An old, yellowing receipt issued by the Mainland's Public Security Bureau (PSB) after the founding of the People's Republic of China, has special meaning to Detective Station Sergeant Lam Kin-keung. It reminds him of his relative who voluntarily handed in a pistol used in self-defence to the PSB. The receipt is the first police memorabilia he collected and ever since then, he has grown increasingly fond of digging into the history of the police force and collecting police memorabilia.
Since he started collecting police memorabilia such as badges 20 years ago, he has amassed more than 600 various items, dating back to the late Ching Dynasty. "These old documents and memorabilia have not only witnessed the changes of history, but also have stories to tell about the developments of policing on the Mainland," he said.
Lam is fond of all kinds of police memorabilia and his collection completely fills his study. "I'm nurturing my son's interest in police history so as to groom him to be my successor," he said with a grin.
To help more people understand the history of the Chinese police, Lam has established the Police Memorabilia Collectors' Society with other avid collectors. The Society's first event was an exhibition of police memorabilia held in June this year in collaboration with Hubei University. They are also planning to stage another exhibition in Hong Kong next month. The Society now has approximately 20 members. Membership includes personnel from the Force, the Mainland's PSB, collectors and university researchers on police history.
As a long-time collector, Lam's biggest wish is to establish his own private museum to encourage more interest in police history among the public.
A joint exhibition Hubei hosted by the Police Memorabilia Collectors' Society and the Hubei University