Heroic Pak-origin Hong Kong policeman talks compatriot out of suicide

Hong Kong policeman Ifzal Zaffar is making rounds on the Internet – being called a national hero – after he talked a compatriot out of suicide in their native language Urdu.

Zaffar, who is the only Pakistani national on the security force, spoke to the suicidal man by climbing alongside him atop a 65-feet-high crane. His efforts bore fruit when the man agreed to come down and be taken to the hospital.

Explaining how this was part of his training, Constable Zaffar said, “I used the techniques we learned at the academy … I think he felt safer knowing that I could talk to him in his own language,” BBC reported, citing Apple Daily.

The 20-year-old constable is fluent in Cantonese and has served Hong Kong police since a year when he was inducted through diversity programme Operation Gemstone. His exemplary work has been praised by many on the web, as well as the Muslim Council of Hong Kong, which stated, “Bravo to this young man and thank you to the HK police force for bringing him in.”