Yuen Long District (YLDIST) has launched the Student Engagement Ambassador Program since May 2021, under which inspectors are chosen to brief teenagers on crime precaution and prevention through school visits and webinars. Although he was once a youth-at-risk and almost went astray when he was young, 28-year-old Danny was one of the Student Engagement Ambassadors and shared his own story with the youth. Danny recalled, “I grew up in a single-parent family. Alone by herself, Mom took care of her three children: my elder brother, me and my younger sister. I was the most rebellious among the siblings and did poorly in academic studies. My junior form years were spent at a poorly rated school in the neighbourhood. I always stayed in parks and game shops after school. Some of my buddies were drug addicts and even triad gangsters.” Danny’s mother often encouraged him to get back on the right track. Seeing his mother cry miserably all day, Danny started to reflect on himself. It was a lucky escape for him as he got promoted to Form 4 while many classmates of his in Form 3 had to drop out of school because of poor academic results. The outreach social worker following up his case kept advising him that he should seize this opportunity for further study and work hard for the future.

Danny’s spirit to strive for academic achievements was ignited and he alienated bad friends to prepare for the last session of the Hong Kong Certificate of Education Examination (HKCEE). Yet he got only seven points in HKCEE and failed in English because he set off too late. His dream for university study was going to vanish. “My family could not support my study at a private school financially. It was fortunate that my class teacher succeeded in recommending I repeat in the same school and change from the HKCEE course to the Hong Kong Diploma of Secondary Education (HKDSE) course.” To recompense the kindness of his teacher and mother, Danny redoubled his efforts in studying. His grades improved by leaps and bounds. He took the first HKDSE the next year and scored 25 points, with which the Department of Applied Psychology of Lingnan University enrolled him.

In addition to studying hard, Danny joined extracurricular activities during his college days. He once got a scholarship to the United States for exchange and worked as an intern in a local social welfare organisation. He graduated with first class honours eventually. With his outstanding performance in studies and extracurricular activities, he was recognised as the “Star of the Stars” of 2016-17 under the Outstanding Youth Commendation Scheme by the Home Affairs Bureau and the Commission on Youth (now known as Youth Development Commission).

Danny decided to join the Force in the last year of his university study. Through recommendation of a professor, he met a Chief Inspector and the two discussed Danny’s career development. Danny felt that police work fitted him well because it was challenging and beneficial to society. After two attempts, he was finally admitted to the Force.

Danny, who grew up in Yuen Long, once stationed in YLDIST after joining the Force. He also served in the Special Duties Squad and Police Community Relations Office. Last year, he was appointed Student Engagement Ambassador. He said frankly that his rebellious experience in his youth made his speech more convincing. “When talking about shoplifting, I would share some real-life stories, including those of my former friends who were arrested for thefts. Since they were not allowed to be put under the Police Superintendent’s Discretion Scheme, their crimes were recorded and their future was affected, thereby warning the young students that thefts were not trivial matters.”

Transformed from a youth-at-risk to a Student Engagement Ambassador, Danny is particularly grateful to his family and teachers. It is because of their support for him that he can get out of the cloud of life and has the opportunity to instil positive energy into young people now.Eight Ambassadors of this year have been appointed. Please visit the social media platform of YLDIST Junior Police Call for their stories.