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with fool's gold for Thai girl
When the 18-year-old arrived in Hong Kong on 10 May, she lived with Ah Kha and a man called Ah Cheung in a flat in Sham Shui Po. But rather than beginning work as a domestic helper as she expected, the naive Thai girl was taken to a network of villas in Mong Kok and forced to work as a prostitute. Frightened and deceived, she pleaded with her sponsors to let her go back to Thailand - but to no avail. According to a notebook kept by the girl, she was forced to provide sexual services to various customers between May 24 and July 11. She recorded a total of 189 encounters. After providing each sexual service, the victim was given $20. To make matters worse, she complained that she was only provided with one pack of instant noodles to eat each day. Eventually the girl managed to telephone a relative in Thailand who contacted authorities there who passed the message on to the Royal Thai Consulate-General in Hong Kong who in turn referred the case to the Hong Kong Police on 14 July. Police detectives of Sham Shui Po District took prompt and immediate action that same afternoon, raiding the flat where the girl lived, rescuing her and arresting her keepers. "Although the two defendants claimed the girl agreed to work as a prostitute before she came to Hong Kong, the police and the magistracy chose instead to believe the victim, who is a simple and honest village girl," said SIP Wong Shun-shing, who participated in the raid of the flat. "Because she was willing to testify against the defendants in court, we applied for, and got an early trial date." To prevent any harm befalling the girl until she could give evidence in court (and until her deportation to Thailand), the police offered 24-hour protection, arranged a place for her to live and provided her with sufficient food. Subsequently, the male defendant was convicted with trafficking in persons to Hong Kong, controlling another person for the purpose of prostitution, and living on the earnings of prostitution of others. The woman defendant was convicted of living on the earnings of prostitution of others. They were convicted on 20 October, with the former being sentenced to 6 months imprisonment while the latter was given three months in prison and a two-year suspended sentence. Recently the Royal Thai Consulate-General in Hong Kong contacted Commissioner of Police, Eddie Hui Ki-on, thanking Sham Shui Po District officers involved in the case for their kindness to the Thai girl - and going beyond the call of duty to help her. He wrote: "The Royal Thai Consulate-General presents its compliments to the Hong Kong Police and has the honour to inform you that the Consulate-General was deeply grateful to the duty officers led by ASP Chau Kwok-fai (ADC CRIME SSPODIST), and his colleagues for their good co-operation in helping a young Thai lady who was deceived into working as a prostitute in the area of Sham Shui Po District in August 1997. "Furthermore, their kind assistance in taking care of the aforementioned Thai lady before her deportation to Thailand, and all the help rendered during her processing before Hong Kong Courts was highly appreciated. "The Royal Thai Consulate-General avails itself of this opportunity to renew to the Hong Kong Police the assurance of its highest consideration." |
first aid standards and techniques in China | ||
 ACIP Ma demonstrates basic CPR on a baby doll for mainland public and private security officers |
DOCTOR Lan Jun, Director of the Health and First Aid Services Department of the Red Cross Society of China, was so impressed by the high standard and emphasis placed on first aid training to all frontline officers by the Hong Kong Police Force that he invited members of the First Aid Division of the Training Development Bureau to attend first aid training seminars and to provide two first aid training courses in Beijing and at Zhengjiang City in Jiangsu Province. This was the first time that members of the Hong Kong Police Force have been invited to attend such special training seminars in China. Led by SSP Training Development Chiu E-ping, the seminar promoted the importance of first aid knowledge, while the training course updated public and private security officers on the latest first aid techniques. Members of the Hong Kong Police delegation also included the First Aid Division of Training Development Bureau's Acting CIP Stephen Ma Chak-wa, Acting SSgt Ngai Chi-yuen and Sgt Wong Kim-lun. | |
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ACIP Ma, is a first aid instructor/trainer with both the Hong Kong and Canadian Red Cross and the Heart and Stroke Foundation of Canada, as well as a lecturer on the subject for the St John Ambulance Association and the Auxiliary Medical Service. He is also fluent in Putonghua in which language the training sessions were given. "Forty-three representatives from more than ten health, industrial and police institutions - most of them medical professionals, first aid trainers and senior officers from China's Police Officers' University - participated in our Beijing seminar and training course," said ACIP Ma. "We also had the opportunity to visit the Ministry of Public Security Public Order Department and the Special Police Training School of the Chinese People's Armed Police Force (similar to the HKP's Special Duties Unit), where members of the school demonstrated first aid techniques when dealing with an emergency situation," said SSP Chiu. In Zhengjiang City, 47 senior officers from the local Public Security Bureau and their medical and hygiene professionals participated in the first aid training course. "For them, we ran a basic life support cardio-pulmonary-resuscitation programme, including CPR for adults, children and infants, as well as a choking management programme. Course participants went through a final examination and received a certificate recognised by the Canadian Red Cross if they passed," said ACIP Ma. ACIP Ma said that today first aid standards and techniques used by different working units in China are varied, with some practitioners still using outdated methods taught to them by military trainers from the then-Soviet Union. Some medical officers still use acupuncture methods. | ||
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"However, awareness towards modern first aid training has increased with some areas requiring the acquisition of a first aid certificate before applying for a driving license - which may be a good idea for Hong Kong drivers," added ACIP Ma, who hopes to get more opportunities to exchange first aid techniques with other police forces in China. A sentiment echoed by Acting SSgt Ngai Chi-yuen and Sgt Wong Kim-lun: "By providing more first aid training for the Public Security Departments and medical officers of China, we can continue to help them reach the highest international standards." |
 Course participants practice CPR on lift-like dummies | |
