Labour Department investigates fatal work accident in Tai Po

     The Labour Department (LD) is investigating a fatal work accident that occurred in Tai Po last night (February 10), in which a worker died.

     The LD immediately deployed staff to the scene upon receiving a report of the accident, and is now conducting an investigation to look into its cause.




Fatal traffic accident in Tai Po

     Police are investigating a fatal traffic accident in Tai Po yesterday (February 10) night in which a 37-year-old man died.

     At about 11.15pm, a Special Purpose Vehicle (SPV) driven by a 35-year-old man was travelling along Tai Wo Service Road West towards Fanling. When approaching Nam Wa Po, a lift platform of the SPV reportedly rammed onto two overhead power cables and the 37-year-old man who was working on the lift platform was found collapsed inside.

     Sustaining serious head injuries, the man was rushed to Prince of Wales Hospital in unconscious state and was certified dead at 01.04am today (February 11).

     Investigation by the Special Investigation Team of Traffic, New Territories North is underway.

     Anyone who witnessed the accident or has any information to offer is urged to contact the investigating officers on 3661 3800.
 




HyD responds to media enquiries on Hong Kong-Zhuhai-Macao Bridge Hong Kong Link Road project

     Regarding a media report and media enquiries about the Request for Inspection and Survey Checking (RISC) forms for the works of Hong Kong-Zhuhai-Macao Bridge (HZMB) Hong Kong Link Road (HKLR), the Highways Department (HyD) today (February 10) responded as follows:

     The project involved is "HZMB HKLR – Section between Scenic Hill and Hong Kong Boundary Crossing Facilities (HKBCF)" (Contract No. HY/2011/03).  The contract included design and construction of the section of HKLR between Scenic Hill on the airport island and the HKBCF, and road links between the HKBCF and the Hong Kong International Airport.  The main contractor is China State Construction Engineering (Hong Kong) Limited and the engineering consultant is Ove Arup and Partners Hong Kong Limited.

     The Resident Site Staff (RSS) of the engineering consultant reported to the HyD in end July 2018 that the contractor had not submitted over 10 000 RISC forms in time according to the contract requirements, which accounted for about 28 per cent of this type of forms that had to be submitted under the contract.

     The HyD had immediately requested the RSS of the engineering consultant to submit the site construction records and received the relevant records in August 2018, including a large number of photo records taken by the RSS during the construction. The HyD has separately appointed an independent consultant to examine such records to ascertain whether the RSS of the engineering consultant have fulfilled their duties of supervising the works of the contractor.

     The independent consultant has examined all the records in detail, conducted random checks on the files of the relevant records kept in the computers and met the engineering staff to verify the authenticity of the documents. The independent consultant concluded that as the RSS were able to provide ample evidence in a short period of time, it showed that the engineering consultant had all along stored a large number of photo records in a systematic manner.

     During the investigation, the independent consultant had met the RSS of the engineering consultant at different ranks to learn more about the details of the construction works and records kept. All RSS they met were familiarised with the details of the supervision works, indicating that they had truly been involved in the supervisory duties.

     During the examination by the independent consultant, no forgery of documents had been found. The independent consultant also confirmed that the RSS of the engineering consultant had discharged their site supervisory duties after examining the records, and submitted a report to the HyD in October 2018.

     According to the contract requirements, the contractor has submitted the RISC forms with the dates of the signatures indicating when the forms had been duly signed instead of the construction dates of the relevant works to show that it was a late submission.

     The HyD emphasised that the matter does not involve quality issues, but that the contractor had not submitted the documents in time according to the procedures. The HyD had already reflected the unsatisfactory performances of the engineering consultant and the contractor in this matter in the quarterly performance reports, and urged them for improvement. The Government has all along attached great importance to work quality and safety. Before the commissioning of the HZMB, it was confirmed that the construction works were carried out according to the contract requirements and the technical and safety requirements of the works were also met.




Hong Kong Customs seizes suspected cocaine (with photo)

     Hong Kong Customs yesterday (February 9) seized about 4.6 kilograms of suspected cocaine with an estimated market value of about $5.5 million at Hong Kong International Airport .

     A male passenger arrived in Hong Kong from Sao Paulo, Brazil via Doha, Qatar yesterday afternoon. During Customs clearance, the batch of suspected cocaine was found concealed inside the false compartment of his suitcase. The man was then arrested.

     The arrested man, aged 20, has been charged with one count of trafficking in a dangerous drug. He will appear at West Kowloon Magistrates' Courts tomorrow (February 11).

     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 the Customs' 24-hour hotline 2545 6182 or its dedicated crime-reporting email account (crimereport@customs.gov.hk).

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Car park at Hong Kong Wetland Park full

Attention TV/radio announcers:
 
Please broadcast the following as soon as possible:
 
     The car park at Hong Kong Wetland Park is full. Motorists going to the Park can use the nearby public car parks at Tin Heng Estate, Tin Yat Estate, Grandeur Terrace or Tin Yip Road.
 
     Members of the public are encouraged to take public transport to the Park.