Three members of the working group, Senior Inspector Yu Kong, Station Sergeant Ip Yun-tim and Detective Police Constable Ho Hok-cheung, stated this during an interview with OffBeat.

ÒSSP Leung specially instructed us not to say 'No' to any request by frontline officers!" SIP Yu noted.

The interview showed that members of the Logistics Working Group did a great job in meeting frontline officers' needs in terms of food and drinks, equipment, transport, taking a break from their hectic frontline duties, and even their "spiritual needs". In doing so, they truly lived up to some of the Force Values, namely, "Acceptance of responsibility and accountability", "Responsiveness to change", "Professionalism" and "Respect for the rights of members of the Force".

Members of the Logistics Working Group came from different units within the Force, and Mr Leung appreciates their performances and contributions.

During HKMC, working group members worked in a total of five catering and support centres set up in PHQ, Wan Chai, Victoria Park, Hunghom and Kwun Tong. Being close to the frontline, the Wan Chai centre was naturally more hectic.

Though supposed to work on a 12-hour shift, frontline situations often made it necessary for working group members to work close to two shifts. And many of them did not see their families for days.

"The morale was pretty high among working group members; and many of them chose to stay behind to work overtime," said SIP Yu.

"I returned home just once during the entire HKMC period!" quipped DPC Ho.

Together with SSGT IP, SIP Yu and DPC Ho worked in the Wan Chai Catering and Support Centre.

SIP Yu's main duty was ensuring that there was no shortage of food, snacks, and hot drinks for frontline officers 24 hours a day. On some occasions as many as 1,000 officers had their meals at the same time at the Wan Chai centre. When officers were unable to have their meals at the centre, he arranged for catering services be delivered to the frontline. An example of this was a temporary outdoor catering centre set up at the junction of Marsh Road and Harbour Road in the evening of December 17 when protesters turned unruly.

SIP Yu also ensured that frontline officers taking a break in the catering centre felt as comfortable as possible. To do this, he managed separate rest rooms for male and female officers, complete with blankets, chairs, TV sets, newspapers and magazines. To satisfy their "spiritual needs", there was a huge TV screen for officers to see what was happening outside.

His announcements of the letters or emails of praise and compliments that PHQ and PPRB had received were often met with cheers from officers taking a break at the catering centre.

Overseas visitors are impressed

Besides catering services, SIP Yu also received visitors, both local and overseas, to the Wan Chai Catering and Support Centre. "We had visitors from the Mainland, Japan, Germany and France. All of them were impressed with our facilities and the standard of our services!" he noted.

SSGT Ip worked in the Wan Chai Catering and Support Centre to make sure that equipment were delivered to the operational areas on time, and liaised with other support centres on deployment of the equipment, and with food caterers.

Apart from working as an "orderly" for the Chairman of the Logistics Working Group, SSP Leung Fui, DPC Ho was also involved in the "Bringing Warmth Operation" initiated by Mr Leung for frontline officers. "In the early morning of practically every day, we mobilised to bring snacks and hot drinks and soup to frontline officers on duty in Wan Chai and near the Hong Kong Exhibition and Convention Centre. We appreciated that they were working very hard in a very difficult situation, and we all wanted to show our care and concern!" he recalled.

Though they also had gone through many a tough time, the three officers said they concurred with Mr Leung's observation that "it's nothing compared with that of our frontline officers".

They are also proud to have been involved with HKMC.

"The slogan of HKMC, 'We're Here', was on display in the support centre. We're privileged to have been associated with the biggest international function Hong Kong has ever hosted. And HKMC has given me something to cherish about for a long time to come!" said SIP Yu.

And the officers agreed that their association with HKMC was an invaluable experience.

"SSP Leung has told us 'you all have become a logistics expert after HKMC'. I don't know whether we have, but I am certain that the experience obtained from HKMC would bode well for the Force in policing similar functions in the future," SIP Yu concluded.

SIP Yu (centre), SSGT IP (left) and DPC Ho talk about their full support for frontline officers during HKMC

Overseas visitors are impressed with the services provided at the Wan Chai Catering and Support Centre