 CP Hui lays a wreath in tribute to fallen officers during a solemn Remembrance Day ceremony |
A CEREMONY of remembrance for members
of the Hong Kong Police Force who gave their lives in the line of duty was held at Police
Headquarters on Tuesday, November 3.
The Commissioner of Police, Eddie Hui Ki-on, led representatives of both the Force and the Hong Kong Auxiliary Police in paying tribute to those officers who gave their lives while upholding the law and protecting the people Hong Kong, After delivering a speech and standing for two minutes of silence, Mr Hui laid a wreath on behalf of the Force at the Memorial Books by the entrance of Caine House at PHQ. Other wreaths were laid by the Commandant of the Auxiliary Police, Chau Cham-chiu, and representatives of various police formations and assoviations. |
 Police officers march past wreaths laid in front of the Memorial Books at PHQ |
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 Signs of changing times . . . Removal of "yellow" signs have inhibited vice business |
Due to the concentration of vice establishments in a relatively small area, and the presence
of countless "Yellow" signs that explicitly tout trade in illicit sex, Mongkok is perceived as
Kowloon's red light district. But that's beginning to change thanks to an all out initiative by
police in the District that directly attacks the advertising capability of vice operators . . .
FROM 16 to 30 September this year, 607 elevated signs offering prostitution services were removed by a government contractor and 783 street level signs were confiscated by police officers from SDS MKDIST. | |
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Elevated signs are now no longer seen in Mongkok, with vice operators resigned to putting up paper signs and portable light box signs at night-which are easily picked up by the police. The two-week intensive sign-removal operation carried a price tag of $670,430 with further cash expenditure to contain the situation expected to be minimal because vice operators are aware that any elevated sighs they put up will be immediately taken down by police. At the same time, the working strength of SDS MKDIST was increased from four operational squads to six. There are currently four dedicated Special Duties Squads in the District dealing with the vice problem. Another initiative taken by the District is to close all vice establishments which are situated in residential buildings along with those that pose fire and health hazards to the public. In addition to SDS, Crime officers and PSU members together with PTU personnel are deployed to conduct regular raids on such premises. As a result, 23 identified vice establishments were closed down between 16 September and 31 October without the need to apply for closure orders under the Crimes Ordinance. In the past the trouble with closure orders was that operators of apartment houses offering prostitution services would get around being shut down by turning their establishments into unlicensed massage parlours under the guise of "fingercure centres" . While a vice operator can be prosecuted for operating an unlicensed massage establishment, a closure order is not applicable for this offence. Furthermore, advertising this type of business through be erection of signs is much simpler because potential customers know what to expect when they enter a "fingercure centre" .According to Denis Cunningham, DDC MKDIST, while the use of closure orders is still considered a useful tool, the current strategy of directly attacking the advertising capability of the vice operators has proven to be more cost effective and is working well. It is estimated that vice establishments in Mongkok have experienced a 40 per cent reduction of business since mid-September.
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In addition, with the increase in manpower in SDS MKDIST, overtime accumulation has been
significantly reduced. In September and October, the DSOA claim for the whole of SDS
MKDIST was less than 90 hours per month. The ultimate aim is to recompense overtime
duties by means of time off. Officers are benefiting from this arrangement as they no longer
have to work prolonged hours during their attachment and in turn are experiencing less stress
and disruption to their family life.