Bonnie, a 28-year-old Police Constable of Emergency Unit of Kowloon East (EU KE), was among the top athletes before joining the Force. She learned swimming as a young child and won many awards in the sport. Ever since her contact with lifesaving when she was in Secondary 2, Bonnie has been taking tough training in the field.
Bonnie represented Hong Kong for the first time in the 2014 Lifesaving World Championships and participated in Women Line Throw with her partner. Unfortunately, Bonnie was disqualified because she failed to get hold of the line thrown by her partner in the water. Their fighting spirit being aroused by the defeat, the sportswomen trained even harder and delved into the winning skills. “While most players return to the pool with freestyle kicks after getting the line, my performance is even better with butterfly kicks, which is comparatively special.” With tacit understanding between them, Bonnie and her partner won gold medals in the 2016 and 2018 World Championships.
Despite being World Champion for two times, Bonnie did not choose to become a full-time athlete after graduation from university. “The career of an athlete is relatively straightforward but I prefer diverse and challenging work. After consideration, I decided to apply for the Force,” said Bonnie. While telling her parents about her career aspiration, she learned that her father failed in his application for the Force when he was young. Bonnie’s father encouraged her to apply for the Force and advised her to get well prepared for the interview. Eventually, Bonnie succeeded and became a police constable after completing the training.
Bonnie has joined the Force for five years now and there was an incident she will never forget when she was on duty in the small hours of December 8, 2021. EU KE received a report that a woman had fallen into the sea by the Kwun Tong waterfront. The officers arrived at the scene promptly. Bonnie was approved by her supervisor to jump into water for rescuing the woman at sea. Having given full play to her expertise in lifesaving, she was subsequently awarded the Life Saving Star Award by the Hong Kong Life Saving Society and a Letter of Compliment by Commissioner Siu Chak-yee.
Bonnie said that she was by no means a hero, and the successful rescue that night was the result of the supervisor’s effective command and the team’s collaboration. She pointed out, “The commander has to consider many factors, such as the arrival time of the support vessel, the weight of the woman at sea and the length of time I could support myself in water.” After joining the Force, Bonnie has recognised the importance of teamwork. “Frontline officers often need to deal with cases involving disputes. Senior officers understand the mentality of the elders better, while young officers can communicate with young people more easily. We cooperate with one another to help citizens by performing our respective duties.”
Bonnie, who has a bachelor’s degree, aspires to become an inspector in future promotion so that she can participate in management work and keep serving the community.
Members of OffBeat Editorial Committee:
Ms Karen Tsang | CSP PR (Chairperson) |
Mr Leung Chung-man | SSP MLS PR |
Ms Christine Choi | PIO PP PR |
Mr Bert Lo | CIP MR PR |
Mr Siu Chi-ming | ATSRO HKI |
Mr Raymond Lee | TSRO KE |
Mr CY Wong | TSRO KW (Ag.) |
Ms Grace Mak | TSRO NTS |
Mr Clement Chan | CIP A&S HKPC |
Ms Suzanne Lo | SIP HQ (2) CRM |
Ms Joan Li | JPOA REP |
Editor: | Ms Elvin Wong: 2860-6171 |
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Photographers: | Mr Hugo Lam: 2860-6174 Mr Rex Ip: 2860-6175 |
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Deadline for Issue 1230: | March 23, 2023 (before 6pm) |
Deadline for Issue 1231: | April 3, 2023 (before 6pm) |
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Published by Public Relations Wing, Hong Kong Police Force