China has sent a police officer to the Olympic Games in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil for the safety and security of Chinese citizens due to the city's high crime rate.

The officer, whose official title is temporary police communication officer, arrived in Rio two months ago to prepare for the Olympics, which kicks off on Friday.

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"My main job is to strengthen communication with the Rio police so that we can better protect the safety of Chinese sports delegates, tourists, journalists as well as all Chinese citizens in Rio," Shao Weimin, the police officer, said during the China's flag-raising ceremony at the Olympic village on Wednesday, according to the South China Morning Post.

Shao said in an earlier interview that he will be working closely with local police and authorities in the host city in the event that there is an incident involving Chinese nationals in order to make sure the cases are solved as soon as possible. 

Rio's rising crime rates have become one of the biggest concerns with the Olympics just around the corner.

Last Wednesday, a group of Chinese nationals were mugged in downtown Rio and their possessions, including their cellphones, were taken from them, the Chinese consulate said via its official social media account.

Days before the robbery, Chinese hurdler Shi Dongpeng and his journalist friend had their equipment stolen shortly after they arrived at their hotel in Rio, according to The Shanghaiist.

CCTV footage from the hotel lobby shows a man rushing up to the athlete and his friend and vomiting on them. While Shi went to the bathroom to clean himself, his journalist friend chased away the man who had just thrown up on them.

When they returned to the lobby, they found that their cameras, computers and microphones had been nicked by another man.

The Chinese consulate in Rio also plans to set up a booth at the international airport in Rio to distribute safety pamphlets to arriving Chinese nationals.

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