Hong Kong Customs mounted the third phase of the enforcement operation against food smuggling codenamed "Ice Breaker" in November this year. On November 5, Customs detected one related case and seized approximately 300 kilograms of frozen meat and 1 000kg of other food items with a total estimated market value of about $100,000.
      
     Based on intelligence analysis and in-depth investigations, Customs speculated that criminals intended to use cross-boundary trucks to smuggle food into Hong Kong, which would be supplied to local food retail shops.
      
     On November 5, Customs officers identified a suspicious truck, entering Hong Kong through the Man Kam To Control Point, which delivered a batch of suspected smuggled goods to Tsuen Wan. Later, some of the goods were distributed to a food retail shop in the area. Customs officers then took action and seized the batch of suspected smuggled goods at the shop. A 51-year-old truck driver and a 52-year-old male shop manager were arrested. They have been released on bail pending further investigation.
      
     During the operation, a total of about 300kg of frozen meat and 1 000kg of other food items, including hairy crabs, seafood and frozen food, with a total estimated market value of around $100,000, were seized.
      
     Operation "Ice Breaker" is continuing.
      
     Under the Import and Export Ordinance, any person found guilty of importing or exporting unmanifested cargo is liable to a maximum fine of $2 million and imprisonment for seven years upon conviction.
      
     According to the Imported Game, Meat, Poultry and Eggs Regulations (Cap. 132AK), it is an offence to import or bring any game, meat, poultry or eggs into Hong Kong without a health certificate issued by an issuing entity of the place of origin and/or without prior written permission granted by the Food and Environmental Hygiene Department. An offender shall be liable on conviction to a fine of $50,000 and to imprisonment for six months.
      
     Members of the public may report any suspected smuggling activities to Customs' 24-hour hotline 182 8080 or its dedicated crime-reporting email account (crimereport@customs.gov.hk) or online form (eform.cefs.gov.hk/form/ced002/).

  

     Following is a question by the Hon Vincent Cheng and a written reply by the Secretary for Development, Ms Bernadette Linn, in the Legislative Council today (November 13):
 
Question:
 
     It has been reported that a number of water mains burst incidents took place in Kowloon West in recent months, and one such incident occurring in the early hours of September 29 even resulted in a road subsidence accident, causing serious disruption to traffic in the district and threatening the safety of members of the public. In this connection, will the Government inform this Council:
 
(1) of the following information on the water mains burst incidents in Kowloon West from January to October this year: the locations of the incidents, the numbers of service years of the water mains and the materials used, as well as the investigation outcomes of the incidents;
 
(2) of the distribution of the water mains in Kowloon West already covered by the Risk-based Improvement Programme of Water Mains under the Water Supplies Department (WSD), and the details of the improvement works concerned (including the progress and expenditure);
 
(3) as it is learnt that the Water Intelligent Network (WIN) is being established by the WSD to monitor water mains leakage, of the current progress of works for the establishment of District Metering Areas (DMAs) in Kowloon West, including whether there is uncompleted DMA establishment works; if so, of the estimated time of completion; whether it will consider expanding the monitoring coverage of the WIN and enhancing its monitoring effectiveness; if so, of the details; if not, the reasons for that;
 
(4) of the following information on water mains leakage cases in Kowloon West as detected by the WIN in the past three years: the number of cases, the relevant follow-up improvement measures and works, and whether there are previous records of bursts with the water mains involved;
 
(5) given that in a paper submitted to the Panel on Development of this Council on October 24 last year, the Government has proposed to carry out "the stage 1A of risk-based improvement of large diameter water mains", which includes three kilometres of water mains in the Sham Shui Po District, of the exact locations of the works to be carried out and the current status of the tendering exercise; whether it has considered expediting the commencement and completion of such works; if so, of the details; if not, the reasons for that; and
 
(6) as there are views pointing out that the Government's progress in water mains replacement is slow, and it is learnt that the WSD carried out a territory-wide replacement and rehabilitation of water mains programme from 2000 to 2015 to replace and rehabilitate about 3 000 ‍km long of water mains, of the number of water mains in the programme that are located in the Sham Shui Po and Yau Tsim Mong Districts, and the coverage of the water mains concerned; whether the Government has considered launching afresh another territory-‍wide programme to replace and rehabilitate aged fresh and salt water mains, or allocating additional resources to expedite the progress of water mains replacement; if so, of the details; if not, the reasons for that?
 
