![Old Tai O Police Station 2013-08 3](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/c/cf/Old_Tai_O_Police_Station_2013-08_3.JPG)
The Old Tai O Police Station is a former
police station
A police station (sometimes called a "station house" or just "house") is a building which serves to accommodate police officers and other members of staff. These buildings often contain offices and accommodation for personnel and vehicles, al ...
in
Hong Kong
Hong Kong ( (US) or (UK); , ), officially the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region of the People's Republic of China ( abbr. Hong Kong SAR or HKSAR), is a city and special administrative region of China on the eastern Pearl River Delt ...
. It is located on the small hill next to Tai O Ferry Pier,
[Revitalising Historic Buildings Through Partnership Scheme Old Tai O Police Station Resource Kit](_blank)
/ref> at the south-western tip of Tai O
Tai O is a fishing town, partly located on an island of the same name, on the western side of Lantau Island in Hong Kong. The village name means ''large inlet'', referring to outlet for the waterways (Tai O Creek and Tai O River) merges as ...
, which can
be considered the most westerly point within Hong Kong.[Brief Information on Proposed Grade 2 Items, pp. 388-389](_blank)
The Tai O Cultural Relics Hotel operates in a social enterprise mode, with over half of the staff being Tai O or Lantau residents.
History
Tai O
Tai O is a fishing town, partly located on an island of the same name, on the western side of Lantau Island in Hong Kong. The village name means ''large inlet'', referring to outlet for the waterways (Tai O Creek and Tai O River) merges as ...
had long been seen as a strategic harbour area in the Hong Kong region. On 4 August 1855, British naval forces from the China Station
The Commander-in-Chief, China was the admiral in command of what was usually known as the China Station, at once both a British Royal Navy naval formation and its admiral in command. It was created in 1865 and deactivated in 1941.
From 1831 to 18 ...
defeated a pirate fleet at the Battle of Ty-ho Bay. The police station was built in 1902 with a main duty of combating piracy
Piracy is an act of robbery or criminal violence by ship or boat-borne attackers upon another ship or a coastal area, typically with the goal of stealing cargo and other valuable goods. Those who conduct acts of piracy are called pirates, v ...
and smuggling
Smuggling is the illegal transportation of objects, substances, information or people, such as out of a house or buildings, into a prison, or across an international border, in violation of applicable laws or other regulations.
There are various ...
prevalent in the neighbouring waters.
On 17 July 1918, Police Sergeant Thomas Cecil Glendinning was shot to death by Constable Teja Singh in the Charge Room of the police station where Sergeant Glendinning and his family were residing. The murder
Murder is the unlawful killing of another human without justification (jurisprudence), justification or valid excuse (legal), excuse, especially the unlawful killing of another human with malice aforethought. ("The killing of another person wit ...
occurred following a hostage situation
A hostage is a person seized by an abductor in order to compel another party, one which places a high value on the liberty, well-being and safety of the person seized, such as a relative, employer, law enforcement or government to act, or r ...
where Constable Singh had taken Sergeant Glendinning hostage at the station along with his wife and child. The incident was resolved after police located Constable Singh who had fled the scene and took his own life.
In 1940, Detective Constable Hing Ip of the Tai O station was shot and killed by robbers while on duty at Tai O.
During the Japanese occupation of Hong Kong
The Imperial Japanese occupation of Hong Kong began when the Governor of Hong Kong, Mark Aitchison Young, Sir Mark Young, surrendered the British Crown colony of British Hong Kong, Hong Kong to the Empire of Japan on 25 December 1941. The surr ...
, local resistance forces and triad members led by Wong Kei-tsai began a smuggling
Smuggling is the illegal transportation of objects, substances, information or people, such as out of a house or buildings, into a prison, or across an international border, in violation of applicable laws or other regulations.
There are various ...
operation in the area bringing food and salt to Lantau from Mainland China. The Tai O Police Station was briefly captured by local guerrilla forces before being retaken by the Japanese Army.
The number of policemen stationed there increased from an initial six or seven to over 180 in 1983. The station was downgraded to a patrol post in 1996, and was left vacant in 2002.
