The Social Welfare Department (SWD) will make a one-off grant to students who are receiving Comprehensive Social Security Assistance (CSSA) starting from this Thursday (August 30).

     A spokesman for the SWD said today (August 28) that the arrangement is one of the measures announced in the 2018-19 Budget to share the fruits of economic success with the community. Students from child care centres, kindergartens and primary and secondary schools who are eligible for flat-rate grant for selected items of school-related expenses under the CSSA Scheme in the 2018/19 school year will each be provided a one-off grant of $2,000. 

     The grant will be paid through the existing CSSA payment method, i.e. through autopay to the designated bank accounts in general. Recipients are not required to make an application. 

     For enquiries, recipients may call the SWD hotline at 2343 2255 or contact the respective Social Security Field Unit.

     Local sheng artist Loo Sze-wang will show his superb skills by playing a variety of compositions in a recital in October.
 
     "Sheng Recital by Loo Sze-wang" is presented by the Leisure and Cultural Services Department (LCSD) as part of its City Hall Virtuosi Series.
 
     The programme will include "Festival on Tianshan", "Fishermen's Song of the South Sea", "Daybreak on a Snowy Mountain in Spring", "Zen", "The Love Valley", "Recollection", "Only Sheng", "MM (Tango)", "Sonata for ShÅ� and 17 strings Koto" (2nd movement), "Three Lai", "Keyed Sheng Rhapsody, Op. 1" and "Dazzle", the new work by Loo.
 
     Renowned sheng virtuoso Loo Sze-wang has many awards under his belt, and has been active both as a soloist and as a chamber musician. He has collaborated with different performing groups including the Song Company of Australia, St Lawrence String Quartet of the United States, POING of Norway, the Fulcrum Point New Music Project of Chicago, Het Collectif of Brussels and the Macao Orchestra, covering Europe, the US, Asia and South America.
 
     Loo has also premiered several sheng concertos, the notable pieces being "Miroir de Macao" by Lam Bun-ching, and "Hark the Phoenix Soaring High" and "'Twas the Thawing Wind" by Chan Hing-yan. In 2009, he was Artist-in-Residence of Cornell University in New York, the United States. As Artist Associate of the Hong Kong Sinfonietta in 2012, he went on tour with the orchestra to North America. His recent performances have included the operas "The Heart of Coral" and "Ghost Love" by Chan Hing-yan; the atmospheric music theatre shows "When Petals Fall in Serenity" and "Beyond the Senses" by composer Law Wing-fai; "The Anatomy of the Musician" by Samson Young in Paris, France; and the new concerto "Hark the Phoenix Solitaire Cry" by Chan Hing-yan with the UniMi Orchestra in Milan, Italy, under the baton of Yip Wing-sie in 2016. Loo is a founding member of the group Chinese Music Virtuosi, which was Ensemble-in-Residence of the Department of Music of the Chinese University of Hong Kong in 2011-12.
 
     "City Hall Virtuosi Series ─ Sheng Recital by Loo Sze-wang" will be staged at 8pm on October 28 (Sunday) at the Theatre of Hong Kong City Hall. Tickets priced at $150 and $200 are now available at URBTIX (www.urbtix.hk). For telephone credit card bookings, please call 2111 5999. For programme enquiries and concessionary schemes, please call 2268 7321 or visit www.lcsd.gov.hk/CE/CulturalService/Programme/en/music/programs_556.html.

  

     The Lands Department (LandsD) announced today (August 28) that a new website, Hong Kong Map Service 2.0 (HKMS 2.0), has been launched to provide a one-stop platform for map products and land survey records for the public.

     A spokesperson for the LandsD said that HKMS 2.0 offers different types of digital and paper map products. In addition, the website has a newly introduced digital version of land survey records, including digital images of Lot Index Plan and Demarcation District Sheets, as well as a product preview function. These features help promote the use of digital products, save paper and protect the environment.

     "Through HKMS 2.0, the public can easily search for lot and location information anytime and anywhere. They can also download various types of digital maps, aerial photos and land survey records after making payment," the spokesperson said.

     "HKMS2.0 has streamlined the ordering process and no registration is required for purchasing paper map products. The new website is also connected with the Application Programming Interface of Hongkong Post's delivery service, which will deliver paper map products to designated locations. The public no longer have to visit the LandsD's Map Publications Centres for making purchases."

     Members of the public can register and log on to HKMS 2.0 via designated social media accounts and share product information. Apart from supporting browsers on different Internet platforms, HKMS 2.0 is equipped with responsive web design and cloud technology to ensure stable and smooth services.

     For enquiries on HKMS 2.0, please call 2231 3187 or email hkms_pub@landsd.gov.hk.

     A female director-cum-salesperson of a wedding service company was sentenced to carry out 100 hours of community service with a criminal record and was ordered to offer $4,280 compensation to the victim by the District Court today (August 27) following conviction of applying a false trade description in the course of provision of wedding gown rental service supplied to a consumer, in contravention of the Trade Descriptions Ordinance (TDO).

     Hong Kong Customs earlier received information alleging that a wedding service company applied a false trade description in its sale of wedding gown rental service.

     Investigation revealed that the company's director-cum-salesperson had falsely claimed to a customer that a wedding gown for rental was a product of a particular brand and charged the customer for an additional sum. However, the gown was subsequently confirmed not a product of that brand.

     Customs reminds traders to comply with the requirements of the TDO and consumers to procure services at reputable shops.

     â€‹Under the TDO, any trader who applies a false trade description to a service supplied to a consumer commits an offence. The maximum penalty upon conviction is a fine of $500,000 and imprisonment for five years.

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

     As the rainstorm warning has been issued by the Hong Kong Observatory, the Labour Department (LD) reminds employers and contractors that they should adopt necessary work arrangements and take suitable safety measures to protect the safety of their employees when they are carrying out electrical work or handling electrical plant.

     A spokesman for the LD said today (August 27) that employers and contractors should avoid assigning employees to carry out electrical work (like electric arc welding work) or handle electrical plant at places affected by rainstorms, and should refer to the "Code of Practice in times of Typhoons and Rainstorms" and the "Guide on Safety at Work in times of Inclement Weather" issued by the LD.

     Even if electrical work is carried out or electrical plant is handled at places not affected by the rainstorm, suitable safety measures must still be adopted to prevent electric shock as the air would be more humid. Such measures include:

(i) Ensure that all live parts of an electrical installation are isolated from the power supply source and rendered dead, and the isolation from the power supply source must be maintained as long as electrical work is being carried out;

(ii) Before carrying out any electrical work or handling any electrical plant, cut off and lock out the power supply source, then test the circuit concerned to confirm it is dead and display suitable warning notices, and issue a work permit thereafter;

(iii) Ensure that protective devices (such as suitable and adequate fuses and circuit breakers) for the electrical installations or electrical plant have been installed and maintained in good working order, and portable electric tools must be double-insulated or properly earthed;

(iv) Provide suitable personal protective equipment such as insulating gloves and insulating mats for employees; and

(v) If live electrical work is unavoidable, a comprehensive risk assessment should be conducted by a competent person and the appropriate safety precautions should be taken to remove or properly control the electrical hazards involved before such work can proceed.

     In addition, employees should co-operate with the employer or contractor to follow the safety instructions and use the safety equipment provided.

     The LD has published guidebooks and leaflets on electrical work safety. These safety publications are available free from divisional offices of the department or can be downloaded from its website (www.labour.gov.hk/eng/public/content2_8.htm).

     Should there be any questions about occupational safety and health matters, please contact the Occupational Safety Officer of the LD at 2559 2297.