On the status of Hong Kong as one of the world's safest cities, a spokesperson from the Security Bureau called the findings "positive", but questioned the definition of consumer fraud in the survey.

"There are many potential definitions of the crime and most of them might be subjective," he said. "For example, can it be considered consumer fraud if a citizen believes he or she has been overcharged in a purchase?"

Corroborating the above statement, Aris Chan, Honorary Assistant Professor at the Department of Sociology, HKU, also noted that the criteria for consumer fraud may be "mostly subjective".

With the prevalent sense of safety in Hong Kong, about 93 per cent respondents claimed to feel safe while walking around alone after dark, and 94 per cent believed police did a good job in 2005.

Despite the public belief in police performance, however, the reporting rate for certain crimes is low, notably sexual victimization (13.8 per cent) and bicycle theft (8.5 per cent). Twenty-six per cent respondents chose not to report as the crimes were "not serious enough", while 6 per cent quoted "lack of proof" as the reason.

"Most Hong Kong people are pragmatic and consider certain crimes 'trivial'," said Chan. "As for sexual incidents, some people may have vague ideas about sexual harassment and simply drop the cases."

While the majority of local citizens enjoy the city as a safe place, drivers of public transport have expressed concerns about their personal safety during the small hours of the day.

"During a longer ride from the Hong Kong side to New Territories, I'm worried about robbery or even assault if the passenger happens to be male," said a taxi driver in Causeway Bay.

"Even with several passengers on the mini-bus, you never know what will happen," said a mini-bus driver in Tin Hau.

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