can guess that it's on the waterfront because the Marine Police would also be using it as a base and their boats can dock there. Perhaps the facility would be used not only for policing the imediate Lamma environment but also the waters surrounding our island - probably a much bigger concern even than internal island policing.

Current police station in Hung Shing Yeh:
Over 40 years old, too small and crowded, not keeping up with their expansion, services and needs. No infrastructure for female police officers, no holding cells, remote location.

Reasons for new police station:
More space, convenience for residents, convenience and better "command & control" for the police, image, close to pier for suspect/prisoner transport and police launches, much closer to residents, faster response times, infrastructure for female police officers, storage for confiscated items like bicycles, holding cells.

By all means let them build it. But it can go somewhere else. It doesn't need to be on the waterfront.

I refer to your email dated 7 June 2009 relating to your objection to the proposed new Police Station in Yung Shue Wan.

Firstly, may I provide you with some background information regarding the planned new facility. The existing Police Post (near Hung Shing Ye) is an old structure occupying a strategic hillside location that is some distance from the main residential areas of Yung Shue Wan. For this reason, a 'temporary' Reporting Centre has been located over an extended period near Yung Shue Wan pier for the convenience of residents.

Although it is not always possible to man this centre due to resource constraints, there is an emergency call button installed on the structure. For your information, Lamma Island comes under the policing responsibility of Cheung Chau Division and the only Police Station as such (where detained persons are processed and held) is located on Cheung Chau.

Due to the present post's isolated location, the Police have repeatedly sought a purpose-built facility in a better position and, for the past few years, we have secured a site opposite the football pitch / playground area you mention (which is also conveniently near to the Government helicopter landing site). Nevertheless, over the past few years, funding submissions for the construction of the new post have been unsuccessful due to other competing Government priorities (this is why the Drainage Services Department have had temporary use of the site for the past couple of years). More recently, however, the project has been given a higher priority and hopefully, construction of the new Police Post will commence in Financial Year 2010-11.

I would like to draw your attention to the fact that the proposed Police Post will be a fairly modest affair and is aimed primarily at providing a better service to the residents of Yung Shue Wan, including persons with disabilities. Needless to say, the new post will offer better facilities for police officers serving on the island, and the addition of female changing accommodation will provide extra flexibility with regard to the deployment of female officers. You may be interested to learn that we have also sought funding in the current financial year for an electric police vehicle to enhance coverage of the Yung Shue Wan / Pak Kok areas. Once the new post is commissioned, the old one will be returned to the Government while the Reporting Centre is likely to be destroyed.

Your concerns regarding the likely disruption and noise caused by the construction of the Police Post are noted, but hopefully such inconveniences will be mitigated by the longer-term improvement in public services not to mention aesthetic improvements to the immediate surrounding area, for which there is general community support.

Finally, I note your apparent frustration concerning the lack of English-speaking officers on Lamma Island. I regret that it will always be difficult to guarantee the on-scene availability of officers with the requisite fluency in languages other than Chinese but, generally speaking, most officers are capable of communicating in basic English.

Nevertheless, the special status of Lamma Island has been long recognized and this is why an Inspectorate Officer post is established for the island. The present Officer-in-charge of Lamma & Peng Chau is Senior Inspector Philip KWOK Chi-keung. Should you have any further queries, he may be contacted on tel. 2982 1577 or email: ip-sip-li-pec-ccdiv@police.gov.hk. Alternatively, you may prefer to contact Superintendent Alasdair Watson, Deputy District Commander of Marine Port District who has oversight of Cheung Chau Division, on tel. 2555 4419 or email: ddc-mpdist@police.gov.hk.

I hope the above information answers some of your concerns.