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John Carney

A population explosion in one of Hong Kong's fastest-growing areas has prompted a call for more police officers there.
Sai Kung district councillor Christine Fong Kwok-shan says more of her constituents have expressed fears about rising crime in the rapidly expanding area of Tseung Kwan O.
Independent councillor Fong has put up banners that proclaim 'Expand police provisions to stop rise in crime' to highlight what she says is a growing problem.  
'We need to upgrade Sai Kung and Tseung Kwan O into a regional police force. At the moment there is only a small district force for Sai Kung and Tseung Kwan O. The crime rate has been climbing all the time in recent years,' Fong said. 
'In Tseung Kwan O and Sai Kung there are over 430,000 residents, which will rise to 520,000 by 2016-17. There is a total of 250 police officers for these two areas, which works out at one police officer per 1,600 people. That's nowhere near enough.'
 Sai Kung and Tseung Kwan O already had small police stations, Fong said, but if a regional force was created it would assuage many people's fears.
 'There is also supposed to be a small police station built in Lohas Park. There are 30,000 residents in this area already and this figure will rise to 80,000,' Fong said. 'But when will this station be up and running on a daily basis?' 
Regarding the proposal to upgrade the Tseung Kwan O Division to a police district, a police spokesman confirmed they were conducting a study on the re-organisation of the Kowloon East Police Region. 
This will also include the distribution of manpower and facilities in the region to cater for the integrated policing needs concerning major housing and infrastructural developments in the region such as the Kai Tak development plan, the housing development at Anderson Road and the Kwun Tong Town Centre redevelopment project.
Fong said that a rise in gang-related crime, particularly teenage gangs in Tseung Kwan O, had her constituents most concerned. 
Earlier this month, an 81-year-old man fought off a gang of teenagers who tried to rob him while he was walking in a tunnel near Fu Ning Garden.
'These robberies are happening more often and the worry is that we do not have the police support to deal with them,' Fong said. 'Because of shift work, days off and holidays, you are only talking about 30 or 40 people patrolling the streets of Tseung Kwan O and Sai Kung.'
 Law and order in Tseung Kwan O and Sai Kung is currently maintained by the Tseung Kwan O Division of the Kwun Tong Police District and the Sai Kung Division of the Wong Tai Sin District respectively in the Kowloon East Police Region. 
'We have been closely monitoring the crime situation and policing needs of the districts. Adequate police strength has been deployed to Tseung Kwan O and Sai Kung to maintain law and order with reference to its community development and population growth,' a police spokesman said.
 In the past 10 years, the number of frontline police officers in the Tseung Kwan O Division had more than doubled from 118 to 255 officers, the spokesman said. 
In addition to the Tseung Kwan O Division's resources, the Kowloon East Police Region has more than 2,900 officers who would be redeployed where necessary to meet operational needs within the area. 
'The enforcement capability in Tseung Kwan O or other districts will not be restrained by the administrative boundaries of the police districts,' the spokesman said.
Outnumbered 
There are 430,000 residents in the Tseung Kwan O and Sai Kung areas and this number of police officers: 250



More police sought for fast-growing town