District councilor calls for more CCTV cameras after kidnapping case

A district councilor called on the police to install more CCTV cameras in the Tseung Kwan O district after surveillance footage was said to have played a part in solving a kidnapping case of a three-year-old boy in the area.

The rare case was reported to police on Wednesday afternoon, with the boy found in the early hours the next day in a private estate adjacent to a Tseung Kwan O mall where he was snatched.

Read more: Kidnapped boy rescued

Sai Kung district councilor Christine Fong Kwok-shan told a radio program this morning that the police force should expedite the plan to install CCTV cameras in Tseung Kwan O.

She was referring to authorities’ plan of installing 2,000 cameras across the territory each year, with cameras in Tseung Kwan O to be installed in the fourth quarter of this year.

Read more: 2,000 surveillance cams to be installed each year

Fong said one could never imagine such a child abduction case happening in broad daylight, yet she pointed out that the incident is an isolated event.

She said the unique feature of Tseung Kwan O is its connection between shopping malls with footbridges, with approximately one CCTV camera installed every 10 meters inside the malls.

The fact police were able to quickly solve the case reflected the effectiveness of these CCTV cameras, she said. However, she said some public areas such as the stairs or corner areas are still not covered.

Meanwhile, Nancy Lam Chui-ling, a principal and the vice-chairwoman of the Hong Kong Federation of Education Workers, called on parents to always keep their children within their sight.

They should avoid playing with their phones when their children are playing in the park, she added.