Appreciation Corner
Dear Sir,
A recent unfortunate incident in Hong Kong has serendipitously given me insight into the admirable nature of Hong Kong citizens and more specifically that of its police force. I feel compelled to tell you.
At the conclusion of a recent visit to Hong Kong we were driving to the airport in a taxi when a piece of our luggage fell out of the boot. Drivers behind the taxi tooted and informed our driver of the whereabouts but by the time we doubled back it could not be found. We reported the incident to airport police and continued on our return flight home to Australia.
A few days later an officer made contact with me by email. The luggage had been presented by a citizen to the local police station and the luggage contained an email address.
Unfortunately the luggage was containing prescription medications and a wallet containing several hundred dollars of cash. This resulted in significant barriers to routine courier transport, because of DHL Express regulations precluding shipping any currency and also a requirement to have an import permit for the medications. The officer, Tweety Chiu, persisted in attempting to seek a solution to our dilemma by various means but to no avail. At this stage, the Assistant Divisional Commander of the Administrative Section of Sham Shui Po Division offered to bring it out to Australia with him on a personal trip. We liaised and ultimately had handover in Sydney airport.
The honest and citizenship of the unknown person who presented the suitcase to the police station originally; the polite and efficient police officers at the airport who took my statement; the courtesy and efficiency beyond the call of duty by Tweety Chiu to make contact with us by email and her persistence in seeking a solution were wonderful enough. The final gesture though by Neil Taylor, the Assistant Divisional Commander of the police station, deserves special mention.
It seems that citizenship and kindness do not disappear just because people live in a big metropolis such as Hong Kong.
A. Splatt
Chief
Inspector Taylor hands over the suitcase to Mr Splatt in Sydney airport