(The following piece was written by Police Constable Chan Wai-chung of Wan Chai Division's Patrol Sub-unit Two, sharing his story on the reasons he joined the Force and how he's adapted to life as an officer five months after graduating from the Police Training School)

The first turning point in my life happened when my parents decided to emigrate to Canada in 1990. I was only 17 and had just completed Form Four. Like most of the young children of any family who migrated, I left Hong Kong with some degree of sorrow as it was the place where I grew up and was home to all the friends who I love.

Without the compulsory subjects system and school uniforms, the Canadian education system always gives people, especially those raised on the HK system, an impression it is more relaxing and laid back. I also felt this way at the beginning. But it encouraged self study, self discipline and independence which helped me develop a positive attitude and persistent character. Besides, learning different subjects in university, I also learned to be independent as I was living on campus for three years in Ottawa while my parents were in Toronto. I believe these traits are most valuable to me in our society. I would never be able to learn them from any curriculum or textbook in a school.

When I was about to complete my studies, I faced the first challenge of my life - the decision whether to stay in Canada to work or to pursue my dream career as a HK policeman.

The Police gave me an impression of discipline, bravery and dedication. Since my father and some close relatives were associated with the Force, it provided great influence to the career I wanted to pursue.

Although hardship was expected, moving back to HK without my family was more difficult than I imagined. After living in Canada for eight years and receiving a different style of education, I worried I couldn't re-adopt the pace of HK life. Fortunately, my family provided continuous support.

The Police Training School was the second turning point of my life. Needless to say, the regulatory lectures, footdrill practise, physical training and orienteering competitions were very demanding and challenging. This tough training was imprinted into the mind of every graduate, including myself. The most unforgettable was the detention class system. If one member of the squad breached any PTS regulation, the whole squad might be punished with a trip to detention on a Saturday.

Having grown up under the Western education system, I could not be convinced of such punitive measures at such an early stage. However, the more I learned about the duty and responsibility of the Force, the more I was convinced of the necessity for such a disciplinary system. Of course, anyone who says PTS training is a piece of cake is lying without a blink of the eye. I still remember the sense of accomplishment on the convocation ceremony. Besides the fact we received our appointment in a designated district, my colleagues and I felt we would overcome any future challenges after the long and hard 27 weeks of PTS training.

It's now five months since my graduation and the hard training I received at PTS is still very fresh in my mind. The only difference is the naive thinking that we can overcome any challenge, has vanished. After some experience in the field, I realised PTS provided the best training on the compliance of orders and the uniformity of team work which were essential for a disciplinary force.

Besides, there are a lot more challenges and lessons we will face in our careers as police. It requires the integration of what we learned at PTS and real-life experience. Learning never ceases in the career of a police officer.



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