Reply:
 
President,
 
     The Water Supplies Department (WSD) has all along been committed to providing the public with reliable, sufficient and quality water supply. Through continuous improvement in asset management and making good use of technology, the WSD strives to ensure the effective operation of the water supply networks.
 
     From 2000 to 2015, the WSD carried out a territory-wide replacement and rehabilitation of water mains programme to replace and rehabilitate about 3 000 km long aged water mains (including fresh and salt water mains), thereby raising the healthiness of the water supply networks.
 
     Since 2015, the WSD has implemented multi-pronged measures, including adopting a risk-based asset management programme for water mains (Programme) by introducing factors such as age of use, materials, past records of bursts or leaks, surrounding environment and consequence resulting from bursts or leaks, for assessing the risk of water mains so as to replace or rehabilitate specific sections of water mains with higher risk progressively with a view to continuously maintaining the healthiness of the water supply networks and reducing the risks of water main bursts or leaks.
 
     Besides, the WSD is establishing approximately 2 400 Water Intelligent Network (WIN) district metering areas (DMAs) within the fresh water distribution networks in the territory. In addition to monitoring leakage in the networks to carry out maintenance works for damaged mains in a timely manner, the risks of main bursts or leaks can be reduced by detecting and adjusting water pressure through the pressure management devices installed in the WIN.
 
     Through the above-mentioned multi-pronged measures and with efforts over the years, the number of annual main burst cases has been greatly reduced from around 2 500 in 2000 to around 40 cases in 2023 and to 26 cases in 2024 (as at October). The leakage rate of fresh water mains has also dropped from over 25 per cent in 2000 to around 14 per cent in 2023.

     The reply to various parts of the question raised by the Hon Vincent Cheng on the situation of water mains in Kowloon West is as follows:

(1) From January to October this year, the WSD recorded a total of five water main burst incidents in Kowloon West, of which three were located in Sham Shui Po District and two were located in Yau Tsim Mong District. The details are tabulated in the Annex.

(2) and (6) Under the programme for replacement and rehabilitation of about 3 000 km long aging water mains completed in 2015, about 150 km long aged water mains in Sham Shui Po District and about 200 km long in Yau Tsim Mong District had been replaced and rehabilitated. Under the Programme, the progress of water main replacement in Kowloon West is as follows:
 

     The expenditure of completed replacement or rehabilitation works of 16 km long water mains in Kowloon West was approximately $260 million. The estimated expenditure for works have already started or are scheduled to start in 2024 under the Programme covering approximately nine km of water mains and that for the "Risk-based Improvement of Large Diameter Water Mains, Stage 1A" (three km), which started in 2024, is approximately $670 million.

     The WSD will actively explore with the project consultants and contractors the feasibility of accelerating the commencement and completion of the construction works.

(3) As at September 2024, the progress of DMAs of the WIN in Kowloon West is as follows:
 

     The remaining DMAs of the WIN are scheduled for completion in the first quarter of 2025. We and the WSD are currently reviewing the coverages of DMAs of the WIN and the measures to enhance its monitoring effectiveness. The arrangement will be announced later.

(4) In the past three years, the number of water main leakage cases successfully detected in water mains in Kowloon West by the WIN were 12 (2022), six (2023) and 11 (as at October 2024). The relevant cases have been properly followed up, and the relevant leakage points have not developed into water main burst incidents. The WSD will continue to use the WIN to monitor leakage in the network to reduce the risk of leakage in government water mains.

