The Buildings Department (BD) reminded building owners today (August 9) that they must appoint inspectors registered under the Buildings Ordinance to conduct building inspections and submit inspection reports so as to meet the requirements of the Mandatory Building Inspection Scheme (MBIS).

     Under the MBIS, owners of buildings aged 30 years or above (except domestic buildings not exceeding 3 storeys), upon receipt of statutory notices from the BD, are required to appoint a registered inspector (RI) to carry out the prescribed inspection and supervise the prescribed repair works found necessary of the common parts, external walls and projections (such as balconies) or signboards of the buildings. RI may be an authorised person, a registered structural engineer or registered building professional possessing relevant work experience in the field of building construction, repair and maintenance. A register of RI is available at the BD's website: www.bd.gov.hk/en/resources/online-tools/registers-search/registrationsearch-disclaimer.html?reg_type=RI(A),RI(E),RI(S)

     Building owners are reminded that inspection of buildings and submission of reports by persons not on the register will not be regarded as meeting the requirements of the MBIS.

     Members of the public can find details of the MBIS on the BD website (www.bd.gov.hk/en/safety-inspection/mbis/index.html), the BD's Chatbot Function "Ah Build" and mobile application "MBIS/MWIS – Quick Guide for MBIS/MWIS".

     The Agriculture, Fisheries and Conservation Department (AFCD) announced today (August 9) that with the assistance of experts from the Ocean Park Hong Kong (OPHK) and the Ocean Park Conservation Foundation Hong Kong (OPCFHK), the whale carcass found in Sai Kung waters earlier has been buried near High Island Reservoir West Dam after dissection.
      
     An AFCD spokesman said, "The area where the whale carcass was buried has been properly cleaned up and will continue to be cordoned off. Staff of the AFCD, the OPHK and the OPCFHK will monitor the progress of the natural decay of the carcass and the condition of the surrounding environment. The AFCD hopes that the whale bones can be made into specimens for education and conservation purposes in future."
      
     He added, "Members of the public should not approach the site as the work concerned will be affected."

  

     The Secretary for Environment and Ecology, Mr Tse Chin-wan, together with the Legislative Council Panel on Environmental Affairs, today (August 9) concluded their duty visit to three cities in the Greater Bay Area.
 
     The delegation visited the Daya Bay Nuclear Power Station in the morning and listened to a briefing on the production of nuclear power and the development of nuclear energy technology in the Mainland. The Daya Bay Nuclear Power Station is the country's first large-scale commercial nuclear power plant that introduced advanced technology, equipment and capital. It has been providing Hong Kong with a safe and stable power supply, serving as a model of energy co-operation between the Mainland and Hong Kong.
 
     In the afternoon, the delegation visited the waste incineration facility and the science education exhibition hall at the Nanshan Energy Eco-Park in Shenzhen, and exchanged views with the authorities on planning, construction and operation of waste incineration facilities, learning about Shenzhen's abundant experience and technological advantages with a view to promoting the development of a network of municipal solid waste incineration facilities in Hong Kong. The Nanshan Energy Eco-Park, which has a daily treatment capacity of 2 300 tonnes of domestic waste, is located in an upscale commercial and residential area. The Eco-Park has showcased how advanced and efficient waste incineration facilities can be harmonised with neighbouring commercial and residential areas.
 
     Mr Tse said, "By observing cities around the world, it can be seen that many advanced cities have achieved the transformation of waste into resources through waste incineration for generation of electricity. Our country has also made great efforts in developing waste-to-energy technology and reached a world-class level. The Government of the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region will continue to vigorously promote waste reduction at source and clean recycling. The Government will also adopt advanced technology for developