Source:
https://scmp.com/comment/insight-opinion/article/2046310/journalist-and-his-foul-mouthed-wife-were-out-order Comment
Journalist and his foul-mouthed wife were out of order
Cursing a police officer for simply doing his job smacks of an elitist attitude that’s unbecoming of anyone, let alone a newspaperman
Mrs. Fung berated the policeman for nearly three minutes. Her husband had made an illegal U-turn on Des Voeux Road West, where he was promptly issued a ticket.
Journalists have a well-deserved reputation for cursing like sailors. But it appears some of our wives are even worse, if a smartphone video clip that has gone viral on the internet is anything to go by.
The clip showed a woman verbally abusing a traffic officer after the vehicle her husband was driving was stopped and he was issued with a penalty for making an illegal U-turn on Des Voeux Road West.
The driver turned out to be none other than Fung Siu-wing, the former chief editor of the defunct Hong Kong Daily News.
His wife, whom friends and colleagues call Sister Wah, is well-known in journalism circles for her acumen in property investment. In other words, the couple are well-off, at least compared to many in the news business.
Throughout the incident, she cursed and swore at the officer, who calmly checked the car owner’s licence and registration before handing out a ticket.
The officer was a model of civility but Fung’s wife just went berserk, at one point jumping out of the car and poking her finger at him.
“Writing a few words took an hour. Are you crazy? Where are you when there are real robbers? Hiding?” she said.
“Bastard ... Go eat excrement … You waste taxpayers’ money. How much money do you earn a month? [You] deserve to be a [junior] cop for the rest of your life. Loser!”
She even cursed passers-by, who were outraged by her behaviour and defended the officer for doing his job.
Even since, the entire local press corps has been chasing the couple to find out more.
In one newspaper podcast interview, Fung admitted he committed the traffic offence but said it was a minor one.
“Every driver does it when he is in a hurry,” he said. “It’s not a big deal. We are model citizens making a minor offence.”
He defended his wife, saying such shouting “was [an] everyday occurrence”, and accused the officer of being rude and unprofessional. He also accused some passers-by of “blindly siding with the police and hating the rich”.
But just by watching the clip, we can see the officer was calm and professional, at one point even advising passers-by to stop shouting at the woman.
If the officer is a model for the police, I hope journalism students won’t take after Fung and his wife.