The Police Constable hailed as a "brave cop" for saving life in the harbour has shared the experience of his deed with OffBeat.

The officer is PC Luen Kai-chung from Patrol Sub-unit 3 of Central District. Patrolling at the waterfront about 12.30 am one day, PC Luen and his colleagues received a report that a person had fallen into the harbour off Connaught Road Central.  Arriving at the scene, they found a man struggling in the sea. As he was in plain-cloth, PC Luen immediately put down his equipment, picked up  a life buoy and jumped into the harbour.

PC Luen believed that the man had fallen into the sea because of drunkenness. Though vomiting, the man responded to PC Luen's assistance in the sea - applying first aids and preventing him from drifting away before firemen arrived in a boat and sent the man to hospital.

For PC Luen, one can cope with an emergency only by keeping physical fitness in top form. He was a bit nervous before jumping into the sea to save life for the first time in his eight-year police career. "It was when I made the jump that I realised how high I was above the sea," he noted. With a cool head, risk assessment and confidence, PC Luen not only saved the man but also ensured his own safety.

PC Luen is glad that the man eventually saw the futility of committing suicide. "Taking one's own life cannot solve any problem. The proper thing to do is to find a rational solution," he said.