The Dominican Missions invited Senior Superintendent (Operations) Kowloon West, Chief Inspector (Operations) Kowloon West and my team of Regional Missing Person Unit Kowloon West (RMPU KW) to attend an official lunch on October 27 to thank us for saving a missing Korean, Mr Kim, from the verge of death.

Mr Kim, a theological student living in Dominican Missions in Kowloon City, went missing on the morning of August 23, 2012. His priest made a report the next day, worrying that something untoward might have happened to him as he went hiking alone without mentioning his destination and carrying any communication device.

Upon taking over the case, we had very little information to go by and raced with time to get all possible clues to identify the possible locations of Mr Kim's hiking.  Afterwards, my officer-in-charge formulated a coordinated search plan with Police Tactical Unit Kowloon West, various Rural Patrol Units, Government Flying Service (GFS) and Civil Aid Service at various rural locations throughout the territory. 

Thanks to officers' perseverance and concerted efforts, Mr Kim was saved from being stranded for over 100 hours on the hillside. My team-mate, Police Constable Ko Pui-chi, told me: "I spotted the missing person alive in the thick bushes of a slope near Cape D' Aguilar while on board a GFS helicopter. At that moment, my happiness was beyond words."  Suffering from multiple severe injuries sustained in a fall while hiking, Mr Kim was rescued in time and immediately sent to hospital.

Fr. Javier Gonzalez, OP, Prior Provincial, wrote in his letter of appreciation: "The good news of finding him (Mr Kim) alive gave us great joy. We can see the same joy from the faces of your officers.  It's a job extremely well done." For RMPU officers, the greatest satisfaction is accomplishing their mission of saving life.