Shellfish sabbatical: PC Yiu Kin-wing recovers at home from his harbour ordeal

The Waterfront Patrol Sub-unit Team Three officer suffered nasty leg and hand lacerations while saving a woman who jumped into the harbour near the Shun Tak Centre on August 28. Sharp barnacles tore into his skin when strong swells washed him against the seawall.

PC Yiu overcame his injuries and the rough conditions to save the woman and help another man who had jumped in to assist in the rescue but grew exhausted in the heavy seas.

"Despite the rough conditions and great pain you just cannot give up in that situation otherwise you will not only lose your own life but also the lives of others," he said when OffBeat paid him a sick leave visit at home. However, his limp and bandages failed to remove the proud smile. And after seven years in the Force, it was the first time he had received injuries while saving people.

"When I arrived at the scene, I found a man had already started a rescue. But he looked very exhausted so I took off my shoes and equipment and jumped in. We had great difficulty getting back to the seawall. Pushing my feet against the embankment to stabilise our bodies, my feet were cut by the barnacles," he said.

A vessel soon arrived to pluck the woman and the samaritan from the water and all three were sent for treatment.

"Despite the difficulty, pain and taste of dirty water in this incident, I will never regret what I have done as it is the duty of every officer to protect people's lives. However, I will definitely think twice before taking my shoes off next time!"



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