Fighting to survive on a patrol launch during a typhoon. Investigating a murder by a Vietnamese gangster in a refugee camp. Battling riots during the Cultural Revolution, countering drug smuggling by the triads, and dealing with bank robbers. These are some of the stories told in this compilation of experiences from 50 former Royal Hong Kong Police officers.

Sex, drugs, gambling, ghosts, drinking, rugby - and even some police work. Hong Kong on the edge of empire was teeming with triads, smugglers, Chinese immigrants and Vietnamese refugees. Simon's memoir of his time in the Hong Kong police - from the 1970s until after the handover - is a fast-paced tale. From the murky back streets of Kowloon to the open seas, his shocking and hilarious story shows what life was like on the Hong Kong beat.

Hong Kong, 1918. Tranquil compared to war-torn Europe. But on January 22nd, a running battle through the streets of Wanchai ended with five policemen dead. One of the men came from a small town in Ireland. He, along with a dozen relatives, had sailed out to join the Police Force. Patricia O'Sullivan describes these policemen and the criminals they dealt with, and gives a rare glimpse into the life of working-class Europeans in Hong Kong.

Hong Kong in 1970 was the fastest expanding city in the world, a city that lived on three levels - the expatriates, nearly always British who lived in almost complete isolation; the vast mass of Chinese residents struggling to get by and improve their lot; and finally the criminal and corrupt underside which not only fought among itself but also affected the life of everyone else in the Crown Colony through fear and corruption. Fighting to hold this in check - and by and large succeeding - were the Hong Kong police force. At the officer level, many were British. Into this heady and dangerous mix steps a young Merseyside policeman, Chris Emmett. His account of those times brings vividly to life the crime, prostitution, drugs, triad street gangs and corruption that was an important part of the fabric of Hong Kong of those days.

This is a factual account of the life of an expat Officer in the Royal Hong Kong Police who helped to maintain law and order in the thriving Crown Colony prior to Chinese rule, an era of endemic corruption which resulted in the near mutiny of a 20,000 strong force. The author, pseudonym Jack Humphreys, served as a Bomban, an Inspector of Police, during this critical period of British history. He describes his experiences walking the Hong Kong beat, confronting illegal immigration, leading an SAS-trained anti-terrorist team, setting up a covert Operations Unit of the Criminal Intelligence Bureau and then commanding a Regional Intelligence Unit, in a 20,000 strong force with around 600 expatriate officers. On Christmas Day 1978 Jack and his anti-terrorist team were featured on international television as they landed from an RAF helicopter on the Vietnamese refugee freighter "Huey Fong" to safely extract a Police Tactical Unit platoon delayed on board for over 24 hours. The Yorkshireman was never far from dispute and controversy, being scapegoated into military and police disciplinary tribunals, and courageously sticking by an SAS colleague prosecuted for Assault Occasioning Actual Bodily Harm and Possession of an Offensive Weapon. On conviction the soldier received six strokes of the cane at Stanley Prison before release and repatriation to the UK. That soldier was Pete Winner, author of the international best-seller "Soldier I, An SAS Hero". Jack supported Pete throughout the trial, helping him retain his military career and eventually return to the SAS Regiment where he engaged in the Iranian Embassy Siege and the Falklands War. He returned to uniform for two years and during periods of exceptional success against narcotics trafficking received threats from shadowy triad and police figures suggestive of corruption within the British administrative �lite. After serving a further two years with the Special Duties Unit Jack transferred to command the covert Operations Unit of the Criminal Intelligence Bureau as a Detective Chief Inspector, countering 'Big Circle' gangs from Mainland China and arresting high-ranking triad officials before moving to develop a Regional Intelligence Unit in the New Territories.

This volume explores Hong Kong policing history from 1842 to 1969 through the frontline stories of many police officers.

In January 1980, a young police officer named John MacLennan committed suicide in his Ho Man Tin flat. His death came mere hours before he was to be arrested for committing homosexual acts still, at that point, illegal in Hong Kong. But this was more than the desperate act of a young man, ashamed and afraid; both his death and the subsequent investigation were a smokescreen for a scandal that went to the heart of the establishment. MacLennan came to Hong Kong from Scotland during a tumultuous time in Hong Kong’s history. The governorship of Sir Murray MacLehose was to be a time of reform and progress, but with that remit came the determination of many to suppress scandals and silence those who stirred up trouble. Both the life and death of John MacLennan seemed to many of those in power to threaten the stability of one of Britain’s last colonies. The second edition includes a foreword by Christine Loh (former undersecretary for the environment, former legislator, and founder of Civic Exchange) as well as updated information from new interviews with key people involved in the case. With endorsements from human rights researchers and the local community, this book provides insight into Hong Kong during a time of social unrest and corruption scandals, a time when homosexuality and paedophilia were often considered interchangeable and both offered easy targets for blackmail. “Collett’s vivid account of the MacLennan case and its aftermath allows us to rediscover an episode that is important not only to Hong Kong gay history but to the history of law and criminal justice in a colonial context more broadly. A fascinating read.” – Dr Marco Wan, Associate Professor of Law and Director of the Programme in Law and Literary Studies, University of Hong Kong “Nigel Collett has written a period masterpiece.” – Christine Loh, Former undersecretary for the environment, former legislator, and founder of Civic Exchange