A sick 87-year-old male remand person in custody at Siu Lam Psychiatric Centre died in a public hospital today (February 12).
 
     The remand person in custody suffered from ischemic heart disease and renal failure. He required continuous medical care and follow-up at the institution hospital and public hospital. On January 26, he was sent to a public hospital for treatment due to physical discomfort. During hospitalisation, his condition deteriorated and he was certified dead at 7.55am today. 

     The case has been reported to the Police. A death inquest will be held by the Coroner's Court. 

     The remand person in custody was remanded for the offence of criminal damage in January 2019.

     The Transport Department (TD) today (February 12) reminded members of the public that the Public Transport Fare Subsidy Scheme has been implemented since January 1, and commuters will be able to collect the public transport fare subsidy for January at over 1 800 locations in the territory starting from this Saturday (February 16).

     The ways for collecting the subsidy (Annex 1) are as follows:
 

• the Subsidy Collection Points – installed at (1) all MTR stations and Light Rail Customer Service Centres; and (2) designated ferry piers and public transport interchanges (please refer to Annex 2 for the locations);
• any outlet of 7-Eleven, Circle-K and Wellcome supermarket;
• through the Octopus App; and
• the Octopus Service Points.

     Steps for collection can be found in Annex 3.

     A spokesman for the TD added that on and after the 16th of each month, commuters can collect the subsidy of the previous month through the same channels. The subsidy for each month is valid for collection within the next three months. Hence, members of the public can collect the subsidy for January within three months (i.e. from February 16 to May 15). 

     "Based on the actual expenses of commuters under the Scheme, the total amount of subsidy to be handed out to commuters in January 2019 is around $186 million, involving over 2.3 million beneficiaries," the TD spokesman said.

     Commuters may check their record of public transport expenses and subsidy amount through the website of the Subsidy Scheme (www.ptfss.gov.hk), the Octopus App and the hotline of the Subsidy Scheme (2969 5500). For enquires about the details of the Subsidy Scheme, please see the website of the Subsidy Scheme or call 1823.

     A cross-boundary driver was convicted and sentenced to 39 months' imprisonment today (February 12) at the District Court for using a private vehicle with an altered structure to smuggle gold, in contravention of the Import and Export Ordinance (IEO).

     Customs officers intercepted an incoming private car which entered Hong Kong via Shenzhen Bay Control Point on August 17, 2016. Thirty gold bars weighing about 30 kilograms with an estimated market value of about $11 million were found concealed near a front tyre of the vehicle. The 34-year-old male driver was then arrested.

     Smuggling is a serious offence. Under the IEO, any person found guilty of importing or exporting unmanifested cargo is liable to a maximum fine of $2 million and imprisonment for seven years.

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

     To encourage the reduction and recycling of yard waste, the Environmental Protection Department (EPD) has called on members of the public and commercial and industrial (C&I) organisations to deliver peach blossom trees (PBTs) intended for disposal to designated collection points for recycling. The EPD's contractor will process the collected PBTs and recycle them into useful materials such as mulch and compost to conserve resources and reduce waste.

     Members of the public are encouraged to deliver the PBTs with decorations removed to the 37 Public Refuse Collection Points and six Outlying Islands Transfer Facilities from February 18 to 25. Please refer to the Annex for the locations and opening hours of the collection points.

     C&I organisations, such as property management companies, and members of the public can also deliver the PBTs to the EcoPark (address: 133, Lung Mun Road, Tuen Mun, New Territories) on the above specified dates from 9am to 6pm. C&I organisations should only deliver the PBTs to the EcoPark directly. Other collection points will not accept PBTs delivered by C&I organisations.

     For enquiries, please call the hotline of the recycling service at 9706 6549 during 9am to 6pm on weekdays. During the collection dates of PBTs (February 18 to 25), the hotline service will operate from 8am to 8pm. For more details, please refer to the Hong Kong Waste Reduction website (www.wastereduction.gov.hk).

     An EPD spokesman reminded members of the public that this recycling service is limited to PBTs and they should remove all decorations, fai chun, tape, etc before delivering the PBTs to the collection points to facilitate the subsequent recycling processes. Festive decorations can be stored for reuse. For other small potted plants (such as kumquat trees), the public are advised to replant them to help reduce waste.

     An e-certificate will be provided to all participants and C&I organisations who deliver PBTs to the EcoPark in Tuen Mun.

     The EPD also welcomes other organisations and associations to provide recycling services for PBTs to help the public and C&I organisations to participate and enhance waste reduction for all.

     The Centre for Health Protection (CHP) of the Department of Health is today (February 12) closely monitoring five additional cases of Middle East Respiratory Syndrome (MERS), including two deaths, reported to the World Health Organization (WHO) by Oman between January 27 to 31, and again urged the public to pay special attention to safety during travel, taking due consideration of the health risks in the places they visit.

     According to the WHO, this was a household cluster affecting five female patients aged 30 to 59. Among them, three had underlying illnesses and four had contact with previously confirmed patients. They resided on a farm where dromedary camels and other animals were kept.

     According to the latest information, 2 311 cases have been reported to the WHO (with at least 811 deaths).

     "We will maintain close communication with the WHO and relevant health authorities," a spokesman for the CHP said.

     "Travellers to the Middle East should avoid going to farms, barns or markets with camels; avoid contact with sick persons and animals, especially camels, birds or poultry; and avoid unnecessary visits to healthcare facilities. We strongly advise travel agents organising tours to the Middle East to abstain from arranging camel rides and activities involving direct contact with camels, which are known risk factors for acquiring MERS Coronavirus," the spokesman said.

     Travellers to affected areas should maintain vigilance, adopt appropriate health precautions and take heed of personal, food and environmental hygiene. The public may visit the MERS page of the CHP and its Travel Health Service, MERS statistics in affected areas, the CHP's Facebook Page and YouTube Channel, and the WHO's latest news for more information and health advice. Tour leaders and tour guides operating overseas tours are advised to refer to the CHP's health advice on MERS.