Earlier, Mr Yim had defeated more than 500 contestants in the open category in the semi-finals held in Hong Kong. In 2000, he was the winner of the Force's Putonghua Competition (non-native speaker category). Together with two other team members, he also came first in the Civil Service Putonghua Competition held that year.

Delighted with the result, Mr Yim said: "I enrolled into the competition as I wanted to promote an image that Police officers were well versed in both civil and military matters. And I also wanted to test my Putonghua standard.

"I hope to lighten up the atmosphere for learning Putonghua through this kind of cultural exchange among the three places."

Attached to the Organised Crime and Triad Bureau Team B (Special Duties), Mr Yim is mainly responsible for investigating prostitution cases. His excellence in Putonghua has proved to be an advantage in his work, especially when contacting his counterparts on the Mainland or receiving training there.

"When I worked as a beat patrol officer in Wan Chai, I had many occasions to talk with tourists. Sometimes, tourists had disputes with shopkeepers and I could explain matters to them in Putonghua and helped them resolve their disputes.

"Moreover, learning Putonghua helps to improve my Chinese writing skills," he added.

Born to a Guangdong family in Shanghai, Mr Yim received his early years of education there and came to Hong Kong when he was 14 years old. When he was young, he was fond of watching folk-art - comic talk (xiangsheng) - and loved to imitate the way the artists talked. That could be the explanation for his standard pronunciation of Putonghua.

For those who want to learn Putonghua, Mr Yim has some tips for you. "Some people may think that it is hard for Guangdong people to master Putonghua because the pronunciation is so different to that in the Guangdong dialect.

"They find it difficult because they put too much emphasis on phonetics (Pinyin), and what they learn cannot be applied in their daily lives. My tip is: try to learn Putonghua in your daily life. You can start off by listening to some Putonghua VCDs about daily life. Though you may not understand what they are all about the first or second time, you will gradually grasp the skills."

Should you also want to practise and learn Putonghua, you may join the lunchtime Putonghua session (1pm - 2pm) every Wednesday at 3/F, Arsenal House. Enquiries about Putonghua activities can also be made to the Police Chinese Culture Club's Mr Chan Man-mo on 2860-4944.

PC Mr Yim Ming clutches his $6,000 reward for being runner-up in the Putonghua contest