The Department of Health (DH) today (August 15) appealed to the public not to buy or use a topical product (labelled as "廯康王è�‰æœ¬ä¹³è†�" with no English name), as it was found to contain undeclared controlled drug ingredients.
 
     Acting upon a case referred by the Hospital Authority, the DH earlier purchased a sample of the above product from a premises in Lai Chi Kok for analysis. Test results from the Government Laboratory revealed that the product sample contained clobetasol propionate, miconazole and terbinafine, which are Part 1 poisons under the Pharmacy and Poisons Ordinance (Cap. 138). The product is also suspected to be an unregistered pharmaceutical product.
 
     The DH today conducted an operation with the Police against the above premises. During the operation, one woman aged 57 years was arrested by the Police for suspected illegal sale and possession of Part 1 poison and unregistered pharmaceutical product. The DH's investigation is continuing.
 
     Clobetasol propionate is a steroid substance for treating inflammation. Inappropriate application of steroids could cause skin problems and systemic side effects such as moon face, high blood pressure, high blood sugar, adrenal insufficiency and osteoporosis. Products containing clobetasol propionate are prescription medicines that should be used under a doctor's directions and be supplied in a pharmacy under the supervision of a registered pharmacist upon a doctor's prescription. Miconazole and terbinafine are used for the treatment of fungal infections with side effects including local irritation and sensitivity reactions.
 
     According to the Ordinance, all pharmaceutical products must be registered with the Pharmacy and Poisons Board of Hong Kong before they can be sold in the market. Illegal sale or possession of unregistered pharmaceutical products or Part 1 poisons are criminal offences. The maximum penalty for each offence is a fine of $100,000 and two years' imprisonment.   
 
     The DH spokesman strongly urged members of the public not to buy or use products of doubtful composition or from unknown sources. All registered pharmaceutical products should carry a Hong Kong registration number on the package in the format of "HK-XXXXX". The safety, quality and efficacy of unregistered pharmaceutical products are not guaranteed.
 
     People who have purchased the product concerned should stop using it immediately and consult healthcare professionals if in doubt or feeling unwell after use. They may submit the product to the Drug Office of the DH at Room 1801, Wu Chung House, 213 Queen's Road East, Wan Chai, during office hours for disposal.

  

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 Hang Seng Bank, Limited relating to a fraudulent website, internet banking login screen and phishing emails, which have been reported to the HKMA. A hyperlink to the press release is available on the HKMA website.
      
     The HKMA wishes to remind the public that banks will not send SMS or emails with embedded hyperlinks which direct them to the banks' websites to carry out transactions. They will not ask customers for sensitive personal information, such as login passwords or one-time password, by phone, email or SMS (including via embedded hyperlinks).
      
     Anyone who has provided his or her personal information, or who has conducted any financial transactions, through or in response to the website, login screen or emails concerned, should contact the bank using the contact information provided in the press release, and report the matter to the Police by contacting the Crime Wing Information Centre of the Hong Kong Police Force at 2860 5012.

     A man who went missing in Mong Kok has been located.

     Kwan Tsan-sang, aged 82, went missing after he was last seen at the junction of Nathan Road and Shantung Street on August 7 night. His family made a report to Police on the same day.

     Police located the man on Baker Street, Hung Hom in the morning of August 9. He sustained no injuries and no suspicious circumstances were detected.

     The Secretary for Housing, Ms Winnie Ho, visited Macao today (August 15) to exchange views with government officials of the Macao Special Administrative Region (SAR), including the Secretary for Transport and Public Works, Mr Raimundo Arrais do Rosário, on public housing system and policies, overall planning of Macao and progress of public works projects, as well as inspecting housing and urban development projects in Macao. Members of the delegation included the Chairman of the Hong Kong Housing Society (HKHS), Professor Walter Chan; the Vice-Chairman of the HKHS, Professor Ling Kar-kan; the Chief Executive Officer and Executive Director of the HKHS, Mr James Chan, and representatives of the Housing Department.