(5) Under the Programme, three km long water mains in the Sham Shui Po area in the "Risk-Based Improvement of Large Diameter Water Mains, Stage 1A" have been included in the works contract number 2/WSD/23. The exact location of the project is Sham Wong Road (near Hing Wah Street West to Chui Yu Road), Yen Chow Street, Kiu Kiang Street, Kweilin Street and Tai Po Road (near Garden Hill). The aforesaid contract was awarded in June 2024 which is targeted to be completed in phases within four to six years.

     Police will implement special traffic arrangements in So Kon Po and Causeway Bay to facilitate a football match to be held at the Hong Kong Stadium on November 14 (Thursday).

A.    Traffic arrangements at the commencement of the event

    Depending on the crowd and traffic conditions, the following traffic arrangements will be implemented from about 5.30pm:

Road closure
———————–

– Caroline Hill Road between its eastern junction with Leighton Road and Cotton Path;
– Part of the traffic lane of Caroline Hill Road between Eastern Hospital and Cotton Path;
– Westbound Hysan Avenue between Yun Ping Road and Hoi Ping Road;
– Stadium Path; and
– Lee Garden Road between Lan Fong Road and Hysan Avenue, except for green minibuses (GMBs).
 
Traffic diversions
———————————–

– Caroline Hill Road between its western junction with Leighton Road and Stadium Path will be re-routed one way southbound;
– Eastern Hospital Road between Stadium Path and Tung Lo Wan Road will be re-routed one way northbound;
– Caroline Hill Road between its western junction with Leighton Road and Link Road will have two lanes for traffic entering Caroline Hill Road from Hoi Ping Road;
– Hysan Avenue between Leighton Road and Hoi Ping Road will be re-routed one way eastbound;
– Eastbound Hysan Avenue will have two lanes for traffic turning right to Hoi Ping Road;
– Vehicles leaving the private driveway of Lee Garden One must turn left to eastbound Hysan Avenue;
– Traffic along Yun Ping Road cannot turn left to westbound Hysan Avenue, and vehicles will be diverted to Lan Fong Road and Pak Sha Road;
– If necessary, traffic along northbound Link Road downhill to northbound Caroline Hill Road must turn left to westbound Leighton Road; and
– If necessary, traffic along Lan Fong Road cannot turn left to southbound Lee Garden Road, and vehicles will be diverted to northbound Lee Garden Road, Foo Ming Street and southbound Percival Street, except for GMBs.

Passenger alighting arrangements
—————————————————————

     The drop-off zone for taxis and private cars will be arranged to set down passengers at the locations specified below:

– Western kerbside of Caroline Hill Road near Disciplined Service Sports and Recreation Club;
– Northern kerbside of Cotton Path; and
– Southern kerbside (taxi drop-off zone) and northern kerbside (private car drop-off zone) of Eastern Hospital Road near the main entrance of Hong Kong Stadium.

B. Traffic arrangements on conclusion of the event
 
     Depending on the crowd and traffic conditions, the following traffic arrangements will be implemented from about 9.30pm:

Road closure
———————–

– Caroline Hill Road;
– Eastern Hospital Road between Caroline Hill Road and Cotton Path;
– Northbound Link Road (downhill), except for vehicles heading for No. 1, 3, 5 and 7 on Link Road;
– Hoi Ping Road;
– Sunning Road;
– If necessary, Cotton Path; and
– If necessary, Leighton Road.

Traffic diversions
———————————–

– Before the end of the event, vehicles may be permitted to leave the South China Athletic Association car parks by turning right at the western exit to northbound Caroline Hill Road;
– Before the end of the event, vehicles may be permitted to exit buildings on Eastern Hospital Road by turning right to northbound Eastern Hospital Road;
– Traffic along westbound Leighton Road cannot enter Caroline Hill Road for Link Road, and vehicles will be diverted via Wong Nai Chung Road and Broadwood Road; and
– When Leighton Road is closed, traffic along westbound Causeway Road will be diverted via Irving Street; traffic along eastbound Morrison Hill Road will be diverted via Canal Road West; traffic along southbound Percival Street must turn right to westbound Leighton Road; and traffic along southbound Canal Road East cannot turn left to Leighton Road.

