Star Ferry coxswain Leung Kwan-wo had been there before when he saw a passenger suddenly jump from the upper deck of a ferry on its way from Central to Hung Hom in January last year. He and six other seamen rushed to the man's rescue.
'After we rescued him, he shouted 'why don't you let me die',' Mr Leung recalled yesterday. 'Later we learned that he had a suicide note in his bag.'
Mr Leung was one of 30 people who were presented with a bravery award by the Marine Department yesterday for saving people from the sea last year.
It was Mr Leung's fifth such award: he has saved five people from the sea during his 11-year career.
Mr Leung said he was happy to have performed the rescue, even though the man wanted to die.
'The reason people commit suicide is their personal business, but if I see them in the sea I must save them as I am a seaman,' he said.
