Who would have thought that Ben Kuen Ping-yiu, winner of a 2008 Outstanding Young Person award, was once a desperate drug addict? The 40-year-old tells how he emerged from those dark and dangerous days, and is now helping others quit the habit and re-enter society with dignity.
With titles such as 2008 Outstanding Young Person and HK Volunteer Award winner under his belt, head of a social enterprise and frequent churchgoer, Ben Kuen Ping-yiu may appear to be the model of virtue.
So it is hard to imagine that just seven years ago, the 40-year-old was chasing after his father with a chopper in a drug-induced frenzy, or that he almost pushed his girlfriend down a stairway during another spell.
'In my heyday, I smoked up to HK$6,000 worth of drugs every day. I took cocaine, marijuana, anti-depressants and meth all at the same time,' Mr Kuen said, clearing his throat for the umpteenth time.
His grainy voice is a remnant of his scarred past, as are his pockmarked face and the inability to memorise daily routes. He is not proud of them, he said, but acknowledged that his experiences helped him excel at his counselling job in a way that clean-slate social workers could not.
'When I speak to druggies, they really listen, because they know just by looking at me that recovery is possible.'