Off Beat

Marine Police foiling illegal immigrants and smugglers at sea

Sea-borne operations: Marine Police fast pursuit craft chase down then subdue suspected smugglers during a demonstration operation DESPITE last year's significant decrease in illegal immigrants (IIs) sneaking into Hong Kong by sea, anti-illegal immigration is still the top priority of Marine Police said Regional Commander, Marine, Foo Tsun-kong at a recent press briefing on sea-borne operations against illegal immigration and other work carried out by Marine Police.
Of the 13,301 IIs arrested in 1998, 5,272 or 39.64 per cent claimed to have sneaked into Hong Kong by sea. In 1997 there were 7,693 IIs claiming to have travelled by sea, representing 53.82 per cent of all 14,293 IIs arrested by police that year.

"The decrease in 1998 was attributable to the effective work carried out by Marine Police," Mr Foo noted. He said that varying the deployment of manpower in accordance with illegal immigration patterns and different tactics employed against aiders and abettors made the decrease possible.
Mr Foo also pointed out that close liaison with their counterparts in mainland China through regular meetings and continuous exchanges of information on illegal immigration played a vital role in curbing the activity.
Regarding smuggling by sea, Mr Foo said that since the crackdown on a smuggling syndicate in February 1998, Marine Police had not detected any suspicious vessels moving at inordinately high speeds - as is often the m.o. of smugglers. Suspicious fast-moving vessels that were detected plummeted from 111 in 1997 to just four for all of 1998.
Nonetheless, arrests and the total value of seizures made by Marine Police relating to smuggling surged. In 1998 there were 160 smuggling cases and 604 people arrested with seizures amounting to $85,708,087, compared to 54 cases with 106 smugglers arrested and $18,561,165 worth of items seized.
The majority of smuggling cases involved fuel oil. In 1997, Marine Police detected 28 cases and seized fuel oil valued at $1,350,243; while there were 112 cases and $12,534,969 worth of fuel oil seized last year.
On the crime situation in the Marine Region, Mr Foo noted that the number of reported crimes remained at a low level in 1998 with 304 cases reported and 176 detected.
In a programme to further modernise and strengthen its fleet, Mr Foo said that five new fast patrol craft capable of travelling more than 60 knots were being built with the first two coming into service in March and the remaining three to be delivered every two months thereafter. Marine Police will also be acquiring six additional in-shore patrol launches in April Ёа and are seeking funds for the replacement of six marine divisional command launches between 2001 and 2003.
(more photos in Photo Feature)

Four PCs rescue an old man from the drink

THE day before Christmas Eve last will go down in the minds of four police constables of West Kowloon Emergency Unit 3 as a bitterly cold and wet, although ultimately satisfying one, as they were called upon to save the life of an old, inebriated man who fell into the dark waters of Kowloon.

In the early morning hours of 23 December, police received a report that the man had stumbled into the murky waters between tug boats docked along the cargo handling area in Kwun Tong.

Responding to the emergency call EU KW constables Lee Man-kit, Hung Ka-kei, Leung Chi-wai and Wong Ming-wa arrived at the scene to find the elderly man semi-conscious and bobbing up and down amid the strong waves splashing up against the hulls of the tugs.

Lee Man-kit, who was in plainclothes, was the first to locate the man and jumped into the water to save him. Recalled PC Lee: "It was very dark and the waves between the tug boats were treacherous. When I grabbed the victim he was unresponsive and as a result it took a great deal of effort to keep his head above the water while attempting to place a life buoy around him."

Said PC Wong: "Saving a life is a precious experience, but as rewarding is the sense of accomplishment, team spirit and co-operation which we realised as a result of the incident"

Shortly thereafter, the constable's colleagues also jumped into the brink to help lend him support in their now co-ordinated rescue effort, while WPC Lau Shui-shan and PC Tsang Kin-wah searched the dock for ropes and ladders to aid in lifting the old man from the water.

All the while, hands aboard one of the tugboats aided by shining a spotlight on the scene, and throwing the police officers a lifeline. "There was a genuine threat that we might have been carried under by the constant waves," recalled Wong Ming-wa said.

Said Police Constable Hung: "Because the gap between the boats was very narrow and we were all in the water, we had to keep ourselves and the old man from sinking. It was very difficult, exhausting Ёа and bitterly cold."

Adding to the danger involved in the rescue was the fact that the officers were not equipped with appropriate water rescue gear, and after a length of time treading water and struggling to keep the victim's head dry, signs of fatigue began to set in.

When Fire Services personnel arrived they helped to lift the elderly man and the police officers out of the water after which he was taken to a hospital.

As for the four police constables ordeal, all took it in stride and were all delighted to learn that the old man recovered.