Protect police's dignity

Primary school teacher Lam Wai-sze drew condemnation from all corners of society after she verbally abused officers on duty earlier this month. Chief Executive Leung Chun-ying reiterated support for the Hong Kong Police Force on Sunday and made it clear that society must not allow ill-motivated individuals to take advantage of the restraint police officers exercise in public, and emphasized the importance of protecting the authority and dignity of the police.

It must be noted that the restraint police officers exercise while doing their job does not mean they are weak and can be bullied at will. Taking advantage of police restraint to challenge law enforcement authorities equals attacking Hong Kong's rule of law and therefore must not be tolerated. Lam resorted to extreme vulgarity by swearing at police officers on duty with the "f-word" repeatedly. Her horrible behavior was recorded on video and seen across the Internet. Relevant authorities should use the clips as evidence to press charges against her in a court of law to protect the dignity of the police.

Hong Kong's rule of law is sacred and no one is allowed to attack it under political pretence or ambush the CE and other government officials with violence when they visit local communities. The police must handle such offenders according to law to protect our rule of law.

The Hong Kong SAR police are an excellent law-enforcement apparatus, whose members are well trained to the highest standard and capable of staying calm and exercising adequate restraint in front of increasingly radical protesters to ensure fair and just execution of their duty. That is why it has won respect and praise from people across the social spectrum.

Unfortunately the more radical members of the opposition camp have become more belligerent than ever in recent years, as they repeatedly challenged police officers on duty with verbal abuse and even violent attacks when the latter tried to maintain public order and protect innocent bystanders. Frontline officers have been under growing psychological pressure to keep unruly protesters in check as peacefully as they can.

Some members of the opposition see police restraint as a sign of weakness and have been mounting their challenge on police authority. The recent outrageous behavior of school teacher Lam Wai-sze is a perfect example of political prejudice trampling upon the rule of law and must be dealt with appropriately to remind the opposition that no one can obstruct law enforcement without consequence.

This is an excerpted translation of a Wen Wei Po editorial published on Aug 12.

(HK Edition 08/13/2013 page1)