Shortly after 2:30 am that day, when No 8 typhoon signal was still up, PL 65 was tasked from the Marine South Division in Aberdeen for Yung Shu Wan, Lamma Island, where a woman in labour, accompanied by a government nurse and ambulance staff, was waiting at a ferry pier for a police launch to take her to Queen Mary Hospital.

As extremely bad weather excluded the use of a helicopter, using a police launch was the only alternative to take the woman to hospital, but high waves and strong winds pounded PL 65 against the pier, making berthing at the ferry pier a very difficult and dangerous job.

All hands on deck

All hands were on deck and with team spirit and good training the crew successfully brought PL 65 ashore and took the woman on board safely. The accompanying nurse was so impressed by the crew's efforts and performances that she later sent a thank you letter to Marine Region.

"The lady was in frequent contractions and the baby was coming any time. The whole police team worked extremely well, transferring the lady onto the launch. They were willingly helpful with smiles. Typhoon Nuri did not carry away their smiles.

"The team frequently offered what was needed when I kept monitoring and reassuring the lady as well as the accompanying husband," part of the letter says.

As PL 65 was heading for Aberdeen, Station Sergeant Cheung Tin-che helped the nurse deliver a baby boy shortly before 4 am - a job he was familiar with. As a young police constable in 1989, SSGT Cheung helped deliver several babies without the help of nurses in a camp for Vietnamese boat people on Soko Islands.

"What I did to help the nurse was nothing, compared with what my colleagues did in securing berthing in a very difficult and challenging situation. The credit goes to officers' teamwork," SSGT Cheung noted.

Station Sergeant Cheung Tin-che visits mother and child in Queen Mary Hospital