Chief Inspector Daniel Tsang, a divisional commander at the age of 33, has revealed in an interview that Sai Kung is not as peaceful as it seems on the surface. Some of Daniel’s revelations to BUZZ:
- A baby apparently with cerebral palsy was abandoned at a Tso Wo Hang bbq pit.
- A burglary at Mok Tse Che saw thieves walk away with cash and valuables worth $960,000.
- A joint Hong Kong CID and mainland police operation has snared a snakehead and significantly reduced illegal immigrant activity in Sai Kung.
- Men from 19 to 55 years of age have faced blackmail attempts after exposing themselves online.
- A householder chased a burglar wielding a drill at midnight from Tan Cheung into the centre of town, yelling all the way. Other residents joined in the chase and the man was arrested by police.
Daniel has been Sai Kung police commander since June last year. He gave us this summary of crime last year and so far in 2017:
BURGLARIES
The most common crime in our district, there were 58 cases last year, a decrease of 15 from 2015. No one was hurt, but a burglary went wrong at Po Lo Che in December. Three culprits who spoke putonghua threatened the house occupants (a couple on the bed) with a knife. They escaped with several thousand dollars in cash ($4,900) and valuables (two mobile phones).
Daniel said it is possible but police have no evidence, that the same three criminals forced a victim to go to a Tseung Kwan O ATM and withdraw money. The burglary that netted a thief cash, jewellery and mobiles worth nearly $1 million occurred at Mok Tse Che. The burglar entered by breaking a window.
ASSAULTS
Twenty-five such cases occurred in 2016, down one from the previous year. No weapons were involved and all were minor offences. Eight cases of spousal assaults were reported. Just kicking and slapping (assault barehanded), Daniel said.
RAPES AND OTHER SEX OFFENCES
No rapes have been reported, but there were five indecent assault cases, all reports by females. The cases were minor and usually the victims knew their assailant.
RAID ON ATV BUILDING AT HO CHUNG
Five males are now facing charges at the High Court related to possession of explosives. Case has been adjourned by the High Court to August this year. Some of the defendants had previously participated in anti-government protests.
ABANDONED BABY
A child four to eight months old was left at a Tso Wo Hong bbq pit in December. It appeared healthy was well wrapped up in clothes. A red packet and a note in Chinese saying “cerebral palsy” was found by police. The baby girl is now in hospital where her condition is being studied, the CID are seeking the parents and Daniel said he expects the Social Welfare Department will apply for a protection order.
DRUG OFFENCES
“Dangerous drugs are not a big problem in Sai Kung” Daniel said. “It is a peaceful town and there are few entertainment places.” Nevertheless there were five arrests for drug offences, just one for trafficking. Ketamine, cannabis, cocaine and methamphetamine (Ice) are the main drugs seized in the district. Although from the eyes of the public they are not as bad as heroin, but they are equally harmful to the body, Daniel said.
In one case a Sai Kung resident youngster was arrested for a drug offence and for theft in Kowloon. Drug taking is usually done by young people in the urban areas and sometimes at home in Sai Kung.
ILLEGAL IMMIGRANTS
In January and February last year there was a surge of illegal immigrant arrests: 89. Shortly afterwards CID officers working with mainland police foiled a syndicate’s operations arresting the chief snakehead. In the rest of the year there was a big drop in illegal immigrant activity with 28 arrests. Daniel said only one case of an II committing a crime was reported last year.
TRIADS
“Unavoidably there are some triad members living in Sai Kung,” the Chief Inspector said, “but they keep a low profile. They don’t do ransom, racketeering and other serious offences here.”
Car jockeying on the waterfront near the seafood restaurants continues. Police monitor what is going on almost daily to ensure no parking spaces are illegally occupied and drivers are not forced to hire car jockey service.
DECEPTION AND FRAUD
Twenty-three cases have occurred in the past year. Shopping on the internet led to the most common reports: People pay for goods that never arrive. Some teenagers have bought virtual weapons paying with real money and the virtual weapons have not turned up. Other cases concerned people pretending to be officials and demanding victims pay money to keep themselves out of trouble.
NAKED CHAT SCAMS
There were nine blackmail cases in the past year. Eight were naked chat scams. Typically a woman overseas convinces a man to send her nude photos. Then he gets blackmailed. Eight such cases occurred involving men from 19 to 55.
STOLEN “CONVEYANCES”
Five cars and four boats.
JUVENILE OFFENCES
Youngsters 10 to 20 years old arrested (seven) for shop lifting or petty cash theft. Two female teenagers got themselves into trouble with the police by circulating on the internet photos of a classmate changing her clothes.
TRAFFIC
The police issued 15,000 parking tickets last year, an increase of 3000 over 2015. “We get a lot of complaints about congestion, illegal parking and so on,” Daniel said. “We are doing a hard job. We rely on the community for self-discipline.”
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