The cases of the two officers have set light on the causes and agony of the setback arising from work, as well as the proper approach to the ensuing problems. The cases also illustrate that overcoming the problems required not only their own determination and efforts, but also assistance and support by their families, friends, colleagues and the professionals.

The cases also serve as good examples of the need for police officers to exercise "balances" and "wisdom" in overcoming difficulties.

SSGT Yu and PC Tam have subsequently come through the setback at work in their Police careers with determination and the help of all the parties concerned.

Nightmare began for SSGT Yu 16 years ago when he shot dead an armed suspect trying to attack him during an arrest action. He had subsequently gone through six agonising months before the Coroner of a death inquest cleared him of any responsibility.

To a young PC of 26, the first month after the incident was most painful, during which he had a lot of things to worry about. The investigation into the shooting, reaction of colleagues, media reports, and above all, fear of the consequences of the incident, had brought him considerable stress and anxiety. He harboured feelings of regret and being on trial, landing himself on the verge of nerve breakdown.

He tried to stay away from friends and colleagues, shunned newspaper and television follow-up reports and drowned his sorrow in alcohol. Despite support by his family, SSGT Yu avoided home and stayed overnight in his station for one whole month.

Fortunately, SSGT Yu had supportive, considerate and sympathetic superiors, who had gone to great length in offering whatever assistance that was required.

He recalled: "My superiors, including my immediate superior, were very good to me, and gave whatever support I needed. They even accompanied me to see the Force's Clinical Psychologist."

With the encouragement of his family, friends, supervisors and the Psychological Services Group (PSG), and as the truths of his case emerged, SSGT Yu began seeing the futility of his passiveness, and the need to extricate himself from his obsession and adversity. Subsequently, he overcame his psychological problems and regained confidence by leading a more active social life, and a more positive outlook towards his work. Since then, with this positive attitude, his career in the Force has been plain sailing.

The setback PC Tam had gone through had stemmed from duties of a different nature. As a young CID officer of only 23, he was involved in a nine-month anti-drugs operation in 1997. The setback set in when he was said to have contravened the General Police Orders, and faced a disciplinary hearing, which later handed down a verdict of dismissal to be suspended for one year, and a warning of dismissal lasting for three years. He was dealt another blow when he was later transferred out of the CID to the Uniformed Branch (UB).

To PC Tam, the pressure brought about by the disciplinary hearing and his transfer to UB was devastating. In the ensuing months, he struggled to cope with the same pressure, anxiety and worries that SSGT Yu had experienced. He recalled: "I felt isolated from everybody; my colleagues and friends seemed to have deserted me. I felt having come to a dead end without any hope for the future. When I put on the uniform again, I felt demoted and nobody would like to walk the beat with me."

PC Tam was so depressed and he chose to stay away from home for one whole year, and sought comfort from indulgence in alcohol. His ordeal also took a heavy toll on his work and daily life. Fortunately, like the case of SSGT Yu, support and care from his supervisors were forthcoming. With their assistance and encouragement, as well as his own openness to their advice, he gradually steered toward the path to recovery.

"My supervisors, from my Sergeant to ADVC and DVC, had given me valuable advice, and had tried their best to help me get back on my feet. Most important of all, with their help I began seeing the need to start all over again!" he noted.

Subsequently, PC Tam recovered from his ordeal and made the grade in his work, having earned the praise of the Sha Tin District Fight Crime Committee and his senior officers for arresting robbery and burglary suspects and illegal immigrants. However, he later suffered another major setback in his career after being injured in his left arm when he arrested a man wielding a chopper in Tsing Yi. The injuries were so serious that he had been given six months' sick leave.

Although the incident had shown him the vulnerability of life, and the prospect of becoming a "Health Impaired Officer" had brought him a lot of anxiety and many sleepless nights, PC Tam subsequently came through his second ordeal in life with his own determination and efforts, as well as the professional advice and help of the PSG.

Both officers have learnt valuable lessons from their cases.

"I think I have become more mature in many aspects, including work and outlook of life. I see the importance of job satisfaction rather than the obsession with promotion. I also recognise the need to strike a balance between my work and family life. I think I am more capable of making adjustments to enjoy work and life," said SSGT Yu.

And PC Tam said: " I've found my values, targets and direction, and realise one should not give up in adversity. I treasure every minute I spend with my wife who is also a police officer because I see life can be vulnerable after so badly hurt in Tsing Yi."

He is also gaining other exposures in life by doing volunteer work for the elderly with his wife. At leisure, he tries to enhance personal development by studying Putonghua with the help of colleagues.

Comments by PSG

We are deeply impressed by their wisdom gained from their "tough" expereince, their vitality, maturity and dedication to their job. They have both overcome setbacks and advanced in their career with new insights and balances in their Police lives, personal aspiration and family expectation. They once indulged themselves in alcohol, withdrew from family and friends and punched the "ESC" BUTTON in their psychological computers to evade their problems. Such an approach of coping created a vicious cycle and kept them in low spirit. Their turning point was their openness to others' advice and their willingness to receive support and assistance. Many police officers have intrinsically programmed themselves to take on board a "tough guy" philosophy and refuse to accept others' help. Part of the wisdom in dealing with adversity is the appropriate use of resources available to you to tackle the difficulties. Family, friends, colleagues and even mental health professionals are valuable resources that you can count on for both practical and emotional support. Seeking help doesn't imply weakness but a sign of emotional maturity.

Things can turn out very differently with a change in beliefs or perspectives. Many people like to believe that others (e.g. our supervisors) make them suffer, and then get stuck in the momentarily relief from their numerous complaints. Yet, the wisdom these two officers demonstrated in handling the setback is just the opposite - they took full responsibility and ownership for their problems instead of just blaming. The logic behind is simple - we cannot change something that doesn't belong to us. Once we own the problem, we can take full control of it (such as striving for a solution or changing our attitude) and move on.

We also appreciate SSGT Yu's wisdom on balances. Being a "workaholic", he put a lot of emphasis on his work. To look after his own mental health, family life and work, he had some clever "killing two birds with one stone" strategies - he was committed to engaging in a healthy activity (e.g. hiking) together with his wife every week, and involved her in the social functions with his colleagues. On job satisfaction, he had a wise philosophy on the balances between the "process" and "results" - to enjoy your work and derive meanings from the day-to-day duty instead of just focusing on the end products, i.e. compliments or promotion.

Stress management workshops

The PSG is organising a series of stress management workshops to be conducted in Chinese. The next one will be held at the PSRC Sportsman Bar on February 28 from 8.45am to 12.30pm. Participants are requested to arrive 15 minutes before the programme starts.

The 30 places for each session will be allocated on a first-come-first-served basis. To make reservation, please contact PSG at 2866-6207.

Psychological Services Group

Seek advice and help from the PSG: 2866-6206 (5/F, 111 Leighton Road, Causeway Bay). PEN : psg@police.gov.hk

(All cases will be kept in strict confidence.)

SSGT Yu (left) and PC Tam