Police today (July 22) appealed to the public for information on a boy who went missing in Kwun Tong.

     Kwok Chak-tong, aged 17, went missing after he was last seen on Hong Ning Road, Kwun Tong on July 13 noon. His social worker made a report to Police on July 15.
         
     He is about 1.68 metres tall, 59 kilograms in weight and of medium build. He has a square face with yellow complexion and short black hair. He was last seen wearing a blue short-sleeved shirt, dark yellow trousers and blue sports shoes.
          
     Anyone who knows the whereabouts of the missing boy or may have seen him is urged to contact the Regional Missing Person Unit of Kowloon East on 3661 0316 or email to rmpu-ke-2@police.gov.hk, or contact any police station.

  

     Police today (July 22) appealed to the public for information on a boy who went missing in Kwun Tong.

     Ng Tsz-nok, aged 16, went missing after he left his residence in Ping Tin Estate on July 5 afternoon. His family made a report to Police on the same day.
         
     He is about 1.7 metres tall, 50 kilograms in weight and of thin build. He has a pointed face with yellow complexion and blown short curved hair. He was last seen wearing a purple short-sleeved shirt, blue jeans and black sports shoes.
          
     Anyone who knows the whereabouts of the missing boy or may have seen him is urged to contact the Regional Missing Person Unit of Kowloon East on 3661 0316 or email to rmpu-ke-2@police.gov.hk, or contact any police station.

  

The following is issued on behalf of the Executive Council Secretariat:

     Following is the transcript of remarks by the Convenor of the Non-official Members of the Executive Council (ExCo), Mr Bernard Chan, and other Non-official Members of ExCo at a media session on the ground floor lobby of the Chief Executive's Office this afternoon (July 22):

Reporter: Mr Chan, it sounds like you are linking, you are blaming the Yuen Long attacks to the violence that happened after the protest, can you clarify that? Because you are saying that you don't want to see violence to spread. And also can we talk about the fear that the public is feeling right now. There is talk about forming their own protection teams, their own vigilantes to protect themselves because the Police cannot protect them. And as advisors to the Government, how would you advise the Government to resolve the public anger towards the Government? It looks like the protesters were targeting the authority, instead of attacking it indiscriminately, while Yuen Long attackers were attacking indiscriminately? Thank you.

Convenor of ExCo Non-official Members: First of all, on behalf of all Non-official Members of the Executive Council, we condemn all acts of violence. Referring to your question on the Yuen Long incident, we totally condemn those people who were involved in the attack of innocent bystanders and commuters. We are not blaming anyone. The fact that violence occurred and innocent people were injured, that is totally not acceptable in Hong Kong. These people, if caught, should be prosecuted according to the law of Hong Kong. So I think there is no doubt among us. No matter which side you are on, which belief you have, violence is not acceptable by any means, so for that, I want to assure you that we all agree on that. You are absolutely correct. There is this unnecessary fear now spreading, that is why in my statement just now, I said it is very important for Hong Kong Government together with the Police Force to address this issue immediately. We should not allow this fear to continue. I think the Police definitely would have to take reasonable measures to protect the interests of the citizens. I think for years and years, we are proud of the Police Force in Hong Kong, and there is no reason why they cannot do that job. Unfortunately, the last month or so has been a very difficult time for our Police Force. Their morale is low, they have been stressed. But unfortunately, this is their job. I would certainly hope that they would continue to protect the citizens of Hong Kong no matter which political belief that each of the citizens have. That should not be the matter. They should always have the best interests of Hong Kong people at large, so I certainly would hope that they would continue to maintain the law and order in Hong Kong.

Reporter: ………..As a former minister, what do you think about the Police performance yesterday?

ExCo Non-official Member Mrs Regina Ip: I must share my experience with you all.  I have visited a lot of Police families last week. In fact, normally, policemen, frontline policemen, police officers and their families had been under extreme pressure. Their personal particulars had been exposed. They complained to me that their children are being intimidated and bullied at school. I think we must do all we can to shore up police morale, because these 30 000 people are all we have at the moment. I fully understand everybody's anxiety, but in the near term we must depend on the Police, trust and have faith in their professionalism.

Reporter: Do you think we need assurances to the international banks and other businesses here that their employees are safe in Hong Kong after the scenes in Yuen Long last night? And also can you tell us whether or not Carrie Lam has the situation under control?

Convenor of ExCo Non-official Members: I can't give you a personal assurance because things are evolving so fast. But I would certainly hope that our Police Force in Hong Kong can continue to do their job as they have been all these years. Unfortunately in the last month or so, things have been so heated up and the society has been so divided, and the Police Force has been stressed to the point that they may have not all the necessary resources. But I still believe that as Mrs Ip mentioned, they are our only law enforcement officers in Hong Kong. That is their job to maintain the law and order in Hong Kong. I am in the financial sector too, so I am equally anxious to know if this law and order can be maintained and I would certainly believe that violence is not the solution to end the division. I hope that we can continue to be objective and reasonable in addressing some of these other political issues, but we should not try to allow any vigilantes or any personal act in trying to resolve these matters. We do not allow, we should not condone this, we should condemn every bit of violence. No matter which side are you on, that should not be allowed in Hong Kong, that should be what Hong Kong is about.