     Ms Ho and other members of the delegation visited the Economic Housing exhibition area of the New Urban Zone Area A. They met with Mr Raimundo Arrais do Rosário and representatives of the transport and public works sectors to learn about the five-tier system for housing provision of the Macao SAR Government. The delegation also inspected the Economic Housing exhibition area of the New Urban Zone Area A located in Mong-Há, a temporary housing project of the Macau Urban Renewal Limited, the Elderly Housing exhibition area, as well as Economic Housing and Social Housing projects. Ms Ho noted that Macao has been implementing a five-tier system for housing provision, which included Social Housing, Economic Housing, Sandwich Class Housing, Elderly Housing and Private Housing. She also shared Hong Kong's efforts in enriching the housing ladder and increasing housing supply.

     The delegation later toured the Economic Housing exhibition area of New Urban Zone Area A. New Urban Zone Area A is a new reclamation area adjacent to the Zhuhai-Macao Artificial Island of the Hong Kong-Zhuhai-Macao Bridge, which mainly provides Economic Housing to alleviate the housing needs of low-income families.  

     In addition, Ms Ho visited the Elderly Housing exhibition area and a temporary housing project of the Macau Urban Renewal Limited, and shared experiences of building an age-friendly community, as well as the opportunities and challenges in urban redevelopment.

     Ms Ho also visited the Social Housing units in Toi San and Economic Housing units of Edifício do Bairro da Ilha Verde to inspect their ancillary facilities, and to get an understanding of the daily lives of the residents. Ms Ho remarked that each of the housing projects in Macao has its target. Ms Ho said she hopes that the visit will help strengthen the exchange in housing between the two places to improve housing policies for the betterment of livelihood of the citizens.

     Ms Ho will return to Hong Kong today after the visit.

                

     The Secretary for Health, Professor Lo Chung-mau, visited the Lam Tin Maternal and Child Health Centre (MCHC) and the Lam Tin Student Health Service Centre (SHSC) under the Department of Health (DH) this afternoon (August 15) to inspect their operations, including that of the health services for infants, school children and women.

     Accompanied by the Director of Health, Dr Ronald Lam, Professor Lo and the Under Secretary for Health, Dr Libby Lee, first visited the MCHC to learn more about the services provided by the DH's Family Health Service (including child health, maternal health, family planning, cervical screening and women health services). They then visited the SHSC and received a briefing by staff members on the annual health assessment services offered to students. While certain student health services were suspended earlier due to the COVID-19 epidemic, the DH announced yesterday (August 14) that the annual health assessment services for all grades of primary and secondary school students will be resumed during the school year 2023/24.

     Professor Lo said, "Health is of the utmost importance to children's growth and development. The MCHCs and the SHSCs run comprehensive health surveillance and disease prevention services for infants and school children according to their needs at different stages, thereby safeguarding our next generation and enabling them to grow up healthily and happily.

     "Meanwhile, the DH provides a wide range of health services to support the needs of women at different stages of lives and in various roles, especially those women in their antenatal and postnatal periods. I note in particular that multiple breastfeeding-friendly measures were launched in the MCHC to ensure that lactating mothers can receive all the necessary support."

     The DH's Family Health Service offers health promotion and disease prevention services for infants and children from birth to 5 years old as well as women aged 64 or below at its MCHCs and Woman Health Centres. Services for children include immunisation, health and developmental surveillance and parenting programmes, whereas those for women range from prenatal and postnatal as well as cervical screening to family planning and women health. Meanwhile, the DH's Student Health Service aims to safeguard both the physical and the psychological well-being of students through health promotion and disease prevention services. Meeting the health needs of students at various stages of development, the SHSCs' free annual health assessment services for the eligible enrolled primary and secondary school students cover physical examination, screening for vision, hearing, psychological health and behaviours, etc, as well as individual health counselling and health education.