Correctional officers at Lai Chi Kok Reception Centre today (October 12) intercepted a remand person in custody smuggling suspected dangerous drugs into the centre by concealing them inside his body.

     The 61-year-old remand person in custody was remanded in the institution for the offence of trafficking in a dangerous drug on October 11. After undergoing X-ray body scanning, he was suspected to have swallowed suspected dangerous drugs before admission and was therefore separated and put under close monitoring.

     At 10.25am today, he discharged 16 packs of suspected dangerous drugs wrapped in plastic sheet. The case has been reported to the Police for follow-up.

     A spokesperson for the Correctional Services Department said, "The department takes every measure to stop the introduction of dangerous drugs or unauthorised articles into correctional institutions in order to maintain good order and discipline and a drug-free environment for all persons in its custody."

     One more nomination for the Legislative Council Kowloon West geographical constituency by-election was received by the Returning Officer today (October 12).
 
     This brings the total number of nomination forms received to four since the start of the nomination period on October 2. The nomination period will continue until October 15.
 
     Particulars of the nominees are available on the election website (www.elections.gov.hk/legco2018kwby/eng/nominat.html).
 
     If the number of validly nominated candidates is more than one at the by-election, a poll will be held on November 25, 2018 (Sunday).

The following is issued on behalf of the Hong Kong Monetary Authority:

     The Hong Kong Monetary Authority (HKMA) released today (October 12) the key analytical accounts of the Exchange Fund at the end of September 2018.
 
     Foreign assets, representing the external assets of the Exchange Fund, increased during the month by HK$4.7 billion to HK$3,491.8 billion.
 
     The Monetary Base, comprising Certificates of Indebtedness, Government‑issued currency notes and coins in circulation, the balance of the banking system and Exchange Fund Bills and Notes issued, amounted to HK$1,619.6 billion.
 
     Claims on the private sector in Hong Kong amounted to HK$237.4 billion.
 
     The analytical accounts of the Exchange Fund are released in accordance with the International Monetary Fund's Special Data Dissemination Standard (SDDS) and are referred to as the Analytical Accounts of the Central Bank under SDDS (Annex).
 
Release calendar
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The release calendar of the Analytical Accounts of the Exchange Fund for 2019 is announced below:
 

 
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     At present, four press releases relating to the Exchange Fund's data are issued by the HKMA each month.  Three of these releases are issued to disseminate monetary data in accordance with the International Monetary Fund's Special Data Dissemination Standard (SDDS).  The fourth press release, on the Exchange Fund's Abridged Balance Sheet and Currency Board Account, is made in accordance with the HKMA's policy of maintaining a high level of transparency.  For the month of October 2018, the scheduled dates for issuing the press releases are as follows:
 

The following is issued on behalf of the Legislative Council Secretariat:

     The Legislative Council (LegCo) Committees will hold 13 open meetings and a closed meeting during the week from October 15 to 19 in the LegCo Complex. Details of the meetings are available in the meeting schedule attached.
 
     The information in the meeting schedule is subject to change. Please refer to the "LegCo Calendar" on the LegCo Website (www.legco.gov.hk) for the latest details of meetings.
 
     Members of the public are welcome to observe open meetings of LegCo  Committees. Interested individuals and groups are advised to make advance booking of seats by calling the LegCo Secretariat at 3919 3399 during office hours. Members of the public can also listen to or watch all open meetings via the "Webcast" system on the LegCo Website.

     The Environmental Protection Department (EPD) today (October 12) released the latest grading of water quality for 38 gazetted beaches* that are open for swimming and one non-gazetted beach (i.e. Discovery Bay**).
        
     Twenty-four beaches were rated as Good (Grade 1), 14 as Fair (Grade 2) and one as Poor (Grade 3).
 
Grade 1 beaches are:        

 
Grade 2 beaches are:

 
Grade 3 beach is:

 
* The Leisure and Cultural Services Department (LCSD) announced today that Butterfly Beach, Castle Peak Beach, Kadoorie Beach, Cafeteria Old Beach, Cafeteria New Beach, Golden Beach, Hoi Mei Wan Beach and Approach Beach will reopen on October 13 while Repulse Bay Beach will reopen on October 16. Meanwhile, other gazetted beaches in Southern, Tsuen Wan, Islands and Sai Kung Districts will remain closed until further notice.

** Discovery Bay is a non-gazetted beach without lifeguard service.

*** Sai Kung Sewage Treatment Works was recently damaged by the typhoon and is under repair. The public are advised to avoid recreational activities with water contact at Kiu Tsui Beach, Trio Beach and Hap Mun Bay Beach, where water quality may be temporarily affected until further notice.
 
     Under the present grading system, beaches are classified into four grades according to the level of E. coli in the water. Grades are calculated on the basis of the geometric mean of the E. coli counts on the five most recent sampling occasions.
      
     A summary of beach grades is published weekly before the weekend. The latest beach grades based on the most current data may be obtained from the department's websites on Beach Water Quality (www.beachwq.gov.hk and www.epd.gov.hk/epd/beach) or the beach hotline, 2511 6666.