For the past two years Edmond has confined himself to a remote camp in Sai Kung, where he lives with scores of other youths who have strayed from the law.
The heavily tanned 17-year-old has stayed beyond the 18-month period expected of each resident at the rehabilitation camp for delinquents. At his new home, down a narrow lane from the Lady MacLehose Holiday Village, he has kicked his drug habit and picked up valuable skills.
Happy to be in a serene environment, he has no plans to leave soon. The farther away he is from his previous home in Kwai Chung, the better it seems.
His past reflects the situation of many at-risk youngsters today. A school dropout, he used to be impulsive, bad-tempered and worst of all, violent. Gang fights were part of everyday life. 'We pounded on anyone we did not like even if that person had not done anything against us,' he recalls.
'We felt excited while we punched and hit. Once five or six of us started a fight inside a fast-food restaurant with the other gang; we joined in because someone from the other side had 'taken' one of our girlfriends. We wanted to talk things over with them initially but a fight erupted just a few minutes after we reached the scene.' Lunchtime customers fled the scene, not daring to intervene. The youths were so caught up with what they were doing, Edmond says, 'we could not care if there were plain-clothes police around us.' Fortunately, no major injuries resulted. But this wasn't always the case. Edmond and his fellow camp residents sometimes engaged in triad-related warfare - at the request of their peers living in the same estates, who provided them with weapons such as knives and iron bars.
He never incurred serious injuries in fights with others, but in retrospect, he said: 'There were so many times when I could have killed others or destroyed my own life.' Many more are less fortunate. One case that sent shockwaves through the community last month was the horrifying murder of 15-year-old Luk Chi-wai. The Form three student was beaten to death by youngsters at a public housing flat in Block 39 at Sau Mau Ping, Kwun Tong. His attackers then covered his body with thinners and petrol before setting it alight. A day later, they dumped his remains in a nearby landfill.