Police? Jing Cha? A traffic officer caused a stir online by wearing a helmet with the English word "police" replaced by its phonetic translation in Putonghua. The uniformed officer was pictured riding a police motorcycle wearing a helmet altered to prominently feature the words "Jing Cha", the pronunciation of the Putonghua word for "police", by a motorist behind him. The picture was taken by the motorist near Lantau North police station on Shun Tung Road yesterday morning, and then widely circulated and discussed online. A police spokesman last night confirmed the authenticity of the picture. "The police will find out what happened. "If it is confirmed that someone violated the regulations, there will be an appropriate follow-up," the spokesman said. Ip Kwok-him, the chairman of the Legislative Council's security panel, said it was not appropriate for police officers to change their uniforms. Panel member James To kun-sun said he believed the officer made the change to his helmet "for fun". "The case was not that serious, but the force should make it clear to their staff that they are not supposed to do whatever they want to their uniforms," To said. "Hong Kong as an international city, we have to make sure people know you are the police." The officer's creativity fuelled an internet discussion on whether the city should adopt Putonghua phonetics in addition to its official languages, Cantonese and English.
