WIP Carrie Cheung and her squad of FEG officers by their vibrant patrol cycles

Leaders of the pack: FEG riders head the convoy

Whenever political figures are in town, a squad of some of the Force's best motorcyclists leaps into action performing escort duties. Do you know who they are? Do you want to join them?

The Force Escort Group (FEG), under the Director of Operations, comprises 52 traffic officers from the five land Regions with the Superintendent and the Chief Inspector of Enforcement and Control Division Traffic Kowloon West in command.

T KW FEG Woman Inspector Carrie Cheung Pui-kay said she and her colleagues would be called to action during operations such as May's Fortune Global Forum.

"FEG members from KW, Hong Kong Island and New Territories North are responsible for the general escort duties with KW FEG taking up the overall planning of every escort operation. HKI, KE, NTN and NTS FEG members handle other jobs just like Traffic Sub-units or Task Forces when they have no escort duty to perform.

"Apart from International Protected Persons (IPPs) on official visits, we also escort other people or things such as illegal immigrants ready for repatriation, national treasures like pandas and the Buddha's tooth, and dangerous goods like nuclear material. No matter what we escort, our major task is to ensure they arrive safely, efficiently and punctually."

WIP Cheung also explained how they planned and performed VIP escort duties.

"We study their itinerary with Security Wing and plan the routes. In every operation, a number of motorcycles are deployed to escort the cars in an 'arrowhead' formation. The Superintendent or Chief Inspector of FEG and Security Wing officers are also with us to monitor the situation and command at the scene."

FEG members were familiar with every possible route so they were ready to take contingency action when any untoward incidents occurred.

"To minimise the inconvenience caused, we usually cordon off the road shortly before the VIP's convoy arrives. Our officers speed on to other locations to cordon off access roads and so they need top riding skills as timing is crucial."

Close liaison with other formations is vital to a smooth operation.

"If other welcoming guests are unable to get to the venue on time, we will try not to keep our VIPs waiting at the venue to avoid any embarrassing situation."

Another FEG member, Sergeant Ng Chung-king said long-hour escort operations were a great challenge, physically and mentally.

"I remember how hectic the Handover ceremony in 1997 was," he said. Although it was not an easy task, SGT Ng said that the job offered him great satisfaction and pride.

WIP Cheung welcomed interested officers to join Traffic and then FEG.

"We will inform our traffic colleagues, through PEN and other channels, of our selection exercise of new FEG members. Selected candidates will be invited to join FEG when vacancies arise."

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