"The people of Hong Kong have a police force on which they can rely, and of which they can be proud. A few moments' reflection on the measured and professional way our police officers handled the violent (mostly Korean) protesters at the World Trade Organisation meeting last December will confirm this. Even some of the rioters acknowledged that they would not have been handled so gently back home by their own policemen.

"Unlike in all too many other places, the only people who have anything to fear from the appearance of our police officers are Hong Kong's criminals.

"Let us hope that Hong Kong's police force can continue this fine tradition after the commissioner retires in January," part of Mr Surtees' letter to the newspaper reads.

Mr Surtees, who has been for many years a lecturer on special courses for serving police officers at the CSTDI and Hong Kong Management Association, said Commissioner Lee Ming-kwai recently gave a much welcomed luncheon talk to ROSL.

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