Senior Superintendent (Fraud), Mr Patrick Law Ping-kuen, in his opening address to the students, welcomed them as detectives but reminded them that: "To be a good detective you had to be reliable, self-motivated, posses good perceptive and analytical skills and be a good communicator. But to be a competent fraud investigator you had to be a good detective plus! You had to have a good knowledge of business, finance and commercial law. The purpose of this course is to give you that knowledge."

At the end of an intense, and intellectually challenging course, Commercial Crime Bureau Chief Superintendent Mr Vincent Wong Fook-chuen, presented certificates to all participants and thanked them for their efforts on the course and the contribution to future courses they had made in their post-course critique.

Mr Wong then invited OffBeat to join Mr Law and himself in saying an informal farewell to the four Kenyan Police officers who were due to fly out of Hong Kong that evening. They were Chief Inspector Job C Kerui, Inspector Maurice Mugha, Inspector Geoffrey Kahiro and Inspector Joseph Yegon.

"Did you enjoy yourselves in Hong Kong and did you enjoy the course?" Mr Wong asked them.

All four broke into broad smiles and nodded their heads vigorously. Mr Kahiro said: "At first we were all a little apprehensive. We knew no one here, the food was strange, the currency was strange and we feared we wouldn't live up to expectations on the course." "But that misapprehension soon disappeared,"added Mr Mugha, "we were made so very welcome by staff and students on the course."

"Of course, we have all been struck by the tremendous differences in the kind of crime you are dealing with here in Hong Kong and the kind of crime we have to deal with in Kenya," said Mr Yegon. "Here it is so complex and so well organised. The extent of computer-aided criminal activities really amazed us."

"That is the reason we are here," said group leader Mr Kerui, "at present the majority of commercial crimes committed in Kenya are of the opportunistic type by individuals. But times are changing. Peddlers of illegal drugs are getting better organised and now there is the global terrorist threat that has already cost the lives of hundreds of Kenyans and other nationalities working in the US embassies that were bombed."

"We are very grateful to the CCB, the course instructors and our fellow students for all you have taught us," said Mr Kerui. "Our principal objective on returning to Kenya is to run a course for our very best detectives so that we can pass on to them the knowledge we have gained."

Mr Wong said "I am sure that you now fully appreciate exactly what Mr Law meant when he told you that to be a competent fraud investigator you had to be a good detective and have a sound knowledge of business, finance and commercial law. But, he advised, "in passing on your newly acquired knowledge, remember that there may be differences between the legislation in force in different jurisdictions and that is something you must consider on your return to Kenya. But the most important thing to remember is that you must keep abreast of constant changes in law, technology and criminal modus operandi. You cannot afford to rest on the laurels you have earned in the last ten days!"

Mr Wong told them: "we are very happy you were able to participate. Cooperation between international law enforcement agencies is an essential element in the global fight against crime and that I hope you have established good contacts with all those you have met in the Force and in Hong Kong generally."

They assured Mr Wong that they had made friends as well as professional contacts and would try to keep in touch.

Mr Law assured them that they were welcome to contact him or his staff at any time for further advice on training matters or on actual cases they are handling.

Mr Gavin Brown and members of his public relations working group