The following is issued on behalf of the Community Care Fund Secretariat:

     The Community Care Fund (CCF) will hold a public consultation session this Saturday (May 19) to gauge public views on the formulation of assistance programmes. Members of the public are welcome to attend.

     The consultation session will be held from 5pm to 6.30pm at Auditorium, Basement, Breakthrough Centre, 191-197 Woosung Street, Jordan, Kowloon (MTR Jordan Station, Exit C2).

     Those who would like to attend the consultation session may call the CCF Secretariat at 2835 2279 during office hours (from 8.45am to 1pm and from 2pm to 6pm, Mondays to Fridays) or complete the online registration form at the CCF's website (www.communitycarefund.hk/en/form.asp) for seat reservation.

     The Chinese Opera Festival in June will stage Xinchang Diaoqiang and Ninghai Pingdiao operas, both of which originate from China's "Four Major Ancient Singing Styles" and were inscribed onto the first national list of Intangible Cultural Heritage. Audiences will be able to witness the charm and uniqueness of these ancient genres of Chinese opera. The Festival is presented by the Leisure and Cultural Services Department.
 
     The Xinchang Diaoqiang Heritage Protection and Development Centre of Zhejiang won great acclaim when it debuted in Hong Kong during the Chinese Opera Festival of 2013. On its return in June the troupe will perform the traditional Xinchang Diaoqiang opera "The Battle at Jiujiang". With national class performers, the troupe proudly presents this classic of the genre. With its vivid enactment of the ingenious Zhang Dingbian and the eloquent Hua Yunlong, along with its stratagems and plots, this production is presented in the style of northern opera sang but sung in the southern style. The production includes the light-hearted "The Old Water-carrier", which tells the story of an underprivileged old water-carrier who has no fear of the law and insists on pursuing justice, eventually proving the innocence of a misjudged murderer.
 
     Pingdiao opera involves countless unique stunts, one of the best known being the shuaya or tusk stunt, in which the performers hold buckteeth in their mouths while simultaneously singing, reading or dancing as the plot progresses. Shuaya is regarded as having the same standing as bian lian, Sichuan opera's face-changing stunt. Featuring shuaya maestro Xue Qiaoping, the Pingdiao Art Heritage Centre of Ninghai will unveil for local audiences the rough and delicate yet wild and refined acuity of national-class artistry.
 
     Details of the performances are as follows:

June 22 (Friday) 7.30pm
Xinchang Diaoqiang Opera "The Battle at Jiujiang"
 
June 23 (Saturday) 7.30pm
Ninghai Pingdiao Opera Excerpt "Meeting the Judge from Li Huiniang"
Xinchang Diaoqiang Opera "The Old Water-carrier"
 
June 24 (Sunday) 2.30pm
Excerpts: Ninghai Pingdiao Opera "Jinlian Killing the Bandit Lijiao" and Xinchang Diaoqiang Opera "The Farewell on the Bridge" from "Autumn in the Han Palace", "Catching Sanlang Alive" from "The Water Margin", "Autumn River" from "The Story of the Jade Hairpin", "Ghost of a Woman who Hangs Herself" from Mulian Opera, and "Taking the Robe with His Spear on the Bridge" from "Guan Yu Travelling Alone for Thousands of Miles"
 
     All performances will be staged at the Auditorium, Ko Shan Theatre New Wing. Tickets priced at $150, $250 and $320 are now available at URBTIX (www.urbtix.hk).
 
     For telephone credit card bookings, please call 2111 5999. For programme enquiries and concessionary schemes, please call 2268 7325 or visit www.cof.gov.hk.
 
     Meet-the-Artists sessions (in Putonghua) on "The Ancient Provenance of Diaoqiang opera of the Eastern Zhejiang Region and the Intangible Cultural Heritage 'Shuaya' and the Art of Pingdiao Opera" featuring Wang Ying, Tian Min, Zhang Zhanghai, Wang Jiayu, Xue Qiaoping, Tang Jiefei will be held at 7.30pm on June 21 (Thursday) at AC2, Level 4, Administration Building, Hong Kong Cultural Centre. Admission is free. Limited seats will be available on a first-come, first-served basis.

The following is issued on behalf of the Hong Kong Monetary Authority:

     The Hong Kong Monetary Authority (HKMA) wishes to alert members of the public to a press release issued by DBS Bank (Hong Kong) Limited on fraudulent website and phishing e-mail, which has been reported to the HKMA. Hyperlink to the press release is available on the HKMA website for ease of reference by members of the public.
 
     Anyone who has provided his or her personal information to the website concerned or has conducted any financial transactions through the website should contact the bank concerned using the contact information provided in the press release, and report to the Police or contact the Cyber Security and Technology Crime Bureau of the Hong Kong Police Force at 2860 5012.

The following is issued on behalf of the Hong Kong Monetary Authority:

     The Hong Kong Monetary Authority (HKMA) wishes to alert members of the public to a press release issued by Bank of China (Hong Kong) Limited on fraudulent website and phishing e-mail, which has been reported to the HKMA. Hyperlink to the press release is available on the HKMA website for ease of reference by members of the public.

     Anyone who has provided his or her personal information to the website concerned or has conducted any financial transactions through the website should contact the bank concerned using the contact information provided in the press release, and report to the Police or contact the Cyber Security and Technology Crime Bureau of the Hong Kong Police Force at 2860 5012.

     A property owner was fined over $180,000 for failing to comply with two removal orders under the Buildings Ordinance (Cap 123) (BO) at Kwun Tong Magistrates' Courts on May 8 (Tuesday).

     The orders involved two premises owned by this owner. The first order was for an illegal structure on the balcony and the roof and an illegal concrete canopy attached to the external wall of a building at Prat Avenue in Tsim Sha Tsui, Kowloon. The sizes of the unauthorised building works (UBWs) on the balcony and the roof were around 7 square metres and 52 sq m respectively. As the UBWs were erected without prior approval from the Buildings Department (BD), contravening the BO, a removal order was served on the owner under section 24(1) of the BO.

     Since the owner did not comply with the order, he was prosecuted by the BD in 2016 and was fined over $80,000 upon conviction at Kwun Tong Magistrates' Courts. However, as the owner still did not comply with the order, the BD instigated prosecution against him for the second time. The owner was convicted again. The Court noticed that the owner had three previous conviction records of not complying with removal orders and heavily fined the owner $94,900.

     The other order was for an illegal structure on the roof of a building at Carnarvon Road in the same district. The size of the UBWs was around 28 sq m. As the UBWs were erected without prior approval from the BD, a removal order was served on the owner under section 24(1) of the BO.

     As the owner failed to remove the UBWs upon the expiry of the removal order, he was prosecuted by the BD. The owner was convicted. The Court noticed that the owner had previous conviction records for not complying with removal orders at various properties, including the conviction record in the first case mentioned above, and heavily fined him $88,000.

     "UBWs may adversely affect the structural and fire safety of a building, leading to serious consequences. Owners should seek professional advice before carrying out any building works in their premises," a spokesman for the BD said today (May 14).

     Pursuant to section 40(1BA) of the BO, any person who, without reasonable excuse, fails to comply with an order served on him under section 24(1) of the BO, commits an offence and is liable on conviction to a fine of $200,000 and to imprisonment for one year, as well as a further fine of $20,000 for each day that the offence has continued.