SSGT Chiu Kwok-kwan in action

Alertness, decisiveness, patience, tolerance and a sense of pride are essential qualities that every traffic police officer should possess.

These were the qualities listed by Traffic New Territories North Station Sergeant Chiu Kwok-kwan, who will commence his pre-retirement leave later this month after his service with the Force for more than 24 years.

Many of you may ask: "Who is SSGT Chiu?" Well, he hosted a series of one-minute programmes on road safety tips: "Save money, Save life", broadcast on the Chinese television version of "Police Magazine" a few months ago.

Joining the Force in 1977, SSGT Chiu's career has been fairly evenly divided into two distinct phases.

During the first phase, he was attached to Patrol Sub-units of different divisions, Police Tactical Unit and Special Duties Unit. His career path changed direction in 1989 when he commenced working as a traffic officer, a job he dedicated himself to for the next 12 years.

"Some people may think that the danger and pressure faced by traffic officers is not on the same level as other police officers, but my 12-year experience has led me to believe otherwise," said SSGT Chiu.

Illustrating the difficulties faced by traffic police, SSGT Chiu drew interesting comparisons between the public response to operations mounted by officers for crime investigation and traffic enforcement action.

He said: "When an area is cordoned off for searches or investigations, members of the public seldom complain. However, their attitude is different when we implement traffic enforcement actions.

"However, it is not too difficult to understand why they react in that way. They simply do not understand that we are trying to ensure road users' safety. We need extra patience and tolerance to clarify any misunderstanding people may have."

He added: "There are so many uncertainties and possible dangers on the road and we must always have a clear mind in order to be able to take prompt action and make quick decisions because unexpected things can always happen.

"To many people, riding a motorcycle is a great experience. However, manoeuvring a motorbike all day long is physically demanding, especially under adverse weather conditions."

Although facing many challenges and difficulties, SSGT Chiu still enjoys working as a traffic officer because he finds his job, which is directly related to thousands of peoples' daily lives, very meaningful.

"Traffic is a very important element in our society and our work has a great impact on everyone," he continued.

"I can still remember how hard we worked during the complete closure of Tuen Mun Road due to urgent slope maintenance work being carried out in the summer of 1995. The closure of the highway affected over 700,000 people and my colleagues and I were kept very busy redirecting drivers and calming the impatient ones down," he recalled.

Speaking of motivation, SSGT Chiu said that family support and a healthy lifestyle have played a vital role in giving him the energy to carry out his duties.

"No matter what problems I face, my family always gives me the greatest support. I strongly advise colleagues to participate in healthy activities because it is good for our mental and physical wellbeing. For example, I spend my leisure time making Chinese tea, listening to Chinese classical music and swimming, and it really works."

SSGT Chiu said that he made the right decision joining the Force because the job offered him a meaningful, fruitful and challenging life. He told OffBeat that he would go to America after his retirement for family reunion.

The OffBeat team wishes him a very happy retirement!

<< Back to Index >>