The Government announced today (June 14) the appointment of two youth members to the Commission on Poverty (CoP) through the Member Self-recommendation Scheme for Youth for a term from June 15, 2019, to June 30, 2020. The two new members are Mr Terence Lau Chun-kai and Ms Rebecca Tsai Ching-yu. Mr Lau is the Business Sustainability Manager of Richform Holdings Limited and Ms Tsai is a Sales and Marketing Senior Officer at New World Development Company Limited. 

     The Chief Secretary for Administration and Chairperson of the CoP, Mr Matthew Cheung Kin-chung, said that the current-term Government strives to encourage youth participation in public affairs as well as public policy discussion and debate. He looks forward to working with the new youth members closely on poverty alleviation.

     The Government announced today (June 14) that the Chief Executive has appointed Dr Thomas So Shiu-tsung as a member of the Judicial Officers Recommendation Commission. 
 
     The Chief Executive has also re-appointed Ms Anita Fung Yuen-mei as a member of the Commission.
 
     "The two members will serve for a two-year term, starting from July 1, 2019, to June 30, 2021," a Government spokesman said.
 
     Mr Stephen Hung Wan-shun, a serving member of the Commission, will retire from the Commission on June 30, 2019.
 
     "We wish to express our gratitude to Mr Stephen Hung Wan-shun, for his invaluable advice rendered to the Commission during his term of office, and for his contribution to upholding Hong Kong's judicial independence," the spokesman said.
 
     The functions of the Commission are to advise or make recommendations to the Chief Executive regarding the filling of vacancies in judicial offices, representations from a judicial officer concerning conditions of service referred to it by the Chief Executive, and any matter affecting judicial officers which may be prescribed or which the Chief Executive may refer to it.
 
     Other members of the Commission are the Chief Justice of the Court of Final Appeal (ex-officio Chairman); the Secretary for Justice (ex-officio member); Mr Justice Andrew Cheung Kui-nung; Madam Justice Carlye Chu Fun-ling; Mr Philip John Dykes, SC; Pamela Chan Wong Shui; and Professor Liu Pak-wai.

     A new service point for Mobile Library 3 of the Leisure and Cultural Services Department will be set up at Long Shin Estate (adjacent to Shin Leung House) in Yuen Long from June 21 (Friday).
 
     The opening hours of the new service point will be from 10am to 1pm on every alternate Friday (except library closing days and public holidays).
 
     For enquiries about Mobile Library 3 services, please call 2450 1857.

     An Indonesian illegal worker holding a recognisance form was jailed by Shatin Magistrates' Courts yesterday (June 13).
      
     During operation "Twilight" on June 11, Immigration Department (ImmD) investigators raided a restaurant in Kowloon City. A female Indonesian illegal worker, aged 37, was arrested. When intercepted, she was working as a waitress. Upon identity checking, she produced for inspection a recognisance form issued by the ImmD, which prohibits her from taking employment. Further investigation revealed that she was a non-refoulement claimant. An employer suspected of employing the illegal worker was also arrested and the investigation is ongoing.
 
     The illegal worker was charged at Shatin Magistrates' Courts yesterday with taking employment after landing in Hong Kong unlawfully and remaining in Hong Kong without the authority of the Director of Immigration or while being a person in respect of whom a removal order or deportation order was in force. She pleaded guilty to the charge and was sentenced to 15 months' imprisonment.
 
     The ImmD spokesman warned that, as stipulated in section 38AA of the Immigration Ordinance, illegal immigrants or people who are the subject of a removal order or a deportation order are prohibited from taking any employment, whether paid or unpaid, or establishing or joining in any business. Offenders are liable upon conviction to a maximum fine of $50,000 and up to three years' imprisonment. The Court of Appeal has issued a guideline ruling that a sentence of 15 months' imprisonment should be applied in such cases.
 
      The spokesman reiterated that it is a serious offence to employ people who are not lawfully employable. The maximum penalty is imprisonment for three years and a fine of $350,000. The High Court has laid down sentencing guidelines that the employer of an illegal worker should be given an immediate custodial sentence. According to the court sentencing, employers must take all practicable steps to determine whether a person is lawfully employable prior to employment. Apart from inspecting a prospective employee's identity card, the employer has the explicit duty to make enquiries regarding the person and ensure that the answers would not cast any reasonable doubt concerning the lawful employability of the person. The court will not accept failure to do so as a defence in proceedings. It is also an offence if an employer fails to inspect the job seeker's valid travel document if the job seeker does not have a Hong Kong permanent identity card. The maximum penalty for failing to inspect such a document is imprisonment for one year and a fine of $150,000.
 
     Under the existing mechanism, the ImmD will, as a standard procedure, conduct initial screening on vulnerable persons, including illegal workers, illegal immigrants, sex workers and foreign domestic helpers, who are arrested during any operation, with a view to ascertaining whether they are trafficking in persons (TIP) victims. When any TIP indicator is revealed in the initial screening, the officers will conduct a full debriefing and identification by using a standardised checklist to ascertain the presence of TIP elements, such as threat and coercion in the recruitment phase and the nature of exploitation. Identified TIP victims will be provided with various forms of support and assistance, including urgent interference, medical services, counselling, shelter, temporary accommodation and other supporting services. The ImmD calls on TIP victims to report crimes to the relevant departments.

     The Food and Environmental Hygiene Department (FEHD) launched the first round of the anti-rodent operation in designated target areas in all districts on May 6 to sustain the effectiveness of rodent prevention and control work at the district level.
      
     An FEHD spokesman said today (June 14), "The FEHD continues to conduct two rounds of the anti-rodent operation, each lasting for eight weeks, in designated target areas this year, with multi-pronged strategies including improving environmental hygiene, and stepping up rodent disinfestation and enforcement actions, to carry out targeted rodent prevention and control work in the districts. Since the launch of the first round of the operation on May 6, the FEHD, in the past month, has enhanced district rodent control work at problematic spots such as rear lanes, refuse collection points, markets, hawker bazaars, cooked food markets, peripheral areas of construction sites, etc. As at June 2, the department placed poisonous baits at 3 030 locations and placed 8 082 traps, and destroyed 209 rat holes, with 386 dead rodents collected and 303 rodents caught in traps.
      
     "The FEHD has also stepped up inspections of markets, hawker bazaars, cooked food markets and in particular food premises. Enforcement actions against premises causing poor environmental hygiene conditions, food preparation and scullery at rear lanes, and improper storage of articles and illegal dumping of refuse were strengthened. As at June 2, the FEHD conducted 9 719 inspections and issued 1 771 health advisories, 712 verbal warnings, eight warning letters, three statutory notices and 213 fixed penalty notices and took out 135 prosecutions.
      
     "Furthermore, FEHD staff have enhanced street cleansing services and cleansing of public markets and hawker bazaars in the target areas, including sweeping and washing of streets and rear lanes, and clearing of refuse and waste on the streets, in public markets and hawker bazaars, so as to keep the environment clean."
      
     During the operation, the FEHD has also strengthened public education and publicity and arranged 87 health talks for building management companies of private buildings, persons-in-charge of food premises, and market and hawker stall operators to provide information and technical advice on rodent prevention and control.
      
     The spokesman stressed that cross sector co-operation is essential to sustaining effective rodent prevention and control. He called on members of the public to eliminate the three fundamental survival conditions of rodents, namely food, harbourage and passages, i.e. the elimination of the food sources and hiding places of rodents, as well as blockage of their dispersal routes.
      
     The first round of the anti-rodent operation in designated target areas will end on June 28, while the second phase of the territory-wide anti-rodent campaign,  lasting for 10 weeks, will commence on July 8.