They may be keen to turn their backs on violence but the level of triad crime has remained remarkably steady in recent years and still accounts for around 3 per cent of all crime in Hong Kong, police figures show.

Of 75,930 crimes across the city in 2012, 2,340 were triad related. The total number of arrests for triad-related activity was 3,322 - 600 more than in 2008 but more than 100 less than in 2011 when arrests peaked at 3,456.

After triad membership, the biggest category of offence in 2012 was wounding and serious assault with 642 cases. There were 96 offences of blackmail, 79 cases of criminal intimidation, 76 cases of possessing arms or offensive weapons and 168 cases of criminal damage.

A police spokesperson said: "The force is committed and determined in its efforts to clamp down on triads. The fight against triads remains one of the force's operational priorities and the force continues to mount intelligence-led operations against key triad personalities and activities and to interdict their sources of income.

"A portion of triad-related crimes was detected by proactive operations, netting an average detection rate of above 82 percent over the past five years. Furthermore, the force maintains close liaison and cooperation with law enforcement agencies in the mainland, Macao and overseas jurisdictions in an effort to combat triad activities."

(HK Edition 11/08/2013 page1)