I disagree with that. I've had people follow me home in London (literally) asking me out on dates...to the extent it got quite scary...and when I reached my front door I wasn't sure if I should head in or not....kids stealing mopeds/motorbikes in daylight in front of my eyes, a drug addict picking up my phone which had fallen out accidentally and asking for money and the cab ride to his 'drug den', a crazed man on a bus at night (not late, mind) saying lewd things to me to the extent I almost got off the bus in the middle of Walworth(!), aggressive chat up lines from people on the tube, etc. Then there are the drunken fights at night...people getting mugged at knife point (a colleague of mine) etc.Original Post Deleted
And that's excluding all the knife crime there is...the incident in Victoria Station at rush hour being a prime example. No one wants to interfere as you're one small person against a large crowd of crazed teenagers armed with knives.
That said, I didn't live in constant fear...I was just a lot more careful, whether I lived in an affluent area (although there is always an estate around the corner, which, in a way, is not a bad thing) or on the edge of an area notorious for knife crime and gangs.
The one thing about HK is that people keep their distance, and when peoople are drunk (and don't keep their distance) they are usually 'happy' drunks as opposed to violent drunks.
Of course there are always exceptions.