Forty good citizens commended for fighting crime
Forty people who helped the police fight crime were commended at the Good Citizen Award (GCA) Presentation Ceremony on November 17. One of the awardees received the Good Citizen of the Year Award (GCYA) while the others were presented the GCA. With their assistance, more than 40 suspects were arrested for committing a variety of offences, including robbery, burglary, theft, indecent assault, deception and criminal damage.
Good Citizen of
the Year
Mr Wong Kwun-leung, winner of the GCYA, helped the police arrest a man who committed robbery and attempted rape.
In August last year, a man waylaid a woman while she was on her way home and attempted to rape her. Driving in a car, Mr Wong saw the incident and immediately leapt from his car to chase after the man. Despite injuries to his elbows and knees sustained during the chase, Mr Wong did not give up, while his girl friend alerted the police. With the information provided by Mr Wong, police officers eventually apprehended the suspect, who was subsequently jailed for five years for robbery and attempted rape.
For his bravery, Mr Wong was presented with a plaque and a cash award of $3 000. The other GCA winners each received a certificate and a cheque for $2 000.
"The award is a pleasant surprise for me. I never thought of any award when I tried to help the lady," Mr Wong said after the award ceremony.
Boy shows JPC spirit
One of the GCA winners is a 10-year-old Junior Police Call (JPC) member, Cheung Fung-ching. Seeing a man setting fire to play equipment in a public park in July this year, Fung-ching, showing JPC spirit, immediately alerted a caretaker and helped the police arrest the arsonist.
Another GCA winner, Ms Lung Siu-ping, helped the police apprehend a telephone swindler. On March 22 this year, she received a phone call from a man who claimed her husband working in Macao was being detained over a debt and asked her to pay a ransom of $200 000. The swindler did not hang up lest Ms Lung should alert the police, but Ms Lung managed to pass a note to a staff member in a bank. After police officers arrived at the bank, Ms Lung went to a place of rendezvous with the ransom money as instructed by the swindler. The swindler was caught red-handed while he took the ransom.
Ms Lung told OffBeat after the award presentation: "When the police arrived at the bank, a woman police constable patted my shoulder to comfort me and she was kind enough to stay with me all the time."
Partnership in fighting crime essential
Speaking at the ceremony, Director of Personnel and Training Ma Wai-luk commended the award recipients for coming forward to help the police fight crime for upholding justice. He pointed out that to beat crime effectively, the Force had to win the support and recognition of the community with professional and efficient services, adding that partnership with organisations and the community was also very important.
Mr Luk thanked the Hong Kong General Chamber of Commerce (HKGCC) for supporting the GCA scheme all these years.
Other officiating guests at the ceremony included member of the HKGCC General Committee, Mr Oscar Chow, and member of the Fight Crime Committee, Dr John Tse.
Mr Chow said that police-community partnership in combatting crime was vital for maintaining the stable business environment in Hong Kong, adding that HKGCC would continue supporting the GCA scheme, which symbolised such partnership.
Dr Tse commended Force as the best law enforcement agencies in the world. Noting that the community fully support the police, he said the GCA scheme was a good example of the partnership between the Force and the community.
The GCA, presented twice a year, is organised by Police Public Relations Branch with full sponsorship from the HKGCC.
 GCA winners with
officiating guests - (from left) member of the HKGCC General Committee,
Mr Oscar Chow, Director of Personnel and Training Ma Wai-luk and member
of the Fight Crime Committee, Dr John Tse |
 Winner of the Good Citizen
of the Year Award, Mr Wong Kwun-leung, with GCA winner, JPC member
Cheung Fung-ching |
 Director of Personnel and Training Ma Wai-luk thanks
the GCA winners for coming forward to help police fight crime |