C. Traffic arrangements throughout the event

Prohibition for learner drivers
——————————–

     From 5pm to 11pm, learner drivers cannot enter Tung Lo Wan Road from Causeway Road. The following roads will also be prohibited to all learner drivers:
 
– Westbound Leighton Road;
– Percival Street south of Hennessy Road;
– Caroline Hill Road;
– Link Road;
– Stadium Path;
– Cotton Path;
– Eastern Hospital Road; and
– Eastern Hospital Road service road.

Suspension of parking spaces
—————————-
 
     All on-street parking spaces on the following roads will be suspended from 5pm to 11pm:

– Stadium Path;
– Northbound Caroline Hill Road between Stadium Path and Cotton Path;
– Hoi Ping Road;
– Sunning Road; and
– Eastern Hospital Road service road.

Restrictions on access to / exit from car parks
———————————————–

     If necessary, all car parks along Caroline Hill Road, Eastern Hospital Road, Stadium Path and Cotton Path may be closed at short notice.

     Vehicles in car parks within the road closure area may not be permitted to leave during the road closure period.

     All vehicles parked illegally during the implementation of the above special traffic arrangements will be towed away without prior warning, and may be subject to multiple ticketing.  

     Actual implementation of traffic arrangements will depend  on the traffic and crowd conditions in the areas. Members of the public are advised to exercise tolerance and patience and take heed of instructions of the Police on site.

     Following is a question by the Hon Michael Tien and a written reply by the Secretary for Health, Professor Lo Chung-mau, in the Legislative Council today (November 13):

Question:

     Public hospitals in Hong Kong had a number of incidents involving medical equipment and facilities in early 2023. Subsequently, the Hospital Authority (HA) formed the Review Committee on Medical Equipment and Facility Maintenance (the Committee) on March 6 of the same year to review the relevant areas. The Committee submitted a review report in June of the same year and put forward a number of improvement recommendations to the HA, among which each hospital cluster should establish progressively a facility management (FM) team comprising building professionals of relevant disciplines, and should expand the establishment concerned with a view to achieving the target of deploying in-house staff to undertake surveying of building conditions and direct monitoring of building safety inspections (the recommendations). It is learnt that the HA has not been able to employ sufficient manpower to implement the recommendations through local recruitment exercises. In this connection, will the Government inform this Council:

(1) whether it knows the HA's estimation of necessary manpower deployment and number of staff for implementing the recommendations, and the number of staff already employed at present; and

(2) whether it will discuss with the Labour and Welfare Bureau to allow importation of labour to the HA's FM teams through labour importation or supplementary labour schemes to solve the manpower shortage problem; if so, of the details; if not, the reasons for that?

Reply:

President,

     In consultation with the Hospital Authority (HA), the reply to the question raised by the Hon Michael Tien is as follows:

(1) The Government and the HA attach great importance to the safety of patients and staff. In view of a number of incidents involving medical equipment and facilities at the time, the HA established the Review Committee on Medical Equipment and Facility Maintenance (Review Committee) in March 2023 to review systematically the repair and maintenance issues of medical equipment and facilities in public hospitals. With a view to strengthening protection for patients and staff, the Review Committee proposed multiple recommendations on enhancing the maintenance of medical equipment, conducting building safety inspections by in-house staff and introduction of technology, etc, through incident analysis, site visits to hospitals as well as consultations with staff and industry experts. Since the Review Committee submitted the report in June 2023, the HA has actively followed up on the relevant recommendations and progressively put in place relevant measures in accordance with the operation circumstances and needs of hospitals, etc, with a view to ensuring the safety of patients and staff. Up to date, all recommendations have been put into place.

