A pair trawler suspected of operating illegally was intercepted in an anti-illegal fishing operation jointly mounted by the Agriculture, Fisheries and Conservation Department (AFCD), the Marine Police and the fisheries authority of Shenzhen in the waters off the Tung Ping Chau area last night (April 25).

     At about 11.50pm last night, AFCD officers found two trawlers suspected to be pair trawling in the waters west of Tung Ping Chau. They signalled to the vessels to stop for an inspection but the vessels failed to comply. AFCD and Marine Police officers chased and intercepted one of the vessels. Apparatus suspected to be used for trawling were seized on board the intercepted vessel.  About 50 catties of catch was released back to the sea on site. 

     Three Mainland men found on the vessel were arrested for suspected to have contravened the Fisheries Protection Regulations by using prohibited fishing gear. Charges were laid against them today (April 26). They will appear at the Shatin Magistrates' Courts tomorrow (April 27).

     The other vessel, although fled away into Mainland waters, was later intercepted by the fisheries authority of Shenzhen.   

     An AFCD spokesman reminded the public that the ban on trawling came into force on December 31, 2012. Under the Fisheries Protection Ordinance, any person who contravenes the ban is liable to a maximum penalty of a fine of $200,000 and imprisonment for six months upon conviction.

     The spokesman said that trawling is a non-selective fishing operation which damages the seabed and marine ecosystems. A ban on trawling brings this harmful depletion to a halt, enabling marine ecosystems to be gradually improved and be better conserved in the long run.

     The spokesman said, "The AFCD, the Police and relevant authorities in the Mainland will continue to carry out joint enforcement operations to crack down on illegal fishing activities."

  

     Police today (April 26) appealed to the public for information on a non-ethnic Chinese man who went missing in Tsim Sha Tsui.

     Ali Abdul Kader, aged 43, went missing after he was last seen on Nathan Road on April 24 morning. His hostel staff made a report to Police yesterday (April 25).

     He is about 1.74 metres tall, 100 kilograms in weight and of fat build. He has a round face with dark complexion and short brown hair. He was last seen wearing a black jacket, a polo shirt with pink, blue and grey stripes, blue jeans, white sports shoes and a yellow cap.

     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 8038 or 9020 6542 or email to rmpu-kw@police.gov.hk, or contact any police station.

  

     A woman who went missing in Mong Kok has been located.

     Huang Wanxiang, aged 63, went missing after she was last seen at MTR Mong Kok Station on April 24 morning. Her family made a report to Police yesterday (April 25).

     The woman was located on Cheung Sha Wan Road, Sham Shui Po in the small hours of today (April 26). She sustained no injuries and no suspicious circumstances were detected.

     The Environmental Protection Department (EPD) has been working in close collaboration with international law enforcement agencies to combat illegal hazardous waste import and export activities and to jointly carry out monitoring and law enforcement work, a spokesman for the EPD said today (April 26). The spokesman cited a recent case in which the EPD's provision of evidence through collaboration with the United States Environmental Protection Agency and the United States Department of Justice resulted in the successful prosecution of the illegal export of hazardous electronic waste (e-waste) to Hong Kong from the United States. On April 11, a federal court in Chicago sentenced the concerned recycling operator in the United States to three years' imprisonment and a fine of over US$1,200,000 for illegally exporting hazardous e-waste, together with other charges including fraud and tax evasion.

     The spokesman said that in April 2011, the EPD, with the assistance of the Hong Kong Customs and Excise Department, intercepted a container, which was claimed to contain scrap metal, from the United States at the Kwai Chung Container Terminals. After inspection, it was found to be loaded with hazardous e-waste comprising around 200 waste cathode ray tube monitors and television sets as well as around one tonne of waste batteries. The EPD immediately returned the intercepted hazardous e-waste to the United States and notified the United States Environmental Protection Agency about the return shipment for their follow-up investigation.

     The relevant enforcement agencies in the United States later contacted the EPD for assistance, and with the EPD's provision of relevant evidence through the Hong Kong Department of Justice, they were able to bring the recycler concerned to justice. The spokesman stressed that the EPD would continue to work in collaboration with international law enforcement agencies to jointly combat illegal hazardous waste import and export activities.

     The EPD has intercepted a total of 30 cases of illegally imported hazardous waste from the United States since 2016. In addition to notifying the relevant overseas law enforcement agencies about each case for their follow-up action at source, the EPD has also successfully prosecuted 12 importers after collecting sufficient evidence. Other cases are either under investigation or scheduled for trial.

      

The following is issued on behalf of the Hong Kong Monetary Authority:
 
     The Hong Kong Monetary Authority (HKMA) and the Securities and Futures Commission (SFC) today (April 26) issued a joint consultation on further enhancements to the over-the-counter (OTC) derivatives regulatory regime in Hong Kong.
 
     To align with global standards, the regulators propose that transactions to be submitted to the Hong Kong Trade Repository for the reporting obligation (Note 1) would be required to be identified by unique transaction identifiers with the structure and format as set out in the Technical Guidance issued by the Committee on Payments and Market Infrastructures and the International Organization of Securities Commissions (Note 2).
 
     The regulators also propose to remove 17 jurisdictions from the list of designated jurisdictions for the masking relief of the reporting obligation (Note 3) in view of the recent clarification by the Financial Stability Board (Note 4), and to update the list of Financial Services Providers under the OTC derivatives clearing regime (Note 5). These proposals ensure that the Hong Kong reporting and clearing regimes keep up with international developments and remain relevant and appropriate.  
 
     Interested parties are invited to submit comments to the HKMA or the SFC on the updated list of Financial Services Providers by May 25 and on the other proposals by June 25.
 
     The joint consultation paper can be downloaded from the websites of the HKMA or the SFC.

Note 1: Phase 2 reporting of OTC derivatives transactions came into effect on July 1, 2017, and covers all five major asset classes (interest rates, foreign exchange, credit, commodities and equities) of OTC derivatives.
Note 2: Technical Guidance on the Harmonisation of the Unique Transaction Identifier issued by the Committee on Payments and Market Infrastructures and the International Organization of Securities Commissions in February 2017.
Note 3: Masking relief was introduced when phase 1 reporting took effect in July 2015 to deal with situations where a reporting entity is prevented from submitting certain information identifying the counterparty to the Hong Kong Trade Repository due to legal or regulatory barriers to full trade reporting in certain jurisdictions. The masking relief enables reporting entities to mask counterparty information when they encounter reporting barriers in a jurisdiction that is on the designated list.
Note 4: Follow-up Report on Trade Reporting Legal Barriers issued by the Financial Stability Board in November 2018.
Note 5: Phase 1 clearing, covering specified standardised interest rate swaps between major dealers, came into effect on September 1, 2016.