Author Archives: hksar gov

     A woman was fined $10,000 at the Kowloon City Magistrates’ Courts today (July 25) for contravening the Hotel and Guesthouse Accommodation Ordinance.

     The courts heard that in January this year, officers of the Office of the Licensing Authority (OLA), Home Affairs Department, inspected a suspected unlicensed guesthouse on Cheung Wah Street in Cheung Sha Wan. The OLA officers posed as lodgers and successfully rented a room in the guesthouse on a daily basis.

     According to the OLA’s records, the guesthouse did not possess a licence under the Ordinance on the day of inspection. The woman responsible for operating the premises was charged with contravening section 5(1) of the Ordinance.

     A department spokesman stressed that operating or managing an unlicensed guesthouse is a criminal offence and will lead to a criminal record. Upon conviction, the offender is liable to a maximum fine of $200,000 and two years’ imprisonment.

     The spokesman appealed to anyone with information about suspected unlicensed guesthouses to report it to the OLA through the hotline (Tel: 2881 7498), by email (hadlaenq@had.gov.hk), by fax (2504 5805) using the report form downloaded from the OLA website (www.hadla.gov.hk), or through the mobile application “Hong Kong Licensed Hotels and Guesthouses”. read more

     The Transport Department (TD) today (July 25) announced that, with effect from August 1 (Wednesday), the First Phase Public Car Park in Po Shek Wu Estate (PSWE) will replace the existing Sheung Shui Public Car Park (SSPCP) to provide park-and-ride (PnR) concession, while the SSPCP will cease operation and be permanently closed. The SSPCP site will be used for development works of PSWE.
 
     To encourage the public to use railway services to travel to urban areas, the coverage of the new PnR scheme will expand from four MTR stations (Kowloon Tong, Mong Kok East, Hung Hom and East Tsim Sha Tsui Stations) to most of the MTR stations (except Ma On Shan Line stations and Sheung Shui, Fanling, Tai Wo, Tai Po Market, University, Fo Tan, Sha Tin and Tai Wai Stations). Users of the PSWE First Phase Public Car Park will be eligible for the concessionary PnR charge if they use an adult Octopus card to enter the car park, and use the same Octopus card to travel to and from designated MTR stations before leaving the car park. Details of the scheme will be shown on notices displayed at the PSWE car park.
 
     The parking charges are as follows:
 

Charges	Private car parking space
Monthly+	$1,840
Hourly+	$12
PnR	$4 (per hour)

Remark:
+ Holders of the Disabled Person’s Parking Permit issued by the TD will be offered a 50 per cent discount on monthly and hourly parking fees.
 
     The SSPCP will not be open for hourly parking starting from noon on July 31. Motorists must remove their vehicles from the SSPCP that day, and vehicles that are parked in the SSPCP after midnight on August 1 will be towed away and the owner or driver of the vehicle concerned will be liable to pay the associated parking fee and towing fee. read more

     The overall Comprehensive Social Security Assistance (CSSA) caseload in June showed a drop of 257 cases, representing a decrease of 0.1 per cent compared with that of May, according to the latest CSSA caseload statistics r… read more

     The Government today (July 25) announced that the Chief Executive has re-appointed Mr Willy Lin Sun-mo as Chairman of the Hong Kong Productivity Council (HKPC) for two years starting from August 6, 2018.

     The Secretary for Innovation and Technology, Mr Nicholas W Yang, welcomed the re-appointment of Mr Lin as Chairman of the HKPC. “Under Mr Lin’s able leadership in the past two years, the HKPC has been making valuable and significant contributions to support the Government’s policy in driving ‘re-industrialisation’ in Hong Kong and assist the industry in enhancing its competitiveness. I look forward to continuing to work with Mr Lin closely to promote the development of innovation and technology in Hong Kong,” Mr Yang said.

     Mr Lin was first appointed as Chairman of the HKPC in August 2016.

     The HKPC was established in 1967 to promote increased productivity in Hong Kong. Its role is to provide integrated support to innovative and growth-oriented Hong Kong firms across the value chain. The HKPC’s main sectoral focus is Hong Kong’s manufacturing and related service activities, while its main geographical focus is Hong Kong and the Pearl River Delta. The HKPC provides its clients with a diverse range of support services in product development, consultancy, training and technology transfer. read more

     The Centre for Food Safety (CFS) of the Food and Environmental Hygiene Department announced today (July 25) that a fresh beef sample was found to contain sulphur dioxide, a preservative which is not permitted to be used in fresh meat. The CFS is following up on the case.
      
     A spokesman for the CFS said, “Following up on a food complaint, the CFS took the fresh beef sample from a fresh provision shop in Wong Tai Sin for testing. The test result showed that the sample contained sulphur dioxide at a level of 310 parts per million.”
      
     According to the Preservatives in Food Regulation (Cap 132BD), it is an offence to add sulphur dioxide to fresh or chilled meat. The maximum penalty is a $50,000 fine and six months’ imprisonment.
      
     The CFS has informed the vendor concerned of the above-mentioned irregularity. Prosecution will be instituted should there be sufficient evidence.
      
     Sulphur dioxide is a commonly used preservative in a variety of foods including dried fruits, pickled vegetables and meat products such as sausages and grilled burgers, but under the Regulation it is not permitted in fresh or chilled meat. Nonetheless, individual meat traders have been found illegally using sulphur dioxide to make meat look fresher. This preservative is of low toxicity. As it is water soluble, most of it can be removed through washing and cooking. However, susceptible individuals who are allergic to this preservative may experience breathing difficulties, headache and nausea.
      
     The spokesman reminded the food trade to comply with the law and not to sell fresh or chilled meat adulterated with sulphur dioxide. Members of the public should purchase meat from reliable market stalls or fresh provision shops. They should avoid buying or consuming meat which is unnaturally red and maintain a balanced diet to avoid malnutrition or excessive exposure to chemicals from a small range of food items.
      
     The CFS will continue to follow up on the case and take appropriate action. read more