Attention TV/radio announcers:

Please broadcast the following as soon as possible:

     The Hong Kong Observatory has issued the Very Hot Weather Warning.

     To prevent heat stroke, avoid prolonged activities outdoors.

     If engaged in outdoor work or activities, wear a wide-brimmed hat and light-coloured, loose-fitting clothes. Stay in shaded areas as much as possible.

     Drink plenty of water, and avoid beverages containing caffeine or alcohol.

     If you feel sick, consult a doctor right away.

     The Boys' and Girls' Clubs Association of Hong Kong has been issued a Public Subscription Permit to hold a territory-wide flag sale from 7am to 12.30pm today (August 1), 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 Police open fire case in Castle Peak yesterday night (July 31).

     At about 9.15pm, while police officers were conducting an anti-crime operation on 18 Tsing Hoi Circuit, they found a male damaging a heavy goods vehicle with a brick. When officers attempted to arrest the man, the man resisted and struggled with officers. The man then got on a private car and fled.

     When officers attempted to intercept the private car, the man tried to knock down a police officer with the car. The police officer gave verbal warnings to two men inside the car but in vain, and subsequently fired two shots at the men in the car. The private car then fled along Castle Peak Road towards Sam Shing Estate direction.

     At about 10pm, officers located a private car in suspected connection with the case at Shan Ha Tsuen, Yuen Long.

     Sustaining leg injury, a 24-year-old man attended Pok Oi Hospital by himself. He was arrested for criminal damage, furious driving and assaulting police officers. The man was then transferred to Tuen Mun Hospital for medical treatment. He is being detained for enquiries.

     A male police officer sustained injuries to hands and leg and was sent to Tuen Mun Hospital in conscious state.

     Investigation by the Regional Crime Unit of New Territories North is underway. Anyone who witnessed the case or has any information to offer is urged to contact the investigating officers on 3661 3359.

     Police are investigating a Police open fire case in Castle Peak yesterday night (July 31).

     At about 9.15pm, while police officers were conducting an anti-crime operation on 18 Tsing Hoi Circuit, they found a male damaging a heavy goods vehicle with a brick. When officers attempted to arrest the man, the man resisted and struggled with officers. The man then got on a private car and fled.

     When officers attempted to intercept the private car, the man tried to knock down a police officer with the car. The police officer gave verbal warnings to two men inside the car but in vain, and subsequently fired two shots at the men in the car. The private car then fled along Castle Peak Road towards Sam Shing Estate direction.

     At about 10pm, officers located a private car in suspected connection with the case at Shan Ha Tsuen, Yuen Long.

     Sustaining leg injury, a 24-year-old man attended Pok Oi Hospital by himself. He was arrested for criminal damage, furious driving and assaulting police officers. The man was then transferred to Tuen Mun Hospital for medical treatment. He is being detained for enquiries.

     A male police officer sustained injuries to hands and leg and was sent to Tuen Mun Hospital in conscious state.

     Investigation by the Regional Crime Unit of New Territories North is underway. Anyone who witnessed the case or has any information to offer is urged to contact the investigating officers on 3661 3359.

     The Centre for Food Safety (CFS) of the Food and Environmental Hygiene Department today (July 31) announced that a sample of soybean curd dessert with sesame sweet soup was found to contain an excessive amount of Bacillus cereus, a pathogen. The CFS is following up on the case.

     "The CFS took the above-mentioned sample from a dessert shop in Wong Tai Sin for testing under its routine Food Surveillance Programme. The test result showed that the sample contained Bacillus cereus at a level of 220,000 per gram. Under the Microbiological Guidelines for Food, if ready-to-eat food contains Bacillus cereus at a level of more than 100,000 per gram, it is considered unsatisfactory," a CFS spokesman said.

     "The CFS has informed the vendor concerned of the unsatisfactory result. The vendor has already stopped selling the affected kind of food according to the CFS' advice. The CFS has also provided health education on food safety and hygiene to the staff of the vendor," the spokesman said.

     According to Section 54 of the Public Health and Municipal Services Ordinance (Cap 132), all food available for sale in Hong Kong, locally produced or imported, should be fit for human consumption. An offender is subject to a maximum fine of $50,000 and imprisonment for six months upon conviction.

     Bacillus cereus is commonly found in the environment. Unhygienic conditions in food processing and storage may give rise to its growth. Consuming food contaminated with excessive Bacillus cereus may cause gastrointestinal upset such as vomiting and diarrhoea.

     The CFS will continue to follow up on the incident, and take appropriate action to safeguard food safety and public health. Investigation is ongoing.