Interruption of Immigration Complaints hotline service

     Due to the regular inspection of the building's electrical installation system, the telephone system of the Investigation Sub-division of the Immigration Department at Skyline Tower in Kowloon Bay will be affected from 10pm today (May 25) until further notice. The Immigration Complaints Hotline will be interrupted. The numbers affected are:

Immigration Complaints Hotline: 2824 1551
Immigration Complaints Faxline: 2824 1166

     During the period of interruption, the following avenues will be available for members of the public to report immigration offences:
 




HAD to open temporary night heat shelters

     The Home Affairs Department will open 15 temporary night heat shelters tonight (May 25) for people in need of the service.
      
     The shelters will be open from 10.30pm until 8am tomorrow.
      
     For further information, please call the department's enquiry hotline before midnight on 2835 1473.
      
     The 15 temporary night heat shelters are located at:
      
Hong Kong Districts:
———————
 
Central and Western –
Sai Ying Pun Community Complex Community Hall
3/F, Sai Ying Pun Community Complex,
2 High Street, Sai Ying Pun
 
Eastern/Wan Chai –
Causeway Bay Community Centre
7 Fook Yum Road, Causeway Bay
 
Kowloon Districts:
——————
 
Kowloon City –
Hung Hom Community Hall
1/F, Kowloon City Government Offices,
42 Bailey Street, Hung Hom
 
Kwun Tong –
Lam Tin (West) Estate Community Centre
71 Kai Tin Road, Lam Tin
 
Sham Shui Po –
Shek Kip Mei Community Hall
G/F, Block 42, Shek Kip Mei Estate, Sham Shui Po
 
Wong Tai Sin –
Tsz Wan Shan (South) Estate Community Centre
45 Wan Wah Street, Tsz Wan Shan
 
Yau Tsim Mong –
Henry G Leong Yaumatei Community Centre
60 Public Square Street, Yau Ma Tei
 
New Territories Districts:
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Kwai Tsing –
Kwai Shing Community Hall
Podium, Block 6, Kwai Shing West Estate, Kwai Chung
 
North –
Cheung Wah Community Hall
Cheung Wah Estate, Fanling
 
Sha Tin –
Lung Hang Estate Community Centre
Lung Hang Estate, Sha Tin
 
Tai Po –
Tai Po Community Centre
2 Heung Sze Wui Street, Tai Po
 
Tsuen Wan –
Lei Muk Shue Community Hall
G/F, Hong Shue House, Lei Muk Shue Estate, Tsuen Wan
 
Tuen Mun –
Butterfly Bay Community Centre
Butterfly Estate (near Tip Sum House), Tuen Mun
 
Yuen Long –
Long Ping Community Hall
Long Ping Estate, Yuen Long
 
Yuen Long –
Tin Yiu Community Centre
Tin Yiu Estate, Tin Shui Wai




HA releases Medication Safety Bulletin

The following is issued on behalf of the Hospital Authority:

     The Hospital Authority (HA) today (May 25) published the biannual Medication Safety Bulletin (MSB). This issue reports on the Annual Medication Safety Forum, entitled "Near Miss Management – Reporting, sharing and learning" held in December 2017. The Forum is one of the HA's key initiatives to promote risk management among healthcare professionals in public hospitals.

     The latest issue also deliberates on the risks of and improvements in handling "look-alike sound-alike" medications, and features how the Kowloon Central Cluster shared information on and learned from near-miss incidents.

     The publication has already been posted on the web to share the contents with healthcare professionals. Members of the public are also welcome to browse it via the following link www.ha.org.hk/msb. The MSB is published every six months, on the last Fridays of May and November. The next issue will be published on November 30.




Special traffic arrangements on Hong Kong Island

     Police will implement the following special traffic arrangements on Sunday (May 27) to facilitate a public procession to be held on Hong Kong Island.

     The following roads will be intermittently closed from 3pm until the crowd is dispersed and traffic resumes normal:

– Westbound Hennessy Road between Luard Road and Queensway;
– Westbound Queensway;
– Westbound Queen's Road Central;
– Queen's Road West between Queen’s Road Central and Western Street;
– Westbound Connaught Road West between Western Street and Chiu Kwong Street;
– Western Street; and
– Northbound Chiu Kwong Street between Queen’s Road West and Des Voeux Road West.

     The following traffic arrangements will be implemented from about 3pm until the crowd is dispersed and traffic resumes normal:

Road closure
————

– Northbound Luard Road between Johnston Road and Hennessy Road;
– Southbound Fenwick Street between Hennessy Road and Johnston Road, except for franchised buses and green mini-buses (GMBs);
– Eastbound Johnston Road between Hennessy Road and Fenwick Street, except for franchised buses and GMBs;
– Westbound Johnston Road between Ship Street and Landale Street;
– Eastbound Thomson Road between Johnston Road and Luard Road;
– Northbound Justice Drive between Justice Drive flyover and Queensway;
– Northbound Wyndham Street between Wellington Street and Queen’s Road Central, except for vehicles heading to On Lan Street car park;
– Northbound Cochrane Street between Stanley Street and Queen’s Road Central;
– Chiu Kwong Street between Des Voeux Road West and Connaught Road West; and
– The first left lane of Connaught Road West flyover between Eastern Street and Water Street.

