Police respond to schools' fears
Police have stepped up anti-drug operations in Discovery Bay following reports of drug-taking and underage drinking among expatriate teenagers in the Lantau enclave.
A senior police officer said that while there had not been a marked increase in violence or drug-taking, more police patrols had been sent there in the past two months because of concerns raised by international schools attended by some of the teenagers.
Patrols had been increased in the area after authorities at two international schools on Hong Kong Island told police of possible drug use among Discovery Bay children.
'We looked at allegations of drug use and stepped up patrols over weekends and on Friday evenings,' the officer said.
But he described the large gatherings of young people drinking and letting off steam as 'cyclical', as schools broke up for the summer holidays and students returned from boarding schools and universities overseas.