Dangerous liaisons

IT WAS A CASE that horrified parents: two schoolgirls brutally murdered by a man who lured them to his house to play with his children. The oldest, Chan Lok-man, was 11 when she followed Duong Vinh Cuong into a taxi, after making friends with his children in Yuen Long Plaza in December 2002. She never returned. Yim Pui-shan was a year younger when she entered Duong's home in Yuen Long. Her fate was the same.

Both girls were murdered by Duong while his children played downstairs. He abused and smothered the girls, 'sacrificing' them in what was explained in court as a black-magic ritual. One body, he dumped in a ditch close to the house. The other, he stuffed in a cupboard.

Most parents are aware of so-called stranger danger, but how serious is the problem in Hong Kong? Surely the Yuen Long case is an exception? For adults, Hong Kong is considered one of the safest cities in the world. Police statistics show that, in the first four months of this year, the overall crime rate fell 8.1 per cent compared with the same period last year, with burglaries down 8.3 per cent and robbery down 7.8 per cent. But what about children?

Superintendent Cecilia Ng Suk-fun from the Police Child Protection Service's Unit, says that, although Hong Kong is a safe city for children, parents shouldn't be complacent. 'Parents should make a point of knowing how their child spends their free time, and tell them from an early age to beware of strangers,' she says.

Elsa Lai Siu-lan, the executive manager of the End Child Sexual Abuse Foundation, says that, even in a reasonably safe city, where the possibility of abuse is small, children should still be taught how to cope with dangerous situations.

The foundation, set up in 1998 to protect children from sexual abuse, runs programmes to improve awareness in the community. It also has a mobile classroom that visits local schools to help teach children aged between seven and eight.