Triad experts, CIB's DCIP Ip and SSP Tang in the latter's office with a souvenir stone engraving of two loons given by their appreciative Canadian counterparts	ON the invitation of the Criminal Intelligence Directorate of the Royal Canadian Mounted Police and the Criminal Intelligence Service of Canada, Hong Kong Police Crime Intelligence Bureau's Senior Superintendent Xavier Tang and CIB Detective Chief Inspector Peter Ip Pau-fuk have recently returned from Canada where they conducted a first-ever Triad Course held outside Hong Kong and specially devised for Canadian law enforcement officers.
¡@"Because of the large Chinese communities overseas, foreign law enforcement agencies have felt a need to educate their officers towards the problem of triads and organised crime committed by people who have connections with Hong Kong," said SSP Tang. "That's why we were approached by the Canadian authorities about sending our instructors to Canada to teach the course there. Unlike the CIB's Triad Course For Overseas Officers conducted in Hong Kong where any one country is limited to sending two officers, by having the course conducted in a home country a larger number of officers can be trained at one time." ¡@Based on the highly reputed annual Triad Course For Overseas Law Enforcement Officers run by CIB in Hong Kong, SSP Tang and DCIP Ip presented their intensive five-day course in Vancouver to law enforcement officers representing Western Canada, and again in Toronto for officers from cities in the central and eastern provinces of the country. Limited to 20 participants per city session, the seminars attracted over 100 applicants. ¡@"Twenty participants is a manageable number and makes the course effective," said DCIP Ip. ¡@One of the most unique seminars of its kind, the Triad Course For Overseas Officers has been a continuing success for Hong Kong Police in their fight against triad-related activity on a local, regional and global basis. In addition to discussions on a full range of investigative techniques peculiar to the investigation of triads, course participants are given a full history of Chinese secret societies, shown a recreation of an initiation ceremony and briefed on rituals, paraphernalia, jargon and the latest anti-triad strategies and legislation. ¡@The course was adapted to meet the special needs of Canada. To this end the course contains invaluable information on triads entering Canada, Asian organised crime in Canada, triad societies active in Canada and triad involvement in international crimes.
¡@"We also teach them how to deal with the Chinese community in Canada," said DCIP Ip. "If investigators understand Chinese culture and their Chinese communities better, they will get a better response when they approach members of the overseas Chinese community during criminal investigations. A lot of overseas law enforcement officials have never come into contact with triad-related crime. Even Canadian-born Chinese officers commented that they learned a lot from this course.Ó	Vancouver course members with their Hong Kong Police instructors who "opened their eyes about triad 'Culture'"
¡@Said SSP Tang: "We place particular emphasis on the present-day structure of triads, showing course participants that rather than a Mafia-like organisation, triads have been broken down into a variety of local gangs. We also concentrate on more contemporary crimes - especially those with international connotations like drugs, counterfeiting and forgery, money laundering and the smuggling of people Ð sharing our experience with our Canadian counterparts. ¡@"Through the course we also highlighted Hong Kong's Society Ordinance which outlaws secret societies, as well as the recently enacted Organised and Serious Crimes Ordinance which targets organised crime activities - and compare that to Canada's legislation to tackle criminal gangs. At present they do not yet have any legislation to specifically target or outlaw triads," he added. ¡@"Of course, this 5-day induction seminar does not qualify them as triad experts," says DCIP Ip, "but it does give Canadian law enforcement officers a good basis to start.Ó ¡@Commented a participant in the Vancouver course: "I thoroughly enjoyed the course. It has certainly opened my eyes about the triad 'Culture'. This information will greatly assist me in future investigations and help me be more effective when dealing with Asian gangsters. This is a must for all officers working in Asian communities in Canada.Ó
¡@One of the Toronto course participants said after the completion of the seminar: "This course was well structured and fit our Canadian needs. The material presented was most valuable. Those who made up this course did a great job. The instructors, Mr Tang and Mr Ip, were highly qualified and very interesting. They gave out their knowledge in a way that everybody understood. Peter Ip is an excellent speaker and his knowledge quite apparent. Xavier Tang's talks were concise and well-informed. Both instructors should come to Canada again as I know many other officers would benefit from their teaching.Ó ¡@"In fact," added SSP Tang, "Peter and I were very pleased with the active participation and response by the officers in Canada. That impressed us very much. We learned from them too - and they were extremely hospitable. We made a lot of friends and would like to thank those who were involved in making the courses a great success. In particular, the RCMP liaison officers attached to the Canadian Commission in Hong Kong Paul Brown and Dan Ouellette. They were instrumental in co-ordinating the course."	Toronto triad course participants with SSP Tang and DCIP Ip at a lodge in Algonquin Park where the seminars actually took place. After hours, Tang and Ip were treated to fishing and canoeing in the great Canadian outdoors

A matter of life and death
Aftermath. With mixed emotions SPA Liu returns to the scene of the Garley Building fire hours after it was extinguished	IN his 17 years of Hong Kong Auxiliary Police service the tragic fire at the Garley Building in Tsim Sha Shui which claimed 40 lives remains the most unforgettable and heart-breaking memory of Liu On-bong, DS YTDIST AUX. ¡@ Early on the day that the fire would break out, Superintendent Auxiliary Liu, a senior manager in his civilian life for a multinational corporation responsible for the Asia region, was returning to Hong Kong from abroad where he had been on business. It was a miserable flight and SPA Liu felt quite ill. While still in the air he decided to pay a visit to his doctor as soon as he landed. Dr Chong was Mr Liu's friend and trusted family doctor for over 20 years. He was treated like a family member.
¡@ His office was located in the Garley Building. ¡@ When the plane landed, because of heavy traffic at Kai Tak and congestion on the road, it was not until 4pm that SPA Liu arrived at Dr Chong's clinic, where he underwent a detailed consultation with his friend Dr Chong, who insisted that SPA Liu linger so they could catch up on what each other had been doing. ¡@ But Mr Liu needed to return to his office in Wanchai before 5pm to prepare and fax some information to Auxiliary Chief Superintendent Kwok Chi-shun. Although SPA Liu didn't know it at the time, his commitment to complete the material for ACSP Kwok actually saved his life. ¡@ SPA Liu left the doctor's office at 4:28pm - just minutes before the devastating fire that would take so many lives in the Garley Building broke out. Dr Chong, his nurse and all those patients who had appointments after SPA Liu were among those who perished in the blazing inferno. ¡@ When SPA Liu heard that the fire had broken out he immediately returned to the station. As District Commander YT AUX he directed his people, allocated duties and attended the disaster area to give assistance. It was not until 3am the following morning that he left the scene of the fire. ¡@ During the Fire Investigation Committee hearings SPA Liu was called upon to provide an eye-witness account of what he saw in the building just minutes before the disaster occurred. He was also the last person to see some of the victims alive, as well as the Auxiliary District Commander of the area where the Garley Building was situated. ¡@ SPA Liu On-bong still recalls that fatal day with mixed emotions. He escaped almost certain death by a matter of minutes, but he also lost one of his oldest and best friends. ¡@ Mr Liu hopes that the authority concerned increases public awareness on fire prevention and will strictly enforce the Fire Services Ordinance so that a similar tragedy never happens again.