New security systems installed in public housing estates
By Mimi Lok
To improve the security in public housing estates, the Housing Authority started to install new security measures in these estates from the end of 1994.
The installation started in October 1994, shortly after 19-year-old Ip Wing Sze of Tuen Mun was raped and murdered in July 1994.
Nineteen estates such as Oi Man Estate, Wang Tau Hom Estate, and Tin Shui Estate are included in the first phrase.
Another 19 estates, including Lok Fu Estate, Chuk Yuen North Estate, and So Uk Estate are included in the second phrase. The whole project is scheduled to be finished before 1997.
Two systems, which cost about $352 million in total, are designed for different types of estates.
Blocks of standard harmony design receive complete sets of facilities, which include metal gates and security guards at the entrance of the block. Besides, closed-circuit television monitors and door-phones are installed inside the lifts.
Buildings with older design, characterised by various entrances on the ground floor, receive incomplete sets of facilities, which includes only the installation of closed-circuit television monitors in the lifts.
With the new systems, vistors have to record their identity card numbers before entering the building.
Mr. Ho Chung, 56, a security guard in Wang Tau Hom Estate, said that this ensures the safety of the residents.
Said he: “Only the residents know the secret code of the metal gate. No strangers can come in freely.”
Mr. Chu Tak Chi, 35, a policeman who looks after Lok Fu, San Po Kong and Wong Tai Sin, agrees.
“After installing the new system, fewer drug addicts wander around. The crime rate has also decreased,” he said.
However, some residents hold a different view.
Mrs. Leung Wan Yun Ping, 37, who lives in Wang Tau Hom Estate, doubted the effectiveness of the monitoring system.
She said, “The shooting angle of the the monitor inside the lift is limited.”
Mr. Kwun Siu Kiu, 25, a resident of Oi Man Estate, complained that the system was damaged three days after installation. Besides, he was not satisfied with the progress of installation.
However, Mr. Lee Yan Chuen, senior building service engineer of the Housing Department, revealed that the existing system is already effective.
“Everyone entering the lift is being tape-recorded,” Mr. Lee said. “A 24-inch television is located at the lift lobby which shows the situation inside the lift to the public.”
He also regarded the progress of installation as “fair and satisfactory”. “Older public estates have many entrances on the ground level, where it is hard to install metal gates at all exits,” he added.
He revealed that the Housing Authority is trying to improve the security system. “No system can be ideal and completely safe,” Mr. Lee said, “but the existing system can already help in deterring attackers”
October 1996