Traffic divisions
—————–

– Traffic along eastbound Johnston Road cannot turn left to northbound Luard Road;
– Traffic along westbound Johnston Road cannot turn right to northbound Luard Road;
– Traffic along eastbound Johnston Road cannot turn left to Thomson Road;
– Traffic along westbound Johnston Road cannot turn right to eastbound Thomson Road;
– Traffic along Tai Wong Street East must turn left to westbound Johnston Road;
– Traffic along westbound Johnston Road must turn left to Ship Street;
– Traffic along Lun Fat Street must turn right to eastbound Johnston Road;
– Traffic along eastbound Hennessy Road cannot turn right to southbound Fenwick Street, except for franchised buses and GMBs;
– Traffic along southbound Fenwick Street must turn to Hennessy Road;
– Traffic along westbound Johnston Road from Landale Street must turn left to Anton Street;
– Traffic along westbound Hennessy Road cannot turn left to eastbound Johnston Road;
– Traffic along northbound Justice Drive cannot turn left to westbound Queensway;
– Traffic along northbound Wyndham Street must turn left to westbound Wellington Street, except for vehicles heading to On Lan Street car park;
– Traffic along westbound Stanley Street must turn left to southbound Cochrane Street;
– Traffic along Queen’s Road Central cannot turn left to southbound Possession Street; and
– Traffic along Connaught Road West cannot turn left to southbound Chiu Kwong Street.

Suspension of parking spaces
—————————-
     
     All on-street parking spaces and disabled parking spaces on eastbound Thomson Road between Johnston Road and Luard Road will be suspended from 1pm to 6pm.

     Vehicles may not be permitted to leave car parks along the procession route during the road closure period.

     Actual implementation of the traffic arrangements will be made depending on traffic and crowd conditions in the area. Motorists are advised to exercise tolerance and patience and take heed of instructions of the Police on site.

 




Fifteen immigration offenders arrested

     The Immigration Department (ImmD) mounted a series of territory-wide anti-illegal worker operations, including an operation codenamed "Twilight" and joint operations with the Hong Kong Police Force and the Labour Department codenamed "Champion", on May 23 and 24. A total of 12 illegal workers and three suspected employers were arrested.
           
     During operation "Twilight", ImmD Task Force officers raided 13 target locations including restaurants, a recycling shop, a retail shop, a bar and a shop under renovation. Six illegal workers and two employers were arrested. The illegal workers comprised four men and two women, aged 27 to 40. Among them, two men were holders of recognisance forms, which prohibit them from taking any employment. Meanwhile, a man and a woman, aged 22 and 40, were suspected of employing the illegal workers.
      
     Furthermore, during operation "Champion", enforcement officers raided 46 target locations in Wan Chai, North Point, Chai Wan and Kowloon East districts including restaurants, shops and industrial buildings. Six illegal workers and an employer were arrested. The illegal workers comprised four men and two women, aged 22 to 35. Among them, one man was a holder of a recognisance form, which prohibits him from taking any employment. A man, aged 55, was suspected of employing the illegal workers.
           
     "Any person who contravenes a condition of stay in force in respect of him shall be guilty of an offence. Also, visitors are not allowed to take employment in Hong Kong, whether paid or unpaid, without the permission of the Director of Immigration. Offenders are liable to prosecution and upon conviction face a maximum fine of $50,000 and up to two years' imprisonment. Aiders and abettors are also liable to prosecution and penalties," an ImmD spokesman said.
           
     The spokesman warned that, as stipulated in section 38AA of the Immigration Ordinance, illegal immigrants or people who are the subject of a removal order or a deportation order are prohibited from taking any employment, whether paid or unpaid, or establishing or joining in any business. Offenders are liable upon conviction to a maximum fine of $50,000 and up to three years' imprisonment. The Court of Appeal has issued a guideline ruling that a sentence of 15 months' imprisonment should be applied in such cases.
           
     The spokesman reiterated that it is a serious offence to employ people who are not lawfully employable. The maximum penalty is imprisonment for three years and a fine of $350,000. The High Court has laid down sentencing guidelines that the employer of an illegal worker should be given an immediate custodial sentence. According to court sentencing, employers must take all practicable steps to determine whether a person is lawfully employable prior to employment. Apart from inspecting a prospective employee's identity card, the employer has the explicit duty to make enquiries regarding the person and ensure that the answers would not cast any reasonable doubt concerning the lawful employability of the person. The court will not accept failure to do so as a defence in proceedings. It is also an offence if an employer fails to inspect the job seeker's valid travel document if the job seeker does not have a Hong Kong permanent identity card. The maximum penalty for failing to inspect such a document is imprisonment for one year and a fine of $150,000.
           
     Under the existing mechanism, the ImmD will, as a standard procedure, conduct initial screening of vulnerable persons, including illegal workers, illegal immigrants, sex workers and foreign domestic helpers, who are arrested during any operation with a view to ascertaining whether they are trafficking in persons (TIP) victims. When any TIP indicator is revealed in the initial screening, the officers will conduct a full debriefing and identification by using a standardised checklist to ascertain the presence of TIP elements, such as threat and coercion in the recruitment phase and the nature of exploitation. Identified TIP victims will be provided with various forms of support and assistance, including urgent interference, medical services, counselling, shelter, temporary accommodation and other supporting services. The ImmD calls on TIP victims to report crimes to the relevant departments.