Forty citizens commended for fighting crime
Forty citizens who helped Police fight crime were commended at the Good Citizen Award (GCA) Presentation Ceremony on November 5.
One of
the awardees was presented with the Good Citizen of the Year Award
(GCYA) while the others received the GCA. With their help, more than 40
people were arrested for a variety of offences, including robbery,
burglary, theft, indecent assault, deception and criminal damage.
Commissioner
Tang King-shing says the Good Citizen Award scheme is a good example of
engaging the community
Good Citizen of the
Year Award
Mrs Poon Yam Wai-chun, winner of the GCYA, helped Police arrest a swindler. In March this year, she received a telephone call from a man who claimed he was detaining her son for failing to repay a debt as a guarantor, and told her to pay up in order to secure the release of her son. Suspecting it was a telephone deception, Mrs Poon stalled the man with the excuse she had to raise money and made a report to Police on another telephone. Police later arrested the swindler when he turned up to collect money from Mrs Poon. The man was subsequently jailed for 32 months.
Mrs Poon was presented with a plaque and a cash award of $3 000. All other GCA winners each received a certificate and a cheque for $2 000.
Mrs Poon told OffBeat: "I hope my case would serve as a reminder that we, as sons and daughters, should take more care of the elderly. As long as we let the elderly know our whereabouts, they wouldn't be fooled so easily. If an emergency happens, the elderly should keep their cool and seek help from their families. Only this can minimise the chance of getting cheated."
Good Citizen Award
One of the GCA winners is a 10-year-old boy, Lee Wing-kwong, who, with the help of another awardee, Mr Ng Chik-sum, helped Police arrest a thief.
In April this year, the boy was playing with his cousin at a playground in Sau Mau Ping when a man approached the cousin, saying he wanted to borrow her mobile phone. While the girl hesitated, the man snatched the phone and fled.
The boy gave chase and asked Mr Ng, who was passing by, to help. The man was intercepted, handed to Police, convicted of theft and committed to a drug addiction treatment centre. He was also ordered to pay a compensation of $2 500 to the girl.
GCA scheme a success
Speaking at the ceremony, Commissioner Tang King-shing commended the good citizens for helping Police fight crime and maintain law and order. He also thanked the HKGCC for supporting the GCA scheme, which, he noted, is a good example of engaging the community.
Other officiating guests included Vice-chairperson of Manpower Committee of the HKGCC, Mr Matthias Li, and a member of the Fight Crime Committee, Dr John Tse Wing-ling.
Mr Li said the HKGCC, advocating Police-community partnership in combating crime, had been sponsoring the GCA scheme since 1973. He hoped that through the scheme public spirit would continue to be promoted so that Hong Kong remains one of the safest cities in the world.
Also speaking at the ceremony, Dr Tse pointed out that an International Crime Victims Survey showed Hong Kong is one of the safest cities in the world. Among the 72 countries and territories listed in the survey, Hong Kong ranks 71st, the second lowest in terms of crime rate.
"The fact that Hong Kong manages to remain one of the safest cities in the world has not come by chance. We've good law and order because the Government respect the rule of law and human rights; and the constant efforts made by the police, plus citizens' active participation in the fight against crime, have made Hong Kong a safe and orderly city," Dr Tse added.
Vice-chairperson
of
the
HKGCC
Manpower Committee, Mr Matthias Li, presents a certificate
to Mr Lee Chun-kit for helping the police to arrest a thief