The Home Affairs Department will open 19 temporary night heat shelters tonight (July 17) for people in need of the service.
 
     The shelters will be open from 10.30pm until 8am tomorrow.
 
     For further information, please call the department's hotline before midnight on 2835 1473.
 
     The 19 night heat shelters are located at:
 
Hong Kong Districts:
———————
 
Central and Western –
Sai Ying Pun Community Complex Community Hall
3/F, Sai Ying Pun Community Complex
2 High Street, Sai Ying Pun
 
Eastern –
Causeway Bay Community Centre
3/F, 7 Fook Yum Road, Causeway Bay
 
Southern –
Lei Tung Community Hall
Lei Tung Estate, Ap Lei Chau
 
Wan Chai –
Wan Chai Activities Centre
LG/F, Wan Chai Market, 258 Queen's Road East, Wan Chai
 
Kowloon Districts:
——————
 
Kowloon City –
Hung Hom Community Hall
1/F, Kowloon City Government Offices
42 Bailey Street, Hung Hom
 
Kwun Tong –
Lam Tin (West) Estate Community Centre
71 Kai Tin Road, Lam Tin

Sham Shui Po –
Shek Kip Mei Community Hall
G/F, Block 42, Shek Kip Mei Estate
Sham Shui Po
 
Wong Tai Sin –
Tsz Wan Shan (South) Estate Community Centre
45 Wan Wah Street, Tsz Wan Shan
 
Yau Tsim Mong –
Henry G Leong Yaumatei Community Centre
60 Public Square Street, Yau Ma Tei
 
New Territories Districts:
————————–
 
Islands –
Tung Chung Community Hall
G/F, Tung Chung Municipal Services Building,
39 Man Tung Road, Tung Chung
 
Kwai Tsing –
Kwai Shing Community Hall
Podium, Block 6, Kwai Shing West Estate, Kwai Chung
 
North –
Cheung Wah Community Hall
Cheung Wah Estate, Fanling
 
Sai Kung –
Hang Hau Community Hall
G/F, Sai Kung Tseung Kwan O Government Complex,
38 Pui Shing Road, Hang Hau, Tseung Kwan O
 
Sha Tin –
Lung Hang Estate Community Centre
Lung Hang Estate, Sha Tin
 
Tai Po –
Tai Po Community Centre
2 Heung Sze Wui Street, Tai Po
 
Tsuen Wan –
Lei Muk Shue Community Hall
G/F, Hong Shue House, Lei Muk Shue Estate, Tsuen Wan
 
Tuen Mun –
Butterfly Bay Community Centre
Butterfly Estate (near Tip Sum House), Tuen Mun
 
Yuen Long –
Long Ping Community Hall
Long Ping Estate, Yuen Long
 
Yuen Long –
Tin Yiu Community Centre
Tin Yiu Estate, Tin Shui Wai

     The temporary night heat shelters will resume their functions as either community centres or community halls in the daytime for hire by the local community and cannot continue to be open as heat shelters. People may choose to take refuge from the heat during the daytime in the common areas in any of the 20 designated community centres or community halls. Their opening hours are from 9am to 10pm. For addresses of the community centres or community halls, please browse the following webpage: www.had.gov.hk/file_manager/en/documents/public_services/emergency_services/List_CH_CC_Day_E.pdf.

     Mobile Library 10 will suspend services from tomorrow (July 18) to July 24 for urgent repair works, a spokesman for the Leisure and Cultural Services Department announced today (July 17).
 
     The affected service points are Lung Mun Oasis and Gold Coast in Tuen Mun, Kwai Chung Estate in Kwai Chung, Tin Shui Estate and Tin Yuet Estate in Tin Shui Wai, Fung Cheung Road and Hung Shui Kiu in Yuen Long and Hoi Lai Estate in Sham Shui Po. For enquiries about Mobile Library 10 services, please call 2450 1857.
 
     Readers are welcome to use other public libraries during the service suspension period. They may also renew library materials by telephoning 2698 0002 or 2827 2833, or via www.hkpl.gov.hk.

     Two women were charged with contravening the Hotel and Guesthouse Accommodation Ordinance at Kowloon City Magistrates' Courts today (July 17). One woman was sentenced to four weeks' imprisonment, and the other woman was fined $10,000.
      
     The courts heard that in December last year and January this year, officers of the Office of the Licensing Authority (OLA), the Home Affairs Department, inspected two suspected unlicensed guesthouses on Sai Yeung Choi Street South and Portland Street in Mong Kok. During the inspections, the OLA officers posed as lodgers and successfully rented rooms in these guesthouses on a daily basis.
      
     According to the OLA's records, these guesthouses did not possess licences under the Ordinance on the days of inspection. The women responsible for operating and managing the premises were charged with contravening section 5(1) of the Ordinance.
      
     A department spokesman stressed that operating or managing an unlicensed guesthouse is a criminal offence and will lead to a criminal record. Upon conviction, the offender is liable to a maximum fine of $200,000 and two years' imprisonment.
           
     The spokesman appealed to anyone with information about suspected unlicensed guesthouses to report it to the OLA through the hotline (Tel: 2881 7498), by email (hadlaenq@had.gov.hk), by fax (2504 5805) using the report form downloaded from the OLA website (www.hadla.gov.hk), or through the mobile application "Hong Kong Licensed Hotels and Guesthouses".

The following is issued on behalf of the University Grants Committee:
 
     The Research Grants Council (RGC) announced today (July 17) the funding results of the Theme-based Research Scheme (TRS) 2019/20 (Ninth Round). Five proposals were awarded total funding of $224 million, of which $200 million will be provided by the RGC and $24 million will be matched by the universities concerned. The list of awarded projects is set out in the Annex.
 
     The Chairman of the RGC, Professor Benjamin Wah, said, "I am delighted to announce the successful completion of the TRS 2019/20. After a series of vigorous peer reviews, five outstanding projects have been selected for funding. One of the funded projects falls under 'Artificial Intelligence', the new grand challenge topic that has been first introduced in this round of the exercise. These five projects cover the areas of influenza control, liver transplantation, wastewater treatment and recycling, firefighting and neurocognitive disorders diagnoses. We look forward to the positive societal and economic impacts brought about by these projects to the future development of Hong Kong."
 
     Professor Wah added, "With the forthcoming government injection of $20 billion to the Research Endowment Fund, the RGC has decided to increase the budget of the TRS by about 10 per cent, from $180 million to $200 million, for the 2019/20 exercise to meet the expectation of researchers." He expressed gratitude to the panel members and international experts for their valuable time in providing peer reviews for the proposals, and to the local research community for its continued support for the TRS.
 
     Details of the approved projects have been posted on the RGC website (www.ugc.edu.hk/eng/rgc/funded_research/layman/theme/trs9.html) for reference.

     The Labour Department (LD) is investigating a fatal work accident that occurred in Tuen Mun this morning (July 17), in which a man died.

     The LD immediately deployed staff to the scene upon receiving a report of the accident, and is now conducting an investigation to look into its cause.