Correctional officers stopped a remand person in custody from assaulting another remand person in custody at Lai Chi Kok Reception Centre today (May 8).
      
     At around 9.50am today, a 21-year-old male person in custody attacked another 29-year-old male person in custody outside the shower room. Officers at the scene immediately stopped the assailant.
      
     The victim sustained head injury. After examination and treatment by the medical officer of the institution hospital, he was transferred to a public hospital for further treatment.
      
     The case has been reported to the Police for investigation.
      
     The assailant was remanded for the offence of robbery.

The following is issued on behalf of the Hospital Authority:

     The Hospital Authority (HA) welcomes the decision of the Medical Council of Hong Kong (MCHK) to exempt the internship arrangement of non-locally trained specialist doctors today (May 8). The exemption should be conducive to attracting more non-locally trained doctors to join the local healthcare system.

     "There are currently 12 non-locally trained doctors working in public hospitals to relieve the manpower pressure in the specialties of Anaesthesia, Cardiothoracic Surgery, Emergency Medicine, Family Medicine, Internal Medicine and Radiology.  HA will also submit limited registration applications to MCHK later this week for another five non-locally trained doctors and for two renewal applications," the spokesperson said.

     The overseas recruitment of non-locally trained doctor has been progressing well so far and will be continued. At the moment, there are 14 non-locally trained doctors who have been assessed to be eligible for the recruitment exercise considered suitable for appointment after interviews by user departments.  All the applicants have fulfilled related qualification requirements recognised by the constituent Colleges of the Hong Kong Academy of Medicine, and they all have license to practise in their respective countries. HA will submit limited registration applications for non-locally trained doctors by batches according to their intended date of reporting duty.

     Since April this year, HA has expanded the scope of limited registration recruitment scheme to all specialties at the rank of Service Resident, and to recruit non-locally trained specialists at the rank of Associate Consultant in eight specialties (Anaesthesia, Anatomical Pathology, Cardiothoracic Surgery, Otorhinolaryngology, Obstetrics and Gynaecology, Ophthalmology, Radiology and Nuclear Medicine) which face significant shortage of specialists.

     HA will continue to recruit non-locally trained doctors through limited registration and will liaise with related stakeholders to discuss and enhance the recruit scheme in order to attract dedicated non-locally trained doctors to serve public hospital relieving manpower shortage in public health sector.

     Hong Kong Customs seized a batch of suspected dangerous drugs weighing about 11.8 kilograms in total as well as a batch of drug packaging paraphernalia with an estimated market value of about $10.2 million at Hong Kong International Airport and Tsuen Wan on May 1 and yesterday (May 7).

     Customs officers inspected a parcel arriving in Hong Kong from Spain on May 1 and seized about 3 kilograms of suspected ketamine inside the parcel.

     After follow-up investigation, Customs officers yesterday (May 7) arrested a woman suspected to be in connection with the case in Tsuen Wan. Also seized at a residential premises in the district were suspected liquid cocaine weighing about 8.8 kg, a small amount of suspected ketamine and a batch of drug packaging paraphernalia.

     The arrested woman, aged 43, has been charged with three counts of trafficking in a dangerous drug. She will appear at West Kowloon Magistrates' Courts tomorrow (May 9).

     Customs will maintain close contact with Hongkong Post and the logistics industries to step up action against drug trafficking through postal parcels or express courier channels.

     Under the Dangerous Drugs Ordinance, trafficking in a dangerous drug is a serious offence. The maximum penalty upon conviction is a fine of $5 million and life imprisonment.

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

  

     In response to media enquiries on the report by the United States-China Economic and Security Review Commission on the Fugitive Offenders and Mutual Legal Assistance in Criminal Matters Legislation (Amendment) Bill 2019, a government spokesman today (May 8) made the following statement:
 
     Since the return to the motherland, the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region (HKSAR) has been exercising the principle of "Hong Kong people administering Hong Kong" and a high degree of autonomy in strict accordance with the Basic Law. The "one country, two systems" principle has been fully and successfully implemented.
 
