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 Sergeant Chung in front of one of his works of art |
TALENTED artist and NTN Barracks Sergeant
Chung Kin-san has been interested in painting and policing ever since he was a child.
"Both of my lifelong dreams have come true: one to be a painter, the other to be a policeman," said Sergeant Chung, who at 36 years of age has been painting for over 22 years. "It seems that there is no direct relation between my job and my hobby, but in fact they complement one another," he said. "Police face a considerable amount of stress, but good management of time and developing a good hobby help relieve stress. Moreover, my commitment to painting when off duty is right in line with the Force's Healthy Lifestyle Campaign." |
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Sergeant Chung, the artist, has received quite a number of commendations and honours. In 1992 and 1996 his paintings were selected to be shown at the Contemporary Hong Kong Art Biennial; and he was invited to design and paint the cover of a booklet for the opening ceremony of the new Hong Kong International Airport. His works have been published in the "Tomorrow Will Be Better" album and "Asian Watercolours" and he has held numerous exhibitions both locally and overseas. Sergeant Chung lists as owners of his paintings such collectors as former Governor Chris Patten and Prince Henri De Luxembourg. Last year, his watercolours graced the fronts of greeting cards sold to raise funds for the Duke of Kent Children's Hospital. Sergeant Chung is best known for his brilliant watercolours with their vivid attention to detail which force viewers to see the "ordinary" in a whole new, "extraordinary" light. The subjects of his paintings are common enough - village houses, climber plants, clay flower pots, roof beams or horizontal boards inscribed with Chinese characters. But his elaborate detail work, realistic style and shading techniques bring a totally new dimension to the objects depicted. "I like to paint real life experience and nature, like liver moss on the trunk of a tree, or a plant growing through the gap between rocks. The may seem insignificant, but to me they are all full of life. When I paint the weathered walls of old houses, my intention is not just to show their beauty, but also to reflect the passage of time. These things all have their history and remain to tell a story," explained the artist who may spend as much as 100 hours on a single painting. "People find my paintings very Chinese. That's because I am a Chinese!" he laughed. "Born in the New Territories, my paintings naturally reflect what I see and feel." Describing painting as a lifelong pursuit, Sergeant Chung hopes that gradually his work will achieve his goal: "Decades later when people see my paintings I hope that they will be able to envisage the times in which they were painted." | |
The tradition continues: Mariners remain Top Guns for three consecutive years | |
 
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ALTOGETHER 36 teams entered the Force
Annual Shooting Competition 1998 to battle for prizes under four categories: Revolver (UB),
Colt Detective (plainclothes), Pistol (special units) and Revolver Special (training and other
specialists). Apart from team competition, individuals were also ranked for individual titles
in each category.
The December 1998 competition, was the first overseen by the Police Shooting Club. Club chairman CSP Wong Doon-yee was pleased with the high participation by Force members, especially with women officers who for the first time took part both in UB and Detective Special categories. (WPC Chan Tak-ni from SSPO Dist won in the team competitions, and WSIP Cheung T Y from SW took an individual title). The course of fire consisted of three stages ¡Ð which saw an extremely high standard of marksmanship, control, reloading skills and timing - and was intensely exciting and close to police combat situations. Stage one entailed firing 12 rounds in standing position within 20 seconds at a distance of 7 metres; while the second stage, also in standing position, required firing 6 rounds in 12 seconds at 15 metres. The final stage required shooters to kneel and stand behind barricades, firing 24 rounds in 2 minutes. In UB class, MAR HQ won with a high score of 1,807 (out of a total 1,920). SW gained both the Detective and Pistol champions while PTS (staff) snatched the top prize in the Revolver Special category. Individual champions were Sgt Poon Chun-fai (also awarded the Commissioner's Cup), WSIP Cheung Tin-yee (DCI Cup), Sgt Leung Wing-on (Lomas Cup), and Sgt Lee Siu-wah (DMS Cup). These four then battled for the Top Gun title with Sgt Lee Siu-wah of PTS (staff) shooting his way to become best of the best. Honorary guest SACP Ng Ching-kwok presented prizes to the winning teams and individuals, with CSP Wong Doon-yee thanking all competition participants, organisers and helpers. |
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THE Annual Force Shooting Competition
1998 saw the Sir Robert Black Trophy go to the Mariners again. Looking back, members
of the MAR HQ team who also won the championship in 1996 and 1997 are exceedingly
proud of their outstanding performance.
In the 1997 shooting event, the Mariners completed their competitions with flying colours, impressing everybody at the range by not only winning the team championship, but with Marine Outer Waters District and Marine Port District teams coming in first and second runners-up. Also clenching the Commissioner's Cup consecutively over the past three years were Marine Region's elite shooters SSGT Cheung King-fai in 1996, and SGT Pan Chun-fai in 1997 and 1998. Both of them also competed for the team trophies in the MAR HQ team. On 9 January, RC MAR, Spencer Foo Tsun-kong, in a special ceremony expressed his congratulations and appreciation to all for their excellent showing. MAR HQ shooting dream team champs for the last three years are: 1996: SSGT Cheung King-fai, SGT Ng Kwok-wah, PC Ng Ka-fai, PC So Chun-fai, PC Kong Kit-ho, PC Chau Cheuk-kong. 1997: CIP Leung Kwok-chun, SSGT Cheung King-fai, Sgt Pan Chun-fai, SGT Ng Kwok-wah, PC Kong Kit-ho, PC Leung Chi-keung 1998: CIP Leung Kwok-chun, SGT Pan Chun-fai, SGT Ng Kwok-wah, SGT Pang Shu-kee. |
