Adeel Malik
A 20-year-old Muslim Pakistani Hong Kong police officer is being hailed as a hero after he talked another Pakistani out of committing suicide by jumping from a 20-meter-high crane.
Ifzal Zaffar spotted the would-be suicide named Anan on a construction site shortly after 10 a.m. in Yau Ma Tei on Sunday, Apple Daily reports.
Zaffar was instructed by his superiors to assist in the crisis situation.
He used Urdu, the Pakistani language to talk to Anan and eventually managed to convince him to climb down.
Anan was taken to hospital.
It was the first time Zaffar had stopped anyone from committing suicide for which he received a commendation from his commander, Cheung Leung-yuk.
Zaffar, belongs to the Yau Ma Tei patrol sub-unit and speaks fluent Cantonese.
He told the media that Anan felt comfortable talking to him because they speak the same language.
Zaffar is a graduate of Project Gemstone which aims to help non-ethnic Chinese police cadets overcome language barriers.
https://www.facebook.com/HongKongPoliceForce/videos/1379348745486419/?hc_ref=PAGES_TIMELINE
He became the fifth non-Chinese graduate of the program and officially joined the force in April last year.
Cheung said Yau Ma Tei is a diverse community with at least one-third of residents belonging to ethnic minorities. He further said:
“Having officers like Zaffar benefits law enforcement work when there are fewer language barriers and cultural differences.”
What Ifzal did was indeed praiseworthy and heroic, but as a Muslim, it’s an act which is highly noble as Allah (God Almighty) says in the Qur’ān (5:32):
“And whoever saves one – it is as if he had saved mankind entirely.”
