Author Archives: hksar gov

     â€‹After the completion of works for joining the Central-Wan Chai Bypass and Island Eastern Corridor Link (CWB) to the Rumsey Flyover westbound, the CWB will be fully commissioned at 7am this Sunday (February 24).
      
     Upon the full commissioning of the CWB, motorists travelling from Eastern District to Western District will be able to follow directional signs and get in the middle or fast lane before exiting the CWB tunnel, and then travel via Rumsey Street Flyover direct to Western District or the Western Harbour Crossing (WHC) instead of making a U-turn via the at-grade road of Connaught Road Central.  
      
     The Transport Department (TD) said that directional signs and road markings near the CWB entrance on the Island Eastern Corridor (IEC) in North Point, at the entrance at Tsing Fung Street and the exit in Central will be suitably updated to give motorists guidance on the new traffic routes. Sufficient distance has been allowed in the road design as well as on the road lanes to enable motorists to take heed of the directional signs and get in the appropriate lanes.
      
     Meanwhile, the TD earlier arranged for professional drivers (via the trade) to test drive the CWB westbound, as well as showing them the directional signs and road markings to be updated. The TD, the Highways Department and the Police also briefed the Traffic and Transport Committee of the Central and Western District Council about the traffic arrangements to tie in with the full commissioning of the CWB.
      
     After receiving feedback from the professional drivers, the District Council and members of the public, the engineering team has further enhanced the arrangements for the directional signs and road markings, and these works will be completed before the full commissioning of the CWB westbound.
           
     The TD anticipates that upon the full commissioning of the CWB, most of the motorists travelling to Western District and the WHC via the IEC westbound, or from the vicinity of Tin Hau, will make use of the CWB. The traffic conditions of the existing trunk roads including Gloucester Road, Harcourt Road and Connaught Road Central will thus be improved.
           
     A video showing the traffic route from the IEC (North Point section) to Western District via the CWB upon the commissioning of the CWB is now available at the TD’s YouTube channel. Members of the public can obtain details of the traffic and transport arrangements of the CWB through TD’s mobile application “HKeMobility” or the TD’s website, or call 1823 for enquiries. read more

     The Secretary for Development, Mr Michael Wong, visited Kwai Tsing District this afternoon (February 18) to learn more about the latest developments and needs of the community. He also met with local District Council members to… read more

     Three illegal workers comprising a Nepali and two Bangladeshis were jailed at Shatin Magistrates’ Courts on February 15.
      
     During a joint operation conducted by the Immigration Department (ImmD) and the Hong Kong Police Force codenamed “Champion” on February 12, enforcement officers raided a restaurant in Sha Tin and the Airport Freight Forwarding Centre. A male Nepali illegal worker and a Bangladeshi illegal worker, aged 34 and 33, were arrested. When intercepted they were working as a dishwasher and conveying goods respectively. Upon identity checking, they both produced for inspection recognisance forms issued by the ImmD which prohibit them from taking employment. Further investigation revealed that they were non-refoulement claimants. Meanwhile, one employer suspected of employing illegal worker was also arrested and the investigation is ongoing.

     In addition, ImmD investigators received a referral from the Hong Kong Police Force to further investigate an illegal employment case in October 2018. Enforcement officers arrested a male Bangladishi worker, aged 31, who was found conveying goods in Sha Tin. Upon identity checking, he produced for inspection a recognisance form issued by the ImmD, which prohibits him from taking employment. Further investigation revealed that he was a non-refoulement claimant. An employer suspected of employing the illegal worker was arrested and the investigation is ongoing.
 
    The three illegal workers were charged at Shatin Magistrates’ Courts on February 15 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. They were sentenced to imprisonment ranging from 15 months to 22 months and two weeks.
 
     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. read more

     Hong Kong Customs seized more than 700 suspected counterfeit goods, including some 500 mobile phones and 100 portable media players with an estimated market value of about $700,000 in Tsing Yi on February 12.

     Acting on information, Customs officers inspected 74 outbound express consignments destined for the United States and countries in Europe at an express courier service centre in Tsing Yi. Upon inspection, the batch of suspected counterfeit goods was seized among those consignments.

     Investigation is ongoing.

     Under the Trade Descriptions Ordinance, any person who imports or exports any goods to which a forged trade mark is applied commits an offence. The maximum penalty upon conviction is a fine of $500,000 and imprisonment for five years.

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

  

     The Chief Secretary for Administration, Mr Matthew Cheung Kin-chung, today (February 18) officiated at the launch ceremony of the Scheme on Corporate Summer Internship on the Mainland and Overseas 2019. He presented certificates to interns who participated in the Pilot Scheme on Corporate Summer Internship on the Mainland and Overseas last summer and announced a new round of the Scheme. The Scheme will accept applications from today until March 22.
      
     Speaking at the ceremony, Mr Cheung said that one of the priorities of youth development work of the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region Government is to provide more opportunities for young people to experience the work culture of different places, thereby broadening their horizons. In view of the success of the Pilot Scheme, the Government is expanding the scheme in 2019 with a view to nurturing outstanding talents with an affection for Hong Kong, a sense of national identity and an international perspective.
      
     The number of major companies participating in the Scheme has increased to 18 this year. They are all well-established enterprises based in Hong Kong and have undertaken to provide more than 280 internship places on the Mainland including cities in the Guangdong-Hong Kong-Macao Greater Bay Area and Beijing, Shanghai, Chengdu, Chongqing and Xiamen, as well as overseas countries including Singapore, Malaysia, Indonesia, Thailand, Vietnam, the United Kingdom, Sweden and Japan. The internship placements cover various industries such as financial services, the energy sector, property development and management, and public utilities services (please refer to Annex for details of the internship placements). Apart from offering these young people quality internship placements outside Hong Kong, participating companies will also shoulder key expenditure items including airfare and accommodation. The companies will also assign dedicated personnel to provide training and support to the interns.
      
     Interns should be undergraduate or postgraduate students holding a valid Hong Kong Permanent Identity Card. The internship placements will take place from May to September this year and last for no less than six weeks.
      
     The Government will continue to organise large-scale promotion for the Scheme and arrange for the interns a series of activities to enrich their learning experience and broaden their horizons.
      
     Details of the Scheme have been uploaded onto a dedicated webpage of the Youth Development Commission (www.ydc.gov.hk/scsi/en). Interested students should submit applications through the Government’s centralised application system, and each student can apply to up to three companies in a single application. Upon receipt of applications, participating companies will be responsible for the assessment and selection of applicants, as well as the implementation of the internship arrangements.