(Please also refer to the Chinese portion of the transcript.)

     The Labour Department (LD) is highly concerned about the work accident that happened at a construction site in Wan Chai this morning (July 22), in which a male worker was suspected to have fallen from height to the bottom of the hoistway of a material hoist and died. The LD is saddened by the death of the worker in the accident and expresses its deepest sympathy to the victim's family.
 
     A LD's spokesman said, "We commenced immediate on-site investigation as soon as we were notified of the accident and issued suspension notices to the contractors involved to suspend the erection, dismantling, alteration and use of the material hoist on the site. The contractors cannot resume the work until the LD is satisfied that measures to abate the relevant risk have been taken."
 
     The spokesman added, "We will complete investigation as soon as possible to identify the cause of the accident, ascertain the liability of the duty holders and recommend improvement measures. We will take actions pursuant to the law if there is any violation of the work safety legislation."
 
     The general duty provisions of the Factories and Industrial Undertakings Ordinance require employers to provide safe working environments, safe plant and safe systems of work for their employees. Those who contravene the above provisions are liable to a maximum fine of $500,000 and imprisonment for six months.
 
     In regard to today's accident, the LD will issue a Work Safety Alert through its website and email, giving a brief account of the accident concerned to duty holders, workers' unions, professional bodies of safety practitioners and others, and reminding the industry of the importance of following safety precautionary measures to prevent recurrence of similar accidents.
 
     The LD will also remind the employer concerned of the liability for employees' compensation under the Employees' Compensation Ordinance, assist family members of the deceased to claim employees' compensation and closely follow up on the case. For those with financial difficulties, the LD will assist them to apply for appropriate emergency funds. Subject to the needs and wishes of family members of the deceased, the LD will also liaise with the Social Welfare Department for financial or other assistance.
 
     For the sake of securing the safety and health of employees at work, the LD appeals to employers to provide plant and systems of work that are safe and without risks to health. Employees should co-operate with their employers, adopt all safety measures and use personal protective equipment provided properly to avoid endangering their own work safety and that of other workers.

     Following is the transcript of remarks by the Chief Executive, Mrs Carrie Lam; together with the Secretaries of Department and Directors of Bureau, and the Commissioner of Police, at a media session today (July 22):
      
Reporter: Mrs Lam, on your government statement overnight, you actually put the Sheung Wan violence as well as the Yuen Long violence together, and on the Yuen Long violence you said, basically, some people congregated on the platforms, the MTR platforms, and attacked commuters and there were confrontations. It sounded like a very mild description of what happened. Would you characterise this, as some lawmakers suggested and also political analysts have suggested, that it is a terrorist attack? Also can I ask you about – don’t you think this is a failure of the government in putting people’s safety first? And because there are talks within the community saying that they need to form their own vigilantes group to protect themselves because the police cannot protect them last night in Yuen Long. And also can I ask the Police Commissioner, what are your plans – there are already chatters talking about another round of attacks in Tuen Mun and Yuen Long. What’s your plan? And shouldn’t some senior members within your force take responsibility for what happened in Yuen Long? Also can you talk about manpower being stretched too thin? Could you give us some numbers? How exactly were the police force stretched too thin? Why were the police stations shut down? Why did the police station in Yuen Long shut their doors? Were there any protocols involved in there, in that police can refuse and reject citizens’ call for help? Thank you.
 
Chief Executive: First of all, thank you for raising that question so that I may clarify that we were monitoring the whole situation throughout Hong Kong last night. At the time when we issued that statement about the Yuen Long violent acts, we were not in possession of all the facts. As the Commissioner may also share with you, actually these violent attackers came back twice to attack the people. At the time when we issued that press statement to condemn those violent acts, we were not in possession of all the actual situation on the ground. But what I have said just now in my brief introductory remarks, that we absolutely do not condone those kinds of violent acts. Let me make this clear again – violence is not a solution to any problem. Violence will only breed more violence. And at the end of the day, the whole of Hong Kong and the people will suffer as a result of the loss of law and order in Hong Kong. Thank you.
 
Commissioner of Police: I must admit, since June 9, I think every citizen within the community noted there were a series of violent confrontations during the public processions or public meetings, and definitely, our manpower is stretched. Because every time when there is a major event which may lead to violent confrontation, we have to redeploy some of my manpower from various districts to the Hong Kong Island, so that I can ensure sufficient manpower to deal with this incident, and that is exactly what the CE and the S for S have just said, violence will only breed more violence. I therefore urged young people, if they really have something to voice out, why not use a peaceful way. And because what they are doing is at the cost of the whole community, I really don’t want to see what happened in Yuen Long to happen again. We will review our manpower deployment and do our best to ensure the public order and public safety of every district in Hong Kong.
 
     About the closure of the police stations, because at that time there were big groups of protesters surrounding the police stations or even besieging the police stations, so because of the reason of safety, they have to close the gate but they (the public) can still make report to Police through 999 or other means. And indeed, as I have just said, we received the call and responded to the scene already. And only because we have to redeploy manpower from other districts, that’s why the time taken is a little bit longer. And there are also various allegations arising from the incident, I want to reiterate that the Police will not tolerate any violence, and we will pursue at all cost to bring the offenders to justice. Thank you.  
 
(Please also refer to the Chinese portion of the transcript.)