Detective Chief Inspector Yu Shi-cheung, the most experienced and senior expert on cracking counterfeit banknotes in the Commercial Crime Bureau (CCB), hopes that more members of the public would be capable of distinguishing counterfeit and genuine banknotes. After busting counterfeit banknote cases for the past 20 years, he knows only too well that a higher level of public awareness and better capability of detecting fake banknotes on the part of the public, are essential to CCB's efforts to combat such crime.

Before proceeding on pre-retirement leave on May 10 after 34 years' service with the Force, CIP Yu told OffBeat that CCB, though recognising that public education takes a lot of time and resources, has spared no efforts in providing training for a cross section of the community, including staff of banks, money changers and retail shops, first with its own resources and later in partnership with the Hong Kong Monetary Authority.

"Training courses are offered on a regular basis. On average in the past, four or five courses were held each month, and on some occasions, as many as more than 10," he noted.

CIP Yu had little experience of investigating counterfeit banknotes until he was transferred to CCB in 1987. After working as an investigator for about two years, he was sent to receive expert training in Washington D.C., US, in late 1989 and England in early 1990.

In the US, he attended a Seminar on Counterfeit Currency Detection and Investigation organised by the US Secret Service. During the seminar, he visited the US Bureau of Engraving and Printing in Washington D. C., where he learned the full process of the printing of US currency notes and other security documents. He also visited a company to learn how security paper, including US currency paper, was manufactured. At the Forensic Services Division of the US Secret Service in Washington D.C., he also learned how counterfeit banknotes were normally produced and how to detect them.

Early the following year, he attended a Counterfeit Detection Course organised by the Thomas De La Rue and Company in England. At their Research and Analysis Department in Maidenhead, he received the basic training on different printing processes, how to identify these printing processes and the security features incorporated in currency notes. In their laboratory at Basingstoke, he learned how to make and detect counterfeit banknotes. In addition, he visited the printing plant of Thomas De La Rue and Company to observe printing of genuine banknotes.

These overseas training and visits provided CIP Yu with a solid foundation for his job and subsequently launched him onto a successful career in combating counterfeit banknotes in CCB. After returning from the training, he wore two hats as an investigator and a part-time expert giving advice to his colleagues and outsiders, until he was put in charge of a new unit known as Expert and Support Section when it came into being in 1996.

As section head, CIP Yu provides much needed support for CCB officers by examining, analysing and classifying counterfeit banknotes. At the same time, he also provides in-house on-the-job training for his colleagues in CCB and other units of the Force.

More overseas training and visits

CIP Yu pointed out the ongoing extensive training had brushed up his ability to examine, analyse and classify counterfeit banknotes, with regard to the methods and processes of forging banknotes, as well as the way of identifying printing defects.

"After examination and analysis, I've to classify counterfeit banknotes in accordance with the standards set by the Interpol. A good classification can shed light on what sorts of fake banknotes are in circulation, where they have been found and how they have been forged. Such information is useful to officers making investigations on the frontline," he said.

Memorable case

CIP Yu has cracked many counterfeit banknote cases, one of which, involving a "Super Counterfeit US Banknote", has left him a long-lasting memory and earned him recognition of his expertise by an overseas bank based in Hong Kong and the US Secret Service. The quality of the fake note was so good that the Secret Service and the bank initially took it as genuine.

To prove that the "Super US Banknote" was a fake, he sent a report of his findings, through the US Consulate in Hong Kong, to the deputy officer-in-charge of the Secret Service's laboratory, who was the instructor of CIP Yu's training course in the Secret Service. CIP Yu's findings were subsequently accepted.

"This case gave me a lot of job satisfaction and sustained my interest in cracking counterfeit banknote cases," he noted.

CIP Yu has not firmed up any plan for his retirement, but would offer his expert opinion any time CCB wants him.

CIP Yu is proud of Commercial Crime Bureau's success in detecting counterfeit banknotes over the years