     Regarding the maintenance of building facilities, the HA has implemented improvement measures proposed by the Review Committee in relation to organisational structure, application of technology, human resources and training, etc. For example, under the rolling inspection and maintenance programmes, the HA has formulated and commenced a series of inspection programmes, among which building facilities will be regularly inspected according to different risk categories, i.e. taking into account factors such as their usage, age and degree of aging, and impact on hospital safety and operation, etc, for categorising the facilities into different risk levels. The inspection frequency for the facilities is set in a targeted manner to reduce the possibility of sudden breakdown or damage.

     In addition, the HA, in accordance with the recommendations, is gradually building up a full team comprised of relevant disciplines of building professionals and switching to deploying in-house staff for building safety inspections, so as to exercise direct monitoring on building safety inspections. Following the direction of the report recommendations, the HA has recruited over 30 additional relevant professionals or works supervisory personnel as in-house staff and will continue the recruitment efforts based on the needs of the seven clusters. The objective is to gradually expand the pool of relevant in-house professionals or works supervisory personnel to over 100 in the next few years. Meanwhile, the HA will also deploy existing facility management staff as necessary to enhance building inspection work with support from outsourced maintenance contractors, and ensure the quality of inspection work through multi-tier monitoring and audit.

(2) The HA attaches great importance to the professionalism of the facility management teams. On one hand, the HA requires the responsible teams to have relevant work experience and technical expertise. On the other hand, the teams should also understand hospital operation and be able to arrange inspection workflow in a flexible manner in order to cater various specific circumstances of hospitals. With reference to the arrangements of the Buildings Department's Mandatory Building Inspection Scheme and Mandatory Window Inspection Scheme, etc, the HA assigns personnel with relevant qualifications to inspect hospital facilities or monitor the inspection work to ensure that relevant work is completed properly. Besides, the HA aims for the responsible teams to accumulate experiences, particularly on collaboration with healthcare staff, through rolling inspection work, so as to enhance the efficiency of such work. In parallel, the HA has also proactively introduced advanced technology to ease manpower demand pressure, e.g. using aerial cameras to expedite the survey of external walls, and enhancing the efficiency of facility management and monitoring of the operation of major equipment through building information modelling. The HA targets to establish a standing professional team that is familiar with the HA operation to provide appropriate and targeted maintenance services for hospital facilities in the long term. Considering the need for continuity in the team, the HA currently has no plans to import labour nor join the Enhanced Supplementary Labour Scheme.

     The Centre for Food Safety (CFS) of the Food and Environmental Hygiene Department announced today (November 13) that in view of notifications from the Ministry of Agriculture of Hungary and the World Organisation for Animal Health (WOAH) about outbreaks of highly pathogenic H5N1 avian influenza in Baranya County in Hungary and the WoÅ‚ów District of DolnoÅ›lÄ…skie Region in Poland, and outbreaks of highly pathogenic H5 avian influenza in Landes Department and Allier Department in France, the CFS has instructed the trade to suspend the import of poultry meat and products (including poultry eggs) from the above-mentioned areas with immediate effect to protect public health in Hong Kong.

     A CFS spokesman said that Hong Kong has currently established a protocol with Hungary for the import of poultry meat but not for poultry eggs. According to the Census and Statistics Department, Hong Kong imported about 150 tonnes and about 3 480 tonnes of frozen poultry meat from Hungary and Poland respectively, and about 1 310 tonnes of chilled and frozen poultry meat and about 120 000 poultry eggs from France in the first nine months of this year.

     "The CFS has contacted the Hungarian, Polish and French authorities over the issues and will closely monitor information issued by the WOAH and the relevant authorities on the avian influenza outbreaks. Appropriate action will be taken in response to the development of the situation," the spokesman said.