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Captain Wong, who was in command of a vessel registered in Singapore, responded to a call from the Hong Kong Maritime Rescue Co-ordination Centre and rushed his ship to render assistance to the crew in distress.
His selflessness and determination to discharge a seafarer's obligation to save lives at sea have resulted in the rescue of all the 22 crew members of the sunken vessel.
Another police constable was awarded for his swift action which resulted in saving the life of a 15-year-old girl off the Outlying Islands Ferry Pier in Central around 5.15 pm on August 18, 1995.
While Constable Chan Chung-yeung was patrolling with two colleagues in the area, they saw a girl jumping into the sea. Disregarding the busy sea traffic at the time, the choppy and heavily polluted water, Constable Chan jumped into the sea, swam to and secured the girl.
With the assistance of his two colleagues who threw buoys and radioed for further assistance, the girl was eventually rescued from the sea.
Speaking at the presentation ceremony, Mr Dale offered his thanks on behalf of the community to these 15 brave people.
"There are I believe many brave men and women in Hong Kong whose selfless acts are never reported, and thus the community at large has no opportunity to thank them. To those unknown and unnamed courageous people I offer the gratitude of our community," he said.
He appealed to anyone who is aware of a marine rescue incident to report it to the Marine Department.
"If justified those who placed their own lives in danger to help others will be invited to receive bravery award," he said.
The newly-elected Chairman of the Hong Kong Shipowners' Association, Mr George Chao, represented the Hong Kong maritime industry to offer thanks to the recipients.
Mr Chao said that through his involvement with the maritime industry, safety was the most important element of a successful marine business.
"Safety of people who work on ships or at the waterfront and safety of the ship to protect the marine environment," he said.
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