SINGAPORE - A correctional officerfrom Hong Kong became the first woman to take part in a competition that tests the skills of elite prison officers from the Asia Pacific region.
To qualify, Ms Kwan Hiu Ping, 27, pushed herself hard against 30 of her colleagues. She wore gas masks for her runs, and used weights to simulate the heavy load that she would be carrying in the Asian Prisons Lockdown Challenge 2018, held in the Changi Prison Complex.
Ms Kwan was eventually picked to be part of a six-member team to represent Hong Kong, whichemerged as overall champions, wrestling back the title they previously won in 2014. Singapore Prison Service cluster A and B came in second and third respectively.
It entered three teams for the challenge.
The biennial three-day event, organised by the Singapore Prisons Emergency Action Response Force, ended on May 10.
Said Ms Kwan, who has six years of experience in Hong Kong's Correctional Services Department: "No woman had ever participated in this competition before. I wanted to challenge myself to be the first."
Over 70 correctional officers participated in the challenge, where they got the chance to enhance their tactical capabilities, exchange knowledge and benchmark their own capabilities against others in the region.
Since its launch in 2010, more than 350 participants from 17 countries have taken part in the challenge.
The fifth iteration saw the largest number of international attendees to date, with representatives from Indonesia, Fiji, Solomon Islands, Kiribati, and Sri Lanka participating for the first time, according to a Singapore Prison Service spokesman. A total of 57 foreign correctional officers from 10 countries took part in the challenge which was team based for the first time.
Ms Kwan was not always one to be associated with brawn. "I had wanted to be a dancer when I was young," she said. But all that changed after she saw a recruitment advertisement for correctional officers.
"It intrigued me, as I saw the greater meaning of working not just as a police officer catching criminals, but one that could make a difference to the prisoners' lives through rehabilitation," she said.
The competition included skill-based components designed to test the limits and capabilities of each specialist team, such as marksmanship. There were also tactical demonstrations using simulated events.
Rehabilitation Officer Kelvin Ang, who represented Singapore Prison Service cluster A, said: "Meeting and competing with fellow officers across the region was a great learning experience."
