Sheung Shui Slaughterhouse (SSSH) will resume operation tomorrow (June 6) to provide slaughtering services, following the completion of comprehensive cleansing and disinfection of the slaughterhouse today (June 5).

     To strengthen the prevention of African Swine Fever (ASF) at local level, the Government has reached a consensus with the live pig trade to start imposing a daily clearance arrangement upon reopening of SSSH whereby live pigs will be slaughtered within 24 hours upon admittance into the slaughterhouse. Under the new arrangement, lairages in different areas of the slaughterhouse will be cleared out and undergo thorough cleansing every day to further enhance the bio-security of, and minimise the risk of infection among pigs in, the slaughterhouse.

     The Food and Environmental Hygiene Department and the Agriculture, Fisheries and Conservation Department have been implementing a series of measures in different areas to strengthen the prevention of ASF.

     Besides, the Government is working with the General Administration of Customs and importers on resumption of supply of Mainland pigs as soon as possible.

     ASF will not infect humans and pose food safety risk. All imported and local pigs have to undergo ante-mortem and post-mortem inspections in slaughterhouses to ensure that pigs supplied to the market are safe and fit for human consumption. Well-cooked pork is safe for consumption.

The following is issued on behalf of the Hospital Authority:

     Regarding an earlier announcement on a blood test reagent and blood products recall arrangement, the spokesperson for the Hospital Authority (HA) gave the following update today (June 5):
 
     After receiving notification from reagent manufacturer Bio-Rad, the HA earlier announced the recall of two batches of a blood test reagent and related blood products, as the reagent might give a false-negative result during the red blood cell anti-mia antibodies screening test. Hospital blood banks and the Hong Kong Red Cross Blood Transfusion Service (BTS) have completed reviewing blood samples tested by the concerned reagent. The results are as follows.
 
     The BTS has traced and reviewed 4 594 blood samples tested by the reagent concerned, among which four specimens were confirmed as having false-negative results. The blood in these specimens had been processed to six bags of blood products, including two bags of red blood cells and four bags of platelets, and had been distributed to hospitals. Two bags of unused red blood cells were recalled immediately, while the four bags of platelets sent to Tseung Kwan O Hospital (TKOH), Queen Mary Hospital (QMH), Gleneagles Hong Kong Hospital and Hong Kong Baptist Hospital have already been transfused to patients. Upon reviewing clinical records and retesting, the patient who received transfusion in QMH does not have the corresponding antigen, while the patient at TKOH is known to have the corresponding antibodies. Hence, transfusion of the concerned platelet would not affect the two patients' clinical condition. The BTS has notified the doctors of the private hospitals to follow up on the condition of the other two transfused patients.
 
     In addition, all 17 hospital blood banks have reviewed the type and screen results of a total of 3 860 blood samples tested by the concerned reagent. It was confirmed that no patient has been transfused with inappropriate blood products, but 10 patients' tests showed false-negative results. Hospitals have accordingly updated three of the concerned patients' medical records. The other seven patients' medical records are not affected as they had received the test before and had the results properly recorded in their medical records.
 
     The HA is very concerned about the incident and has taken serious action to follow up with the reagent manufacturer. The HA has also requested the manufacturer to implement remedial measures and to avoid occurrence of the incident in future. The BTS and hospital blood banks have already switched to other batches of reagent or reagent provided by other manufacturers. The HA's blood test services remain as normal.
 
     The HA has notified the Department of Health the result and appropriate follow up action.

     Hong Kong Customs conducted a special operation yesterday (June 4) to combat the sale of game circumvention devices and pirated electronic games. A batch of suspected circumvention devices and infringing game consoles with an estimated market value of about $210,000 was seized.

     Upon intelligence analysis and with the assistance of a copyright owner, Customs officers took enforcement action yesterday and raided five retail shops in Sham Shui Po. A total of 27 suspected circumvention devices, 12 sets of mobile game consoles, eight memory cards loaded with suspected pirated electronic games, 110 sets of game consoles containing suspected pirated electronic games and one set of a computer with an external hard disk used for dealing with pirated games were seized.

