A WITNESS protection programme put forward by the Fight Crime Committee (FCC) to encourage people with information on triads and organised crime to speak out will begin this week.
The programme has been endorsed by Police Commissioner Li Kwan-ha and is aimed at giving protection to victims of high-level crime.
After talks with the committee yesterday, Secretary for Security Alistair Asprey said: ''Police can only do so much on their own, they must have the co-operation of those who are being victimised and also the public in general.'' The scheme follows a spate of recent triad violence often connected with Hong Kong's entertainment industry. It will be similar but separate from a programme being used by the Independent Commission Against Corruption.
Mr Asprey said the police would get more funding to run the programme effectively.
''It seems like it has moved quickly but really this scheme has been looked at seriously for several years,'' he said.