Park patrols stepped up after hikers' ordeal
Police have increased patrols at the Tai Tam Country Park following a robbery that left two hikers stranded in the wilderness for 12 hours.
David Chu Sai-leung, assistant division commander of Aberdeen, said motorcycle patrols at the park would increase from once to twice a day on Saturday and Sunday.
But he said Saturday's robbery was a one-off event, pointing out that it was the only one reported in the park in the past year. Uniformed and plain-clothes officers have also been deployed in other popular hiking areas.
Tang Chun-leung and his wife were robbed in the park while hiking. Four men, each carrying a knife, left the couple tied to trees for several hours after they took away their mobile phones, ATM cards and $280 in cash.
Police found the couple on Sunday morning. Mr Tang's mother found out her son was still at the park after she called his phone and the robber answered to tell her where he was.
Hikers were not surprised by the weekend attack.
'I wasn't surprised because it is very dangerous for only two people to hike on their own,' said Pauline Tsang of the Sansui Hiking Group, which organises Sunday hikes with about 200 people.
She said her group had not had any problems in the past few years because of its size. To prevent hikers from trailing off, more experienced hikers lead the pack at the start and the end of the group.
They also communicate by radio to stay in touch. During the hike, the group takes several breaks so that those trailing behind can catch up.
Yeung Pui-yuen, a hiker for 50 years and convener of a weekday hiking group, said even though the latest robbery took place in Tai Tam, Hong Kong island was generally safer to hike than the New Territories because the northern areas were larger and offered more hiding places to robbers.
Mr Yeung said hikers were targeted by robbers because even if they did not carry a lot of money, they usually had their mobile phones with them.
The Agriculture, Fisheries and Conservation Department has telephone posts on long-distance hiking trails where hikers can call for help.
They are located at intervals of 500m on trails including the MacLehose, Lantau and Hong Kong trails.
