'Four O'clock Hui Sir' Hangs Up His Boots

Steve Hui, who became famous as the public face of the force during the 2014 Occupy movement is retiring today after three decades in the job.

Now an assistant commissioner, he became known as "Four o'clock Hui sir" because of his habit of entering the press briefing room on the dot of 4pm to brief media.

Hui was in charge of police public relations back in 2014 when major roads in Hong Kong were blocked for weeks by pro-democracy protesters demanding genuine universal suffrage.

During the 79-day sit-in protests, the police held no less than 40 press conferences - and Hui led 33 of them.

He said he had the task of explaining what the police were trying to do during Occupy, and also had to clear up unfair or unfounded accusations levelled at his fellow officers.

The daily briefings made "4 o'clock Hui sir" an icon on the force’s Facebook page.

While his English skills sparked plenty of online discussion, Hui says he just laughed off many of the comments, describing himself as "quite a positive and optimistic person".

"What people think about this is nothing to do with me right? It’s up to your judgement," he said.

Hui joined the police in 1986, fulfilling a childhood dream. He says he was determined to become a police officer, ever since he and his brother were bullied and punched by a group of tattooed men when they were young.

He says the pressure he faced during Occupy was even greater than back in the early 1990s, when officers found themselves caught up in gangland gunfights. Back then he recalled bringing a bulletproof vest to work because robbers armed with machine guns were carrying out daring jewellery shop raids.

Hui later rose through the ranks, and between 2007 and 2010 he was in charge of security for the then chief executive Donald Tsang, which he described as an eye-opening experience.

His retiring advice to Hong Kong police was to remember their strong sense of honour and professional pride, their duty to Hong Kong society and their loyalty to fellow officers.