Higher on the same hill are the Tai O Barracks of the PLA Hong Kong Garrison,[Royal Asiatic Society Hong Kong Branch]
July 2012 Newsletter, pp. 6-8
/ref> formerly known before the handover
Sovereignty of Hong Kong was transferred from the United Kingdom to the China, People's Republic of China (PRC) at midnight on 1 July 1997. This event ended 156 years of British rule in the British Hong Kong, former colony. Hong Kong was establ ...
as Naval Coastal Observation Station, Tai O.
Architecture
The police station consists of two 2-storey blocks: a main block and an outhouse block linked by a footbridge at first floor level. The outhouse block has Arts and Crafts
A handicraft, sometimes more precisely expressed as artisanal handicraft or handmade, is any of a wide variety of types of work where useful and decorative objects are made completely by one’s hand or by using only simple, non-automated re ...
architectural features.
Conservation
The Old Tai O Police Station was listed as a Grade III historic building in 1988, and as a Grade II historic building in 2009. In 2008, it was included among the seven buildings in Batch I of the Hong Kong Government's Revitalising Historic Buildings Through Partnership Scheme
The Revitalising Historic Buildings through Partnership Scheme () is an initiative launched by the Hong Kong Government, part of a broader policy of heritage conservation in Hong Kong. In order to preserve and put historic buildings into good use ...
seeking adaptive reuse
Adaptive reuse refers to the process of reusing an existing building for a purpose other than which it was originally built or designed for. It is also known as recycling and conversion. Adaptive reuse is an effective strategy for optimizing the o ...
of government-owned historic buildings.
In the end, the government accepted the redevelopment proposal of the Hong Kong Heritage Conservation Foundation to convert the building into a boutique hotel
Boutique hotels are small inventory, design driven, unique hotels with their own character, personality and storytelling at the heart of their concept. Positioning is secondary for these hotels as they focus on authenticity and personalization ...
. The HKHCF was initially set up under the name Nice Brilliant Limited in December 2007, and changed its name in March 2008. The HKHCF has close ties to Robert Ng
Robert Ng Chee Siong (; born 1952) is a Singaporean billionaire businessman, and the chairman of Hong Kong property development conglomerate Sino Group since 1991.Simplified Chinese version anTraditional Chinese version
He is the eldest son o ...
's Sino Group
Established in 1971, Sino Group () comprises three listed companies – Sino Land Company Limited (HKSE: 083), Tsim Sha Tsui Properties Limited (HKSE: 0247), Sino Hotels (Holdings) Limited (HKSE: 1221) – and private companies held by the Ng Fa ...
, and two of his children sit on its board. Legislator Fernando Cheung
Fernando Cheung Chiu-hung (; born 23 February 1957 in Macau) is a Hong Kong politician, the vice-chairman of the Labour Party, and a former member of the Legislative Council.
Career
Cheung obtained his undergraduate degree in social work fro ...
accused them of being a "one-man NGO" set up for business purposes rather than social service. The conversion project is planned for completion at the end of 2011, with an estimated cost of HK$64.9 million.
The Old Tai O Police Station was transformed into the boutique, nine room Tai O Heritage Hotel, and is curated and managed by the HKHCF.
See also
* Robert Ng
Robert Ng Chee Siong (; born 1952) is a Singaporean billionaire businessman, and the chairman of Hong Kong property development conglomerate Sino Group since 1991.Simplified Chinese version anTraditional Chinese version
He is the eldest son o ...
, for debated issues about the Hong Kong Heritage Conservation Foundation Ltd.
* Historic police station buildings in Hong Kong Several police buildings in Hong Kong are listed as historic monuments. While some of them are still serving their initial purpose, most of them have been decommissioned and have been redeveloped or are awaiting redevelopment.
Historic police stati ...
References
External links
Virtual visit of Old Tai O Police Station
Project description by the Hong Kong Heritage Conservation Foundation Ltd.
Tai O Heritage Hotel
Tai O
Tai O
Tai O is a fishing town, partly located on an island of the same name, on the western side of Lantau Island in Hong Kong. The village name means ''large inlet'', referring to outlet for the waterways (Tai O Creek and Tai O River) merges as ...
Defunct police stations
Government buildings completed in 1902
Grade III historic buildings in Hong Kong
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