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Following is the transcript (English portion) of the remarks made by the Secretary for Security, Mr Ambrose S K Lee, at a media session at the ground floor lobby of the Central Government Offices, West Wing after the Fight Crime Committee (FCC) meeting this afternoon (May 21):
Reporter: Do you think the acid throwing case occurred in Mong Kok last week was because the one in December was not solved? And do you think the new surveillance cameras to be put up along the precinct will help prevent such incidents?
Secretary for Security: Well, I think CCTVs will provide a deterrent to other copycats. In other metropolitan cities like London, you have a lot of such CCTVs in major busy streets. They will record what's happening and after such incidents, they can help the police to trace the suspects and to bring them to court.
Reporter:…the case that happened last week was because the one in December was not solved?
Secretary for Security: After the December incident, the police have stepped up their efforts in tracing the culprit. But we all know this kind of hit-and-run cases are very difficult to trace and that's why the Yau Tsim Mong District Council has passed a resolution to install CCTVs on that very street. I hope that will help deter other people from throwing acid or other objects from rooftops.
Reporter: Was the increase in the number of fraud cases caused by the financial crisis?
Secretary for Security: Not exactly fraud cases. We have classified them as deception cases - like in the street, if you have watched our promotion advertisements, people try to deceive an old lady, or a young girl for mobile phones, or using telephone informing the receiver that his son or his grandson is in danger, and that sort of things. This quarter, we have witnessed an increase in the number of deception cases. I don't know whether this has any connection or linkage with the downturn of the economy, like what we call "quick cash crimes". But we have to wait and see, maybe for one more quarter to see whether this kind of cases are still on the increase.
(Please also refer to the Chinese portion of the transcript.)
Ends/Thursday, May 21, 2009
Issued at HKT 20:08
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