Hong Kong Customs yesterday (July 6) seized about 8 700 kilograms of suspected Thailand rosewood from a container at the Kwai Chung Customhouse Cargo Examination Compound. The estimated market value of the seizure was about $1.3 million.

     Through risk assessment, Customs officers inspected a container arriving in Hong Kong from Cambodia. Upon inspection, Customs officers found the suspected Thailand rosewood in the container.

     The case was handed over to the Agriculture, Fisheries and Conservation Department for follow-up investigation. 

     Under the Protection of Endangered Species of Animals and Plants Ordinance, any person found guilty of importing or exporting an endangered species without a licence is liable to a maximum fine of $10 million and imprisonment for ten years. 

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

  

     Police advise motorists that special traffic arrangements will be implemented in Sha Tin to facilitate the race meeting tomorrow (July 8).

     The arrangements will come into effect two hours before the start of the first race and will last until the crowds have dispersed after the race meeting.

     Appropriate traffic signs will be put up and police will be on hand to guide motorists.

     The Police also appeal to people going to Sha Tin Racecourse for the race meeting and to Happy Valley Racecourse for cross betting to make maximum use of public transport.

     Parking spaces at the two racecourses are available only to holders of appropriate permits issued by Hong Kong Jockey Club and any vehicles illegally parked will be towed away.
     

     Hong Kong Ladies Dynamic Association Limited has been issued a Public Subscription Permit to hold a territory-wide flag sale from 7am to 12.30pm today (July 7), a spokesman for the Social Welfare Department (SWD) said. 

     For enquiries, please call the SWD's hotline at 2343 2255, or the Charitable Fund-raising Control Team at 2832 4311 during office hours. Information on the flag days of the month is available at the SWD's website (www.swd.gov.hk/en/index/site_whatsnew). Permits for flag days containing contact information of the flag-selling organisations and information on the approved flag-selling activities have also been uploaded to the SWD's website (www.swd.gov.hk/en/index/site_pubsvc/page_controlofc/sub_recentlyap). For enquiries about the detailed flag-selling arrangements, please contact the individual flag-selling organisations.

     Details of the charitable fund-raising activities covered by the Public Subscription Permit issued by the SWD have also been uploaded to the GovHK website (www.gov.hk/fundraising).

     In the case of suspected fraudulent flag day activities, people should not make any donation and should immediately report the matter to the Police, the spokesman added.

     Police are investigating a fatal traffic accident in Lok Ma Chau this morning (July 6) in which two men, aged 50 and 42, died.

     At about 8.58 am, the 42-year-old man got on a light goods vehicle (LGV) on an unnamed road near Tun Yu Road without authorization of the vehicle owner. He drove along the road and reportedly knocked down a stone hut.

     Sustaining serious injuries, the 50-year-old man who was staying inside the stone hut and the 42-year-old male driver were rushed to the North District Hospital and Pok Oi Hospital respectively in unconscious state. The 50-year-old man was certified dead at 9.57am and the male driver was certified dead at 10.10am.

     After initial investigation, the case is classified as pending taking conveyance without authority and dangerous driving causing death.

     Investigation by the District Crime Squad of Border District is underway.

     Anyone who witnessed the incident or has any information to offer is urged to contact the investigating officers on 3661 4042.

     Following is the speech by the Chief Executive, Mrs Carrie Lam, at the cocktail reception in celebration of the 20th anniversary of the Hong Kong International Airport this evening (July 6):
      
Jack (Chairman of Airport Authority Hong Kong, Mr Jack So), Fred (Chief Executive Officer of Airport Authority Hong Kong, Mr Fred Lam), members of the Airport Authority Board, distinguished guests, ladies and gentlemen,
      
     Good evening.  I am delighted to join you tonight in celebration of the 20th anniversary of the Hong Kong International Airport which we are so proud of.
      
     Your timing is certainly on the mark.  It was 20 years ago this very day that Cathay Pacific flight CX889, from New York, became the first commercial service to touch down at our brand-new airport.  That was the beginning of our steep climb, our rise and shine as one of the world’s major aviation hubs.
      
     The numbers certainly bear that out.  In 1997, its last full year of service, Kai Tak Airport handled 10.2 million passengers. Last year, Hong Kong International Airport, or Chek Lap Kok, welcomed some 73 million passengers and more than five million tonnes of air cargo.  That makes us the world's third-busiest international passenger airport. It also makes us the world’s busiest cargo airport – and that for the past eight years in a row.
      
     We've become just as popular with the world's airlines.  Indeed, the number of airlines with operations here has grown from 60 to more than one hundred, providing over 1,100 flights a day to more than 220 destinations around the world.
      
     Such results have not gone unnoticed. Over the past two decades, the airport has been honoured with more than 70 "best airport" awards.
      
     And the best is yet to come.  Construction of the airport’s three-runway system has been in place for nearly two years now, with completion scheduled for 2024.  At that point, the airport will be able to welcome about 100 million passengers a year while handling some nine million tonnes of cargo annually.
      
     This timing should be fortuitous, given the vast promise of the Guangdong-Hong Kong-Macao Bay Area, with its collective population of over 69 million busy, prosperous people.  The imminent completion of the Hong Kong-Zhuhai-Macao Bridge and the Hong Kong section of the Guangzhou-Shenzhen-Hong Kong Express Rail Link will slash travelling time between Hong Kong and Guangdong as well as Macao, making our airport even more accessible.
      
     The major Pearl River Delta airports are also expanding to cater to the expected soaring of demand, but I am confident that our integrated multi-modal infrastructure – embracing air, sea and land – will ensure that Hong Kong remains the Bay Area’s international transport hub.
      
     More than moving people and cargo around the region and the world, our airport will fly on sustainable talent.  In that regard, I'm pleased to note that the Airport Authority and France’s Groupe ADP last month signed two MOUs.  These will boost co-operation between Hong Kong International Airport and Paris Charles de Gaulle Airport, one of the world's busiest airports.  These agreements cover a variety of areas, ranging from airport management to talent development, including a staff exchange programme.
      
     I'm pleased as well that our International Aviation Academy and the Vocational Training Council also signed an agreement last month. Together, they will work to expand our local talent base, training tomorrow's professionals to support the airport's long-term development.  Going further, the Academy will also offer training and exchange opportunities to our friends along the Belt and Road, sharing Hong Kong's rich experience in aviation and strengthening people to people bonds.
      
     Ladies and gentlemen, the Hong Kong International Airport is among our most important infrastructure.  And the AA Board, under the able leadership of Jack, and the management led by Fred are to be commended for leveraging on the strengths of our airport with two major initiatives launched earlier this year, namely the SkyCity, a 25-hectare integrated development right next to the airport comprising retail complexes, dining areas, hotels, entertainment facilities and offices; and a major air logistics centre which, scheduled to commence operation in 2023, will become the smart hub in Asia serving the fast-growing global e-commerce business.  So my heartfelt congratulations to Hong Kong International Airport on its 20th anniversary, and I wish it all the best in the next 20 years.  I also wish everyone here tonight a very enjoyable evening.
      
     Thank you very much.