Chai Wan Divisional Commander JG Wan recently received a very touching letter. It came from a girl lamenting the death of her elder brother who took his own life.

"It was such a shock to receive this touching letter!" Mr Wan remarked.

Then a flurry of action followed. Mr Wan, accompanied by Detective Chief Inspector Lau Tat-keung and Woman Senior Inspector Dilys Lo Shui-lin, had an experience-sharing meeting with the girl and her parents. "We went with an open mind for any feedback, and with the intention of helping the family through this difficult time. But unexpectedly, what was gained was a very valuable insight into the other side of pain, the pain of the young man's family," Mr Wan noted.

Assisting the police at the meeting was Dr Chow Yin-man from the University of Hong Kong. Commenting on the meeting, she said that police acknowledgement of the letter was something beyond the family's expectation, and that being able to see the police and air their feelings was of great benefit to the family during their time of distress.

Chai Wan Division has a fair share of suicides and other deaths. Of the 530 cases of death handled in 2006, 55 were suicides. In addition, there were 119 attempted suicides, bringing about a certain amount of stress for the officers concerned.

To help the officers handle the stress, and as a multi-agency approach to preventing suicide, Chai Wan Division enlisted the assistance of Dr Paul Wong, a Clinical Psychologist, Ms Frances Law, the Suicide Prevention Project Director from the University of Hong Kong's Jockey Club Centre for Suicide Research and Prevention, Dr Edmond Lau from the Psychological Services Group and 10 volunteer members of the Carelinks Cadre in running two half-day workshops earlier this month.

The experts spoke on their research findings and the ways to handle persons with suicidal tendencies, while WSIP Dilys Lo covered the relevant aspects of the law and police procedures. Following the talk, the attendees went into group discussions, after which they saw the workshop as very useful and practical. Said a Sergeant Leung: "I don't expect to apply what I learned today to my work immediately; but I will do my best to save suicidal persons from the verge of death."

Ms Law will also assist Eastern District as a consultant in producing a training video, expected to be available by the end of March, to make operational staff in the Eastern District more alert to, and professional, in handling suicidal behaviour.