A fire officer commended for bravery during a robbery said he was disappointed by the public's indifference.
Senior fire officer Lin Yit-chau, 44, said no one bothered to help when he ran after a mugger who attacked a woman on a packed Admiralty MTR platform.
The reaction was in contrast to an incident 20 years earlier when he joined a group of people stopping a thief.
The off-duty father of three was on his way home on May 12 when a man of about 20 grabbed a woman's handbag. The thief, a mainlander on a two-way permit, was caught by Mr Lin and handed to police.
Despite receiving a commendation from the Chief Fire Officer yesterday, Mr Lin said there would be no celebration. 'Everyone has the responsibility to stop crime. If everyone is indifferent to what happens to others, what will society become? I helped the police to arrest a thief 20 years ago, but I wasn't alone. A lot of people were chasing the thief.'