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Following is the transcript of remarks made by the Secretary for Security, Mr Lai Tung-kwok, at a media session at Central Government Offices, Tamar, after the Fight Crime Committee meeting this afternoon (November 29):
Reporter: Is the Police taking the mother of the girl who went missing in Kowloon City as a suspect? There are a lot of police present when C Y Leung goes for his public forums. Is there any justification for that? Is that going to continue? Why has there been such an increase in the number of drug seizures for certain drugs? And, the number of increase in blackmail, please.
Secretary for Security: There are four questions. I hope I can remember all the four questions and give you an answer. As to your first question, the Police are now still investigating the issue and I think it is a bit premature for me to disclose the details at this stage. The second question is (about) C Y Leung. The number of officers deployed to maintain law and order and to allow people present to express their views will hinge on the assessment of their field commander. The overall purpose of deploying a certain number of police officers at the scene will depend on: a) the size of the crowd; b) the likelihood of any possibility of breach of peace; and thirdly to ensure that all those present can express their views peacefully. So, these are the considerations. It's the field commander's assessment to deploy how many officers to achieve these aims and objectives.
The third question is the number of seizure of drugs. For the seizure itself, the number of seizures of some kinds of drugs has increased. They are mainly seized at our entry control points. This is due to the enhancement of collection of intelligence to take enforcement actions. Quite a number of substantial seizures are made at the Hong Kong International Airport.
The last question is about blackmail. The increase of (blackmail is due to the increase of) the online naked chats. That is to say, you use some kind of apps or software to communicate with someone whom you didn't know before and you become friends. And, during which, some indecent pictures were being taken. The blackmailer used this chance to ask for money. In this connection, it is important to know that many of these people are not in Hong Kong. We believe that they are stationing overseas. It is a bit difficult for the Police to track them down because they are not physically in Hong Kong. To deal with the situation, the Police have launched a substantial (number of) campaigns, including the launching of certain publicity at the Police YouTube. Perhaps, if you have time, you can go to that YouTube to see if the Police have anything to say about that.
(Please also refer to the Chinese portion of the transcript.)
Ends/Friday, November 29, 2013
Issued at HKT 20:34
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