Like Tree41Likes

How Safe is Hong Kong, Exactly?

Closed Thread
Page 1 of 5 1 2 3 4 ... LastLast
  1. #1

    Join Date
    Oct 2010
    Posts
    50

    How Safe is Hong Kong, Exactly?

    I've been looking through forums in Hong Kong, along with news archives for the past couple of days, and it's started to dawn on me that Hong Kong, may be, isn't as safe a place we ought to think of it--even for expats. A recent article, I think on a Canadian newspaper, for example, specifically said that crimes against expats were uncommon here. Yet, having worked as a counsellor back in the day, our office often had cases (expats) who had been victims of hate crimes, rapes, and more recently we've heard of people gone missing, people being murdered, etc etc... So, though I'm sure Hong Kong is a fairly safe place in comparison to say... Harlem, perhaps the image that it's uber safe, isn't really true? As one person commented on a posting on Geo regarding Janet Gilson's murder earlier this year,

    Quote Originally Posted by Natfixit:
    Seems that the HK police like to smooth things over or play down the fact that there is crime/attacks happening here. Read last Sunday SCTP on page 3 about the rapes occuring in the midlevels. I never knew until my husband pointed it out, and I have been walking home late at night from central.
    I'm not trying to make any assumptions--I've lived in HK almost my whole life, and don't find it all that unsafe, but thought I'd bring it up for discussion to see what you all think.

  2. #2

    Join Date
    Jun 2010
    Location
    Tuen Mun
    Posts
    6,191

    I would say for most of us expats it's safer here by a long way than where most of us came from...


  3. #3

    Join Date
    Nov 2008
    Posts
    4,574
    Quote Originally Posted by bryant.english:
    I would say for most of us expats it's safer here by a long way than where most of us came from...
    Agreed (Sydney, Australia)

  4. #4

    Join Date
    Mar 2010
    Posts
    6,745

    Bryant- did not know you grew up in a ghetto, like I !

    bryant.english likes this.

  5. #5

    Join Date
    Oct 2006
    Location
    Hong Kong
    Posts
    15,557

    Afraid its not as safe as Croydon.

    bryant.english and jganthro like this.

  6. #6

    Join Date
    Jun 2010
    Location
    Tuen Mun
    Posts
    6,191

    I would add that most of my life I've lived in desirable middle class neighbourhoods in England and Australia and I would probably feel safer in Mong Kok at 3 in the morning....

    *edit* I sound like a cock....

    Last edited by bryant.english; 30-12-2011 at 10:52 AM.

  7. #7

    Join Date
    Jun 2011
    Posts
    5,110

    HK is pretty safe in terms of violent crimes (murder, rape, armed robber). Those kind of crimes do occur of course, but not at the frequency and ratio of a comparable large city in the West. What you should watch out for is pickpocketing and bribe/fraud-related crimes (con men etc).

    Of course, if you intentionally go and look for trouble (i.e. hang out with triads), than you will get trouble...but that's another issue.

    Last edited by Watercooler; 30-12-2011 at 11:41 AM.
    Natfixit likes this.

  8. #8

    Join Date
    Oct 2006
    Location
    Hong Kong
    Posts
    15,557
    Quote Originally Posted by bryant.english:
    I would add that most of my life I've lived in desirable middle class neighbourhoods in England and Australia and I would probably feel safer in Mong Kok at 3 in the morning....

    *edit* I sound like a cock....
    You are a cock


































































































    (JOKING)
    bryant.english likes this.

  9. #9

    Join Date
    Apr 2010
    Location
    SCL
    Posts
    4

    As a counsellor,,,, my guess is that you worked with locals, from broken families, in the less-than-affluent neighbourhoods and ethnic minorities, and it is no secret, that violence is not, unknown to them. I think it is true, what they say here that MOST, violent crimes here,, involve parties known to each other,,, such as friends family & relatives.

    Even on this level I would say,, without much information at hand as opposed to what you must have ready access to, HK is a safe city, AND safer by miles than most,, other cities of this kind around the world.

    Quote Originally Posted by jganthro:
    Yet, having worked as a counsellor back in the day, our office often had cases (expats) who had been victims of hate crimes, rapes, and more recently we've heard of people gone missing, people being murdered, etc etc... So, though I'm sure Hong Kong is a fairly safe place in comparison to say... Harlem, perhaps the image that it's uber safe, isn't really true?

  10. #10

    Join Date
    Aug 2006
    Posts
    7,517

    Parts can be dangerous! Suicidal granny plunges on to cop


Closed Thread
Page 1 of 5 1 2 3 4 ... LastLast