JPOs help save baby's life

2 Photos

Doctors probably could not have saved the life of a nine-month-old baby girl without the swift and timely help of three police officers. Tsuen Wan Police Station Sergeant Raymond Ng Chun-wah, Lei Muk Shue Division (LMSDIV) Sergeant Cheung Kwok-wang and Police Constable Tse Ming helped a local hospital locate a baby and her mother after the hospital had exhausted all means to contact the woman but to no avail.

The work of the trio prompted the Tsuen Wan Adventist Hospital to take the initiative in disclosing the good work of the Police, in particular SGT Ng, to the press on April 19. Two days later, the Hospital's Vice President for Administration Alex Lan also sent a letter of thanks to the Tsuen Wan Police Station to express his sincere gratitude for helping save the infant's life.

Mr Lan said delaying treatment would have definitely resulted in deterioration in the baby's condition if not death. "Tracking down the infant for timely treatment so as to avoid complication and possible death, the credit goes to the Hong Kong Police for performing over and above its normal duty," he added.

Urgent call from doctor

On April 18, at around 4.15 pm, a Dr Wong of the Hospital's Chief of Paediatrics Service called up the Tsuen Wan Police Station personally to ask for help in locating the mother of a nine-month-old baby girl who was suspected of suffering from life-threatening intussusception.

Intussusception is a dangerous condition when a higher up segment of the bowel has gloved itself inside the lumen of a lower segment. If left untreated long enough, this segment of bowel will rot and perforate, resulting in peritonitis and death.

Recalling the incident to OffBeat, SGT Ng said: "It's rare for a doctor to call up the police station for help personally, so I realised that the baby was in a serious condition, and decided to give high priority to this case. In view of the urgency of the case, I phoned the duty officer of the Lei Muk Shue Police Station directly to follow up the case as the baby's mother does not live in my district."

After receiving the distress call, LMSDIV Patrol Sub-Unit SGT Cheung and PC Tse wasted no time in rushing to the scene. Because of their familiarity with the district, they quickly located the mother's home.

Mr Tse said: "We could hardly see any light inside. We knocked at the door but no one answered."

Instead of reporting back to the station right away, the pair knocked at the neighbours' doors one by one in the hope that someone might know the whereabouts of the woman. After knocking at the doors of more than 10 nearby houses, finally, a neighbour came forward and offered to help.

"We later found out that the mother had brought her baby to a quieter place away from the noise of traffic and passers-by. That explained why the hospital could not find the mother," Mr Tse added.

Thanks from baby's parents

Not only the hospital had thanked the Force, but also the baby's parents had sent a thank-you card to SGT Ng via the Hospital. They wrote: "Because of your help, my daughter had received timely treatment. Otherwise, the consequence would have been unimaginable. Moreover, thank you for sending two of your colleagues to find me."

SGT Ng said saving the baby's life had given him great job satisfaction. Both SGT Cheung and PC Tse said: "We're very happy to have helped save the girl. If we had left the scene without seeking the neighbours' help, the girl's life could have been in danger. After all, we were just doing what we are supposed to do and tried our best."

Mr Ng and Mr Tse, both a father of two, said they could well understand parents' anxieties when their children fell ill and would definitely offer every assistance.

Facing up to challenges

Though Mr Ng and Mr Tse now work in different divisions, they know each other well when they both worked in the Tsuen Wan Division in November 1999. Today, both of them treasure and seize every opportunity to improve themselves.

Having served in the Force for over 28 years, SGT Ng said he always reminded himself to continue to equip himself to face challenges of the day. Being an Assistant Duty Officer of a police station, Mr Ng has to handle all sorts of cases. "I always alert myself to double check, counter check so as to avoid missing out anything important."

Mr Tse also appreciates the need to deliver quality service to the public and pursue lifelong learning after working for 17 years in the Force. He uses his spare time to study Putonghua and now is perfectly at home in communicating with Mainland visitors during beat patrol.

"Members of the public nowadays look for quality service. Even though some may hardly understand Police work, I have to explain to them patiently," Mr Tse added.

SGT Raymond Ng (left) and PC Tse Ming