The Food and Environmental Hygiene Department (FEHD) has installed Internet Protocol (IP) cameras at 30 additional illegal refuse deposit blackspots to step up the fight against illegal deposits of refuse and improve environmental hygiene.
 
     A spokesman for the FEHD said today (October 10), "To curb illegal deposits of refuse, the FEHD progressively extended the scheme on installation of IP cameras at illegal refuse deposit blackspots to all districts starting from June this year. Following the installation of IP cameras at 47 blackspots earlier, the department, after consulting the District Councils, has installed IP cameras at 30 other blackspots with their operation commencing today. FEHD officers will closely monitor these targeted blackspots and suitably adjust action plans in light of actual circumstances, including changing IP camera locations to enhance the effectiveness of enforcement actions."

     Since the scheme was launched, the FEHD has issued some 110 fixed penalty notices against offenders for illegal dumping of waste at the blackspots, and instituted some 80 prosecutions against the owners of the vehicles which were used for illegal dumping of refuse based on the footage captured.
 
     The spokesman said that the FEHD implements the arrangements in accordance with the Guidance on CCTV Surveillance and Use of Drones issued by the Office of the Privacy Commissioner for Personal Data, including posting notices in the areas covered by the IP cameras.
 
     The spokesman added that the FEHD would continue to combat illegal refuse deposits in a multi-pronged manner. Members of the public are urged to observe the laws and be civic-minded. They should deposit refuse properly or may be prosecuted.

     The scheme will be reviewed one year after implementation. The installation locations of the IP cameras have been uploaded to the FEHD website (www.fehd.hksarg/english/pleasant_environment/cleansing/clean1.html).

The following is issued on behalf of the Judiciary:
 
     The Chief Executive has, on the recommendation of the Judicial Officers Recommendation Commission and with the endorsement of the Legislative Council, made the following appointments:
 
     Permanent judge of the Court of Final Appeal:
     ————————————————-
     (with effect from October 25, 2018)

     The Honourable Mr Justice Andrew Cheung Kui-nung,
     Chief Judge of the High Court

     Non-permanent Hong Kong judge of the Court of Final Appeal:
     ——————————————————————-
     (for a term of three years commencing October 25, 2018)

     The Honourable Mr Justice Robert Tang Ching, GBM,
     Permanent Judge of the Court of Final Appeal

     Hong Kong Customs seized about 5.3 kilograms of suspected cannabis buds with an estimated market value of $1.3 million at Hong Kong International Airport on October 7.

     Customs officers inspected an air mail parcel arriving from the United States and found the suspected cannabis buds inside the parcel.

     Subsequent to follow-up investigation, Customs officers today (October 10) arrested three men, aged between 16 and 25, suspected to be involved in the case in Aberdeen.

     Investigation is ongoing. 

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

  

The following is issued on behalf of the Executive Council Secretariat:
 
     Following is a transcript of remarks by the Convenor of the Non-official Members of the Executive Council (ExCo), Mr Bernard Chan, at a media session on "The Chief Executive's 2018 Policy Address" in the Legislative Council Complex today (October 10):
 
Reporter: Regarding the East Lantau reclamation, the project is bound to face strong criticisms from the opposition and the public. Are you worried that it may face other challenges?
 
Convenor of ExCo Non-official Members: There are many divided issues in Hong Kong, and these divided issues have lingered around for too long. We have come to a point, and we totally agree with the Chief Executive, that we have to make firm decisions, and those decisions need to be made in the interest of the people of Hong Kong at large. On the issue of housing and land supply, the solutions are all there. We just have to make sure decisions are made in the interest of the Hong Kong people. According to the Policy Address, almost 70 per cent of the new land supply will be used for public housing. Based on that, I believe that is the best decision for Hong Kong. The issue will continue to be divided, because there's a lot of vested interests, but we just have to move forward. If we continue to stall on this topic, we all are going to suffer. As you can tell, housing prices are already on the verge of being unsustainable and unhealthy for Hong Kong's economy to continue to develop. So I think the decision to find more land for Hong Kong is very important. Of course reclamation is only one of the solutions, and it is considered to be of longer term, so we still need other short and medium-term solutions to ease the current shortage of land supply.
 
(Please also refer to the Chinese portion of the transcript.)

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

     The Hong Kong Monetary Authority (HKMA), as representative of the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region Government, announces that a tender of 3-year Government Bonds through the re-opening of existing 10-Year Government Bond issue 10GB2108 under the Institutional Bond Issuance Programme was held today (October 10). 
      
     A total of HK$4 billion 3-year Government Bonds were offered today.  A total of HK$9.525 billion tender applications were received. The bid-to-cover ratio, i.e. the ratio of bonds applied for to bonds issued, is 2.38. The average price accepted is 99.69, implying an annualised yield of 2.592%.  

     Tender results of re-opening of 10-Year Government Bonds under the Institutional Bond Issuance Programme:
     

 
* Calculated as the amount of bonds applied for over the amount of bonds issued.