Lone policeman juggles multiple roles in small island

As a policeman on a small island in Yangzhou, Jiangsu province, Li Shugan has been working on his own for more than 20 years.

The 59-year-old knows almost everyone on Siguanghu Island, which has a population of 14,000 people and covers an area of 63 square kilometers. He helps find missing people, mediate in disputes and solve criminal cases.

Not only does Li work as a community support officer, but he also doubles up as a traffic policeman and urban management officer.

"I get up at 6 every working day and start work as a traffic policeman at the main road on the island before 8 am," he said. "I then go back to the police station, visit villagers and conduct investigations."

Before 2010, the more than 100 families living in Paifang village - one of the seven villages on the island - had to live with dirt roads and had long wanted to build tarmac roads.

The villagers complained to Li that they had to walk on muddy roads on rainy days and inhale dust on sunny days. However, the village was forgotten, and no government department wanted to build the roads for the villagers.

Li started visiting the county government in charge of the village several times, and tarmac roads were eventually built for the villagers. On the day the construction of the roads were completed, many villagers thanked him.

In his 28 years as a policeman, Li has mediated in nearly 6,000 disputes among villagers and he is well-respected by many. "You need to be fair, care for the villagers and know how to communicate with them to do the job well," Li said.

Though he is not a heavy smoker, he accepts all the cigarettes the villagers give him and smokes with them whenever he visits. He also drinks the water handed to him by the villagers while ignoring the dirt in the water bowls. Due to farm work, the villagers often have mud in their fingernails and their thumbs sometimes touch the water while they are carrying the bowls.

"They'll think that you look down on them if you refuse the cigarettes or the water," Li said. "They'll feel your sincerity when you accept what they offer."

Li admits that working alone is hard, but he chooses to stay on the island because the villagers do not want him to leave. Due to the island's poor transportation network, few policemen want to be transferred there. "It would be inconvenient for the locals to leave the island to look for the police," he said.

Li will retire in October, but he said he will continue to work on the island if local people insist that he does. "I'll travel with my wife from time to time, but I'll be back eventually," he said. "I also hope that more policemen and policewomen will work for the locals and provide them with a better service."

Zhang Shaowei contributed to this story.