Yuen will officially assume his new role on Tuesday after retiring from a police career spanning nearly four decades.
The Hong Kong government has appointed a former deputy police commissioner to head the Food and Environmental Hygiene Department.
Albert Yuen Yuk-kin will take over the department after stepping down from the force, where over 37 years he advanced to the position of deputy commissioner of operations, the government announced on Monday.
The departmental post is one of two senior official roles filled via an open recruitment process announced in February. Along with the director of information services position, both appointments have been awarded to individuals with backgrounds in the police force.
The move is said to be part of the city’s ongoing reforms to its civil service.
Yuen joined the police force in 1986 as an inspector. During the 1980s and 1990s, he was assigned to various crime investigation units, handling the widespread armed robbery that was prevalent at the time.
His expertise lies in investigative work, including criminal intelligence, serious crime and triad operations, commercial crime, and policy formulation.