Old man saved during police training
The incident has provided the newly promoted sergeants with an impromptu lesson on how to handle an emergency situation. In handling the incident, each of them had played their respective roles, applied their expertise and displayed a spirit of co-operation.
The six sergeants are Messrs Yeung Chun, Wong Pui-kai, Wong Lai-ming, Shum Wing-kwan and Lee Man-hung, and Woman Sgt Ms Lam Wai-chun. At the time of the incident, they were attending a six-week Sergeant Promotion Training Course at PTS under their instructor, Senior Inspector Mr Cheng Wing-on.
As part of their training course, the six sergeants, led by Mr Cheng, underwent leadership training at Repulse Bay in the afternoon of October 6, with each playing a different role assigned by Mr Cheng.
Shortly after the training started, the team lost contact with the "reconnaissance officer" played by Sgt Yeung, and later received a garbled message from him: "Having a knife; having danger!"
Sensing Sgt Yeung might be in trouble, Mr Cheng mobilised the trainees to conduct a search, and soon spotted Sgt Yeung sitting on the beach with a man near the Tin Hau Statue. He immediately assigned Woman Sgt Lam and Sgt Wong Pui-kai to investigate by pretending to be a courting couple. At the same time, he instructed Sgt Wong Lai-ming and Sgt Shum, both of whom have "commando experience", to form an "action team", and assigned Sgt Lee with back-up duties.
When the "courting couple" reported of possible further danger at the scene, the "action team" immediately acted and kept the man under control. At this point, Mr Cheng and Sgt Yeung revealed their identities and asked the man if he had any problems. On learning that the man, a senior, had tried to commit suicide because of debts, they pacified him and tried to talk him out of taking his own life. The team remained at the scene until officers from Aberdeen Division arrived to take over the case.
During an interview with OffBeat, Sgt Yeung said he first discovered a pair of shoes placed on a piece of newspaper on the beach. Driven by his police instinct, he surveyed the surroundings.
"At an obscured spot, I found a man pointing a fruit knife at his abdomen, apparently trying to commit suicide. So I approached him by pretending to be a tourist, and knocked off the knife before I could heave a sigh of relief," Sgt Yeung recalled.
Summing up the incident, Sgt Yeung said: "There is always a way out for any problem. Taking one's own life cannot solve a problem. The man was very emotionally upset and looked very dejected. The fact that following our repeated persuasion he eventually gave up the idea of committing suicide is something that we're very glad of. Anyway, in handling this emergency situation, we've learned valuable experience. But more valuable is having saved a life!"
Later, Aberdeen Division officers put the man in touch with the Social Welfare Department for further assistance.
The officers display high team spirit in saving an old man