VCDs is very profitable. The net
manufacturing cost of a VCD is only $2, which in turn
wholesales at about $20. In general, an obscene VCD can
be sold at a retail price of around $80. Such profit
margins undoubtedly attract triads and opportunists,"
explained Woman Chief Inspector of District Operations,
Angela Ng Ho-chun.
So, stepping up their actions, the Squad began to focus
not only on individual shops at retail level, but
conducted a series of covert operations to identify targets
at the wholesale level. As a result, two of the syndicate's
storage depots in Tsuen Wan and Hung Hom were raided and
28,000 obscene VCDs seized along with the arrest and
charging of eight porn distributors.
"As police actions became more intense, the pornographers
were forced to run their business in a much more cautious
manner - which made the police operation more difficult,"
said WCIP Angela Ng Ho-chun. "They began to employ code
words and look-outs. In some instances the shops operated
during selected hours known only to certain customers."
"Pressing on, DSDS incorporated into their strategy a
closer liaison with the Kwun Tong Magistracy to highlight
the degree of obscenity in these publications and the
severity of the related offences in order to secure heavier
penalties upon conviction.
In the past, the penalty for offences relating to obscene
VCDs was usually a fine or a suspended sentence. To enable
the Court to have a ready appreciation of the severity of
the offence, DSDS took the initiative to highlight
certain aspects of the cases in brief facts and other court
documents - and to reproduce some of the obscene sections
of the VCDs on Polaroids to provide an easy reference for
the magistrates.
"I believe these initiatives have assisted magistrates in
appreciating the level of obscene content and the extent
of the problem," said Inspector Chan Po-lun of the DSDS
1. "In recent cases, most convictions were recorded with
four to nine month terms of imprisonment. The intensive
actions taken by the Force and these more severe sentences
have a great deterrent effect. Many pornographers now
think twice before opening up shop."
And so they should - in April and May alone, DSDS 1
KTDIST arrested 18 porn sellers, seizing 208 obscene
video tapes and 30,283 obscene VCDs valued at over $2.4
million.
"Though our recent successes have made police operations
in Kwun Tong much more difficult, we do not intend to
decrease our efforts in the war on pornography," WCIP Ng
said.
"The people of this community owe you a debt of
gratitude. I hope that your bravery will be recognised in
an appropriate way"
THE bravery of one of Hong Kong's finest, Police
Constable Yip Chi-man, in doggedly pursuing an armed
criminal even after being forced to the ground at gunpoint,
was recently praised by a High Court Judge for his
outstanding conduct in the line of duty.
The judge's praise followed his handing down of an 18-year
prison sentence to 35-year-old Chow Yuk-hing after he
pleaded guilty to armed robbery and the use of a firearm
with intent to resist arrest.
"Although you were doing what I am sure many other police
officers would have done, you are nevertheless a brave
young man,"Mr Justice Frank Stock told Constable Yip, who
was in the courtroom to witness the sentencing.
"This defendant chose to take out a gun and point it at
you after you had apprehended him. Then ordering you to
lie down to make good his escape Ð y ou still gave chase
knowing full-well that he was armed and dangerous.
"By doing that you put your life at risk, and you did so
in pursuit of your duty as a police officer for the
protection of members of the public. You were following the
finest traditions of the police force in this territory
. . . This community owes you, in particular, a debt of
gratitude . . . I hope your bravery will be recognised in
an appropriate way."
Mr Justice Stock's remarks sent feelings of pride through
PC Yip, who humbly said that he had only done what a police
officer should do under such circumstances - that he "was
only doing his job".
He clearly remembers, however, how quickly a routine day
turned into a dangerous encounter . . .
The incident happened on 22 June 1995 after Chow and an
accomplice held up a jewellery shop in the Peninsula Hotel
and made off with Rolex watches worth $1.1 million.
At that time, plainclothes PC Yip Chi-man from the Tsim
Sha Tsui Anti-crime Patrol Task Force was in a police
vehicle with two people he had arrested for touting in the
area. As they headed towards the TST police station, the
police officer saw a hotel security guard running along
Nathan Road. PC Yip had the vehicle stop and was told
that a robbery suspect had run into the MTR station.
"I caught up with Chow, whom I believed was the suspect,
as he was passing through the turnstiles and I pushed him
against the wall to carry out a body search,Ó r ecalls Yip.
As he was doing so, however, Chow put up resistance and
drew a pistol. He pointed the gun at PC Yip and ordered
him to lie on the ground.
"It was the first time that I'd ever been so closely
involved with an armed criminal," recalled PC Yip, who was
too busy to be afraid. Instead, his police training kicked
in .
"I felt no fear when I was threatened at gunpoint. I was
trained to be highly alert in dealing with armed criminals
in similar circumstances and to take into account the
safety of people on the street."
After Chow turned around and headed for an exit, the
police constable immediately gave chase and at the same
time informed Police Console about the armed suspect's
location.
PC Yip then heard a gun shot which left a schoolgirl
wounded in the arm by a bullet which Chow claimed was fired
accidentally. Still, Yip continued his pursuit.
Chow managed to escape and fled the territory - but was
captured on 5 June last year at the Lowu border
checkpoint.
"I am glad to learn that police work wins recognition,"
said PC Yip who is now with the Commercial Crime Bureau.
He said the good work of Kowloon West Regional Crime Unit
was also indispensable in tracking down the criminal. |
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