     The rule of law and judicial independence are the core values of the HKSAR. The HKSAR Government attaches utmost importance to these values and is determined to fully safeguard them and the safety of all members of the public.
 
     Surrender of fugitives is a long-standing international practice to combat serious crimes and to prevent criminals from seeking havens to evade justice. The HKSAR's regime on surrender of fugitives makes reference to the guidelines and model prescribed by the United Nations, and is fully underpinned by human rights protection principles that are prevailing in practising regimes in many jurisdictions around the world. The HKSAR has signed long-term surrender of fugitive offenders agreements with 20 jurisdictions, including the United States. In line with its core policy objective, the HKSAR is actively working on negotiations with numerous other jurisdictions with a view to reaching more long-term surrender arrangements and widening the network of co-operation.
 
     The HKSAR proposes to amend two local laws, namely the Fugitive Offenders Ordinance (Cap. 503) and the Mutual Legal Assistance in Criminal Matters Ordinance (Cap. 525), which aim to deal with two practical problems, namely (a) a murder case which happened in Taiwan in early 2018 involving a Hong Kong resident killing another Hong Kong resident with the suspect subsequently returning to the HKSAR; and (b) plugging the existing loopholes in the existing regime in criminal and juridical assistance matters, where the geographical restrictions and impractical operational requirements render the legislation inoperable in certain cases. 
 
     The proposed amendments do not pinpoint any particular jurisdictions, nor do they target common citizens. After the legislative amendments, the HKSAR can, where there are warranting cases and where it is absolutely necessary, using the same set of standards and under the principle of mutual respect, effectively handle serious criminal cases with a jurisdiction that does not have any effective long-term agreement with the HKSAR. Similar case-based surrender arrangements have been existing in the laws of the United Kingdom and Canada for decades. The targets of case-based surrenders are fugitives who have committed grave criminal offences on the basis of prima facie evidence, and are wanted for justice due to the offences committed.
 
     The proposed legislative amendments will not affect any of the 20 long-term agreements in force in the HKSAR. The clause on specialty in all 20 agreements will continue to debar any resurrender of fugitives from Hong Kong to another jurisdiction. The proposed arrangement is a supplementary measure to long-term agreement before the latter is reached and comes into the force. Case-based surrender will not be adopted once a long-term agreement has been in place and become effective.
 
     In respect of a case-based surrender request, the HKSAR has full discretion as to whether the request should be acceded to. All existing human rights and procedural safeguards provided for in the current legislation, which have made reference to the model treaty on extradition promulgated by the United Nations and are in line with the common practices in juridical assistance overseas, will be maintained under case-based arrangements. These include the double criminality principle, protection against death penalty, restriction against re-surrender, rule against double jeopardy, no surrender for political offences, application for habeas corpus and right to appeal and judicial review, etc.
 
     The proposed legislative amendments are meant to protect the law-abiding general public in the HKSAR. The amendments, if passed, will protect business activities from the threat of crime and be conducive to the business environment in the HKSAR.
 
     The current exercise is about amending local laws to enhance the HKSAR's capability in dealing with fugitives of serious criminal offences and making the HKSAR a better partner in the international fight against crime.

     Police today (May 8) appealed to the public for information on a man who went missing in Mong Kok.

     Siu Kwai-cheung, aged 41, went missing after he was last seen on Fuk Tsun Street yesterday morning (May 7). His family made a report to Police on the same day.
    
     He is about 1.65 metres tall, 70 kilograms in weight and of fat build. He has a round face with yellow complexion and short straight black hair. He was last seen wearing a black short-sleeved shirt, black trousers, blue slippers and carrying a shoulder bag.

     Anyone who knows the whereabouts of the missing man or may have seen him is urged to contact the Regional Missing Person Unit of Kowloon West on 3661 8036 or 9020 6542 or email to rmpu-kw-2@police.gov.hk, or contact any police station.