Police today (July 23) appealed to the public for information on a man who went missing in Kwai Chung. Leung Sing-chai, aged 68, went missing after he was last seen in a hospital on Princess Ma… read more
The Chief Secretary for Administration, Mr Matthew Cheung Kin-chung, visited the Legal Aid Department today (July 23) to learn more about the work of the department and meet its staff.
Mr Cheung started his visit by meeting the Director of Legal Aid, Mr Thomas Kwong, and other senior officers of the department. They shared with Mr Cheung the services provided to the public, the work of various divisions and the challenges ahead.
Accompanied by Mr Kwong, Mr Cheung toured the Legal and Management Support (LMS) Section under the Policy and Administration Division. The LMS Section is mainly responsible for providing information technology and management support to the department, assessing bills of costs submitted by assigned lawyers, attending legal aid taxation hearings and conducting enforcement proceedings for the recovery of judgment debts and costs in legally aided cases.
Mr Cheung then visited the Litigation Division to find out more about the litigation services provided for aided persons whose cases have been assigned in-house. At the Crime Section, he was briefed on the processing of criminal legal aid applications and handling of criminal litigation, and the operation of the Remote Official Visit System. The System allows the officers to interview inmates at the Lai Chi Kok Reception Centre through a video conferencing system in the interview room.
He was also given a tour of the Application and Processing Division to understand how the front-line staff of the Information and Application Services Unit met with the public and handled their enquiries on matters related to the procedures for applying for legal aid. He received a briefing from officers on the processing of legal aid applications and the assessment of applicants’ eligibility for civil legal aid on the basis of prescribed means and merits tests.
The responsibilities for formulating legal aid policy and housekeeping the department have been transferred to the Chief Secretary for Administration’s Office since July 1, 2018.
Mr Cheung emphasised that legal aid services are the cornerstone of the rule of law in Hong Kong. He thanked the department for its efforts in providing quality legal aid services to the public as well as its commitment to ensuring that any person who has reasonable grounds for taking or defending a legal action will not be denied access to justice because of a lack of means. He was pleased to note that the department has also been working closely with the legal profession and other stakeholders with a view to enhancing its legal aid services. He encouraged colleagues of the Legal Aid Department to keep up their professionalism and dedication to serve the public. read more
The Centre for Health Protection (CHP) of the Department of Health is today (July 23) investigating a suspected case of food poisoning related to the consumption of wild mushrooms, and urged the public not to pick and eat wild mushrooms.
The 49-year-old female patient developed symptoms including abdominal pain, vomiting and diarrhoea about two hours after consuming mushrooms at home yesterday (July 22). She attended the Accident and Emergency Department of United Christian Hospital on the same day. She is now in a stable condition.
Initial investigations revealed that the wild mushrooms consumed by the patient were picked from the hillside near Choi Tak Estate in Kwun Tong on July 21. The CHP’s investigation is ongoing.
“Members of the public should not pick wild mushrooms for consumption as it is difficult to distinguish edible mushroom species from inedible ones,” a spokesman for the CHP said.
“Mushroom poisoning is generally acute. Common presentations include gastrointestinal symptoms such as nausea, vomiting and abdominal pain appearing shortly after ingestion. Depending on the mushroom species, patients may also have other symptoms like profuse sweating, hallucination, coma or other neurological symptoms, as well as liver failure. Death may result in severe cases,” he added.
“If mushroom poisoning is suspected, the patient should seek immediate medical attention and bring along any available remnant for identification,” the spokesman said. read more
In response to media enquiries on the situation of local children receiving Diphtheria, Tetanus, Acellular Pertussis and Inactivated Poliovirus Vaccine (DTaP-IPV Vaccine) (4-in-1 combination vaccine), a spokesman of the Departm… read more
The Task Force on Home-school Co-operation and Parent Education released a consultation document today (July 23) to solicit views from members of the public on its preliminary recommendations.
To follow up on the announcement in the Chief Executive’s 2017 Policy Address, the Education Commission set up the Task Force on December 1, 2017, to review the existing approach and practices in promoting home-school co-operation and parent education, in order to formulate the direction and strategy for enhancing both. In the past several months, the Task Force has studied local and overseas research and the existing approach and practices on promoting home-school co-operation and parent education, and proposed preliminary directions, strategies and improvement measures.
The Chairman of the Task Force, Mr Tim Lui, said, “It is the view of the Task Force that the promotion of parent education and home-school co-operation should be more comprehensive and strategic. We suggest that school-based, community-based and territory-wide parent education programmes should be provided. Diversified and innovative modes should also be adopted, such as e-learning and parent education programmes provided in the workplace.
“Other suggestions include launching a ‘Happy Kids Campaign’ to advocate the healthy and happy development of children and avoidance of excessive competition, and further strengthening the roles of Parent-Teacher Associations and Federations of Parent-Teacher Associations.”
To ensure the quality of parent education, the Task Force also recommended that a curriculum framework on parent education should be developed to cater for the needs of parents of students at different school levels from kindergarten to secondary.
The consultation document has been uploaded to the website of the Education Bureau: www.edb.gov.hk/en/about-edb/press/consultation/index.html. Members of the public are welcome to send their written comments by post (Secretariat of the Task Force on Home-school Co-operation and Parent Education, Home-school Cooperation Section, Room W215, Kowloon Tong Education Services Centre, 19 Suffolk Road, Kowloon Tong, Kowloon), by email (hsc@edb.gov.hk) or by fax (2391 0470) on or before September 14, 2018.
Having conducted a series of consultation sessions to collect views from the key stakeholders, the Task Force will hold three more identical consultation sessions to collect views from the public. Details are set out below:
Session 1
Date: August 3 (Friday)
Time: 9.30am to 11am
Venue: Room WP01, Kowloon Tong Education Services Centre, 19 Suffolk Road, Kowloon Tong, Kowloon
Medium: Cantonese
Session 2
Date: August 4 (Saturday)
Time: 2.30pm to 4pm
Venue: Room WP01, Kowloon Tong Education Services Centre, 19 Suffolk Road, Kowloon Tong, Kowloon
Medium: Cantonese
Session 3
Date: August 9 (Thursday)
Time: 6.30pm to 8pm
Venue: Room WP01, Kowloon Tong Education Services Centre, 19 Suffolk Road, Kowloon Tong, Kowloon
Medium: Cantonese (with simultaneous interpretation in English)
Reservations for seats at the public consultation sessions can be made on a first-come, first-served basis on the website of the Education Bureau (www.edb.gov.hk/en/student-parents/consultation-tfhcpe/index.html) and the parent education website “Smart Parent Net” (www.parent.edu.hk), by email (hsc@edb.gov.hk) or by fax (2391 0470). read more