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Theodora Yu

The Hong Kong government has appointed a former deputy police commissioner to lead the Food and Environmental Hygiene Department.
Albert Yuen Yuk-kin would lead the department following his retirement from the force, where over 37 years he rose to the rank of deputy commissioner of operations, the government said on Monday.
The department post is one of two high-level official positions filled through an open recruitment announced in February. Along with the director of information services role, both appointments have gone to individuals with police backgrounds.
The move is reportedly part of the city’s ongoing civil service reforms.
Yuen joined the force in 1986 as an inspector. He was assigned to various crime investigation units in the 1980s and 1990s, dealing with rampant armed robbery at the time.
His expertise lies in investigations, including criminal intelligence, serious crime and triad operations, commercial crime and policymaking.
Yuen was appointed as chief superintendent in 2016 and eventually took up the post of director of crime and security in 2020. A year later, he was appointed as deputy commissioner before retiring in 2023.
Yuen was then made an adviser for the Food and Environmental Hygiene Department for a year in November 2023.
In the police publication Offbeat, Yuen called the anti-government protests in 2019 the “most unforgettable” period of his career, expressing distress that many young people were instigated to commit illegal acts and were eventually imprisoned.
He also noted that frontline officers were injured and subjected to doxxing, with family members threatened.

Requirements for the department director post include at least 15 years of administrative and management experience, with at least seven years in a senior position.
The role also requires the ability to handle politically sensitive issues and strong political acumen.
Responsibilities include overseeing the department’s licensing functions and duties concerning licences of places of public entertainment, and deploying financial and human resources to execute law enforcement duties.
Last year, the department introduced national security clauses for new restaurant licences and permits issued under the Public Health and Municipal Services Ordinance, including those being renewed.
Its clauses also cover rental contracts for the department’s venues, including Chinese New Year fair stalls and places of public entertainment.
John Tse Chun-chung, who was appointed director of information services in May, was a former police chief superintendent turned public relations adviser for the Chief Executive’s Office.
Yuen will assume the role on Tuesday.


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Yuen will assume office on Tuesday after retiring from nearly four-decade police career


Yuen will assume office on Tuesday after retiring from nearly four-decade police career.


Ex-Hong Kong police deputy commissioner Albert Yuen set for hygiene chief role

.css-1c6uqr6{color:inherit;font-weight:inherit;font-size:inherit;font-family:inherit;line-height:inherit;overflow-wrap:break-word;}Yuen will assume office on Tuesday after retiring from nearly four-decade police career

Yuen will assume office on Tuesday after retiring from nearly four-decade police career