     Customs officers also seized game consoles preloaded with about 2 000 types of suspected pirated electronic games. Most of the games were nostalgic-type and can be played without using a circumvention device.

     During the operation, two male shop owners and three male salespersons aged between 28 and 37 were arrested.

     Investigation is ongoing and the arrested persons have been released on bail for further investigation.

     The Divisional Commander (Intellectual Property Technology Crime Investigation), Mr Lawrence Ng, said at a press conference today (June 5) that in the electronic game market, copyright owners apply effective technological measures in game consoles to prevent any unauthorised games being played on the device. The arrested persons are suspected to have made pirated games playable in game consoles using circumvention technology.

     He reminded shop owners and salespersons not to take part in these illegal activities as selling circumvention devices or offering circumvention service is a serious crime. He also appealed to members of the public to respect intellectual property rights and not to buy any circumvention device, modified electronic game consoles or pirated games.

     Under the Copyright Ordinance, any person who possesses an infringing copy of a copyright work with a view to selling it commits an offence. The maximum penalty upon conviction is a fine of $50,000 per infringing copy and imprisonment for four years. Any person who, for the purpose of a circumvention business, or in the course of a circumvention business, sells or lets for hire a relevant device, or provides relevant service in order to allow circumventing an effective technological measure which has been applied in relation to a copyright work, is liable to a maximum penalty of a fine of $500,000 and imprisonment for four years.

     Members of the public may report any suspected infringing activities to Customs' 24-hour hotline 2545 6182 or its dedicated crime-reporting email account (crimereport@customs.gov.hk).

  

     â€‹The Customs and Excise Department (C&ED) announced today (June 5) that it is making onging progress in promoting the Single E-lock Scheme for use by the trade. A consignment of goods was taken to the clearance point newly established in Zhongshan for the first time today. The consignment arrived in Hong Kong by air, and was transhipped to Zhongshan by truck via the Hong Kong-Zhuhai-Macao Bridge (HZMB). The entire operation was smooth.

     "Since mid-May 2019, the number of clearance points in Guangdong Province has been increased to 52, including 43 which cover all nine Mainland municipalities in the Greater Bay Area (GBA). The expanded network of clearance points will not only bring additional convenience for the trade and allow more flexibility for business development, but will also enable the Scheme to better accommodate the operation of the logistics industry in routing cargo through the HZMB. The C&ED has been promoting the Scheme proactively and will continue to encourage the logistics industry to join the Scheme and make good use of the facilitation provided under the Scheme in tapping the business opportunities arising from the development of the GBA and the commissioning of the HZMB," a spokesman for the C&ED said.

     For more details about the Scheme and the network of clearance points, please refer to the following webpage on the C&ED's website: www.customs.gov.hk/en/trade_facilitation/sels/index.html.

    

The following is issued on behalf of the Hospital Authority:

     The spokesperson for Tseung Kwan O Hospital (TKOH) announced a sentinel event today (June 5) as below:
 
     A seven-year-old boy attended the Accident and Emergency Department of Tseung Kwan O Hospital for a right thumb injury in the evening of May 31. Following an X-ray examination, it was found that the boy's right metacarpophalangeal joint had a dorsal dislocation. Closed reduction was attempted but was not successful.
 
     He was transferred to the Paediatrics and Adolescent Medicine Ward for follow-up treatment the same evening. A closed reduction operation with K-wire fixation was conducted on June 1 morning. He was transferred to the recovery bay after the operation and the doctor found that the fixation procedure was mistakenly performed on the interphalangeal joint, instead of the dislocated metacarpophalangeal joint. Consent from the boy's mother was obtained for a remedial operation immediately.
 
     The result of an X-ray and computed tomography examinations done on June 3 and 4 respectively showed that the clinical outcome was still unsatisfactory. Although it will not affect the joint's future mobility, another operation was suggested.
 
     The hospital is very concerned about the incident. The hospital has met with the family today to explain and extend an apology, while making its best effort to offer follow-up options for the patient. The incident has been reported to the Hospital Authority Head Office and categorised as a sentinel event. A Root Cause Analysis Panel will be set up to look into the incident to avoid a recurrence. The report will be submitted to the HA within eight weeks.