The police commissioner yesterday urged victims of crime not to withhold information after a solicitor who had his face slashed this week said he had hesitated to co-operate with the police. Dick Lee Ming-kwai reiterated that Hong Kong's law and order had not deteriorated despite a series of violent attacks against insurance professionals. 'We'll investigate the case ... we hope the victim gives us all the information. I can pledge the Hong Kong police will protect everyone in Hong Kong,' he said, referring to Andrew Lam Ping-cheung, a well-known defence lawyer in ICAC cases. Mr Lam had his face slashed at a foot massage parlour in Causeway Bay. He told reporters he hesitated to tell the police because it might expose him to further danger. He claimed a friend had told him he would be attacked and that he knew who was behind it and it was work-related. Mr Lam needed 20 stitches but was still able to attend a District Court hearing on Tuesday as a defence lawyer in an ICAC case. Mr Lee did not say whether protection was being offered to Mr Lam but he said police would offer protection when necessary. A police spokesman said Mr Lam's case was under investigation and no arrest had been made. Mr Lee also denied violent attacks were on the rise. On Monday, a New York Life agent, Wu Kin-wing, 44, was knocked unconscious by two men in a car park in Causeway Bay. In February, American International Assurance (AIA) manager, Joe Cheng Kwok-shing, 49, was shot and seriously wounded at a busy restaurant in Causeway Bay. The charred body of a woman AIA staff member, Chu Ka-shum, 44, was found in a suitcase in Yuen Long last August. 'We will not comment on individual cases, but the rate of this kind of attack has never been high. The violent crime rate is Hong Kong has been dropping steadily,' the police commissioner said. 'Every case of that nature we take seriously. We don't want the violent crime rate to go up.' He said that in the first quarter the year the overall crime rate dropped by 6 per cent from the same period last year.
