Police have begun e-mailing missing-person reports to regions to make up for inadequacies in their computer system. The new system was put in place following the disappearance of autistic teenager Yu Man-hon, last month. Missing-person cases will now be e-mailed to all regions and a hard copy of the report will be kept to allow a manual match with descriptions of people found. 'It's a supplement to the computer system which allowed only searches by names and identity card numbers,' a source said. The source added that the computer system would need to be upgraded in the long-run, but there was a lack of resources. The new system was said to have helped speed up the location of another autistic boy, aged 7, who was found in Lowu after running away from his mother in Shekkipmei last Wednesday. Some immigration officers have accused the police of being unhelpful when asked to check whether there were reports of a missing teenage boy on August 24 when Man-hon was found at the Lowu border. The boy disappeared at about 11am on August 24 at Yau Ma Tei MTR station. His mother reported it to local police. Man-hon later crossed the border without a travel document. Shenzhen authorities asked the SAR officers to verify his identity. Hong Kong immigration officers interviewed the boy, but as he did not respond to questions and had no documents to prove he was from Hong Kong, he was sent back to Shenzhen. The police source said: 'The police officers tried their best to help within their knowledge and ability when asked.' He said the way the immigration officers asked the questions, and inadequacies in the force's computer system had contributed to the failure in matching the missing report by Man-hon's mother with the boy found at Lowu. It is understood that immigration officers rang some police stations, asking if they had received any reports of a missing teenage boy who appeared to have mental disabilities. Without any names and identity card numbers to do a computer search, the police stations approached could only recall from memory whether there were reports on that day. Kowloon East Missing Persons Unit, which first received Man-hon's mother's report, has conducted a review of the incident and submitted the report to Senior Assistant Commissioner Dick Lee Ming-kwai. It is expected to be released later this week.
