Yau Ma Tei Police Station (Chinese: 油麻地警署) is a police station in Yau Ma Tei, Kowloon, Hong Kong. Its buildings at No. 627 Canton Road, at the junction of Public Square Street, were erected in 1922[1] after relocation from the junction of Public Square Street and Shanghai Street.
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Yau Ma Tei Police Station was built in 1922. Additions were made after World War II, including a 1957 extension wing to serve as barracks and an accommodation block, to the west of the existing station.[1] During the 1966 riots the police station was attacked by a mob but the police managed to suppress it rapidly.[1]
The neoclassical Main Block is built in Edwardian Free Style.[1] There is a traditional portico on both sides of Canton Road and Public Square Street.[2] The main entrance is a semi-circular portico set in the indented corner at the junction of Public Square Street and Canton Road. Such indented corners are features often used for feng shui reasons.[1]
The building is classified as "Grade III Historic Building"[3][4] since 1998.[1] Part of the structure is under threat from the proposed four lane Central Kowloon Route. The staff quarters, constructed in the 1960s, are not listed. The original building has a large side gate opening onto Public Square Street, to the right of the main entrance. This gate has been permanently locked since at least the late 1970s, because opening is deemed unlucky after a number of shooting incidents involving officers who left the station via the gate. In one corner of the compound there is a small shrine to ward off the bad fung-shui created by the nearby flyover.
In the wake of growing heritage conservation awareness following the demolition of the Star Ferry Pier in Edinburgh Place, lawmakers are threatening to block funding of the project[5].
The Yau Ma Tei Police Station is the location of a scene of the 2001 film Rush Hour 2. However, because the scene called for an explosion, the real filming had to be done in a movie studio, where wires and other special effects could be used.