Good Citizen Award Presentation Ceremony 2012 Phase II

Forty citizens were commended at the Good Citizen Award (GCA) Presentation Ceremony on November 15 for helping police fight crime.

One of the awardees received the Good Citizen of the Year Award (GCYA), while the others were presented with the GCA. With their help, 30 people were arrested for a variety of offences, including telephone deception, theft, burglary, robbery, wounding and indecent assault.

Speaking at the presentation ceremony, Deputy Commissioner (Operations) Tang Kam-moon said that in comparison with many major cities, Hong Kong was a safer place with a low crime rate. Noting that this was the result of the partnership between the community and police, Mr Tang pointed out that, with police-community co-operation, culprits had to face a higher risk and crime rate would drop.

Mr Tang also thanked the Hong Kong General Chamber of Commerce (HKGCC) for supporting the GCA scheme all these years.

Also speaking at the ceremony, a member of the HKGCC Manpower Committee, Mr Albert Wong, said Hong Kong, as a first-class metropolis, should maintain stable and safe business and living environments in order to continuously attract foreign investments and boost the local economy. Police-community partnership in combatting crime was essential for the safety of the city, he added.

A member of the Fight Crime Committee, Mr Richard Tang Yat-sun, agreed that, apart from the professionalism of the Force, police-community co-operation also played a crucial role in making Hong Kong one of the safest and most stable societies in the world. He commended the award recipients for coming forward to help police fight crime, demonstrating the spirit of partnership.

Ms Kwong Ying-nui, winner of the GCYA, rescued a three-year-old girl in a case of domestic violence and made a report to police. Ms Kwong continued to take care of the child until a social worker took over the case.

Ms Kwong was presented with a plaque and a cash award of $3,000, while the GCA winners each received a certificate and a cheque for $2,000.

Six awardees, Mr Chan Man-wah, Ms Cheung Yung-tai, Ms Chow Kan-lan, Mr Li Man-chuen, Ms Wong Mei-siu and Mr Yeung Chung-hin, helped foil a telephone scam. Mr Chan, Ms Cheung, Ms Chow and Mr Li received calls from swindlers who claimed to have detained their family members and demanded ransoms. Finding out that their family members were safe, they reported their cases to police and helped arrest three swindlers.

Mr Li is the oldest awardee, aged 84, who worked as a police officer before his retirement. In particular, he reminds the public to keep their cool and listen carefully to the other party on receiving a suspicious phone call, and alert the police if they believe it is a scam. In doing so, they would help police crack the crime and they themselves would avoid falling prey to scam.

Two bank staff members, Ms Wong and Mr Yeung, separately helped two customers uncover the scam and saved them from suffering financial loss.

Presented twice a year, the GCA is organised by Police Public Relations Branch and sponsored by HKGCC. More than 3,800 people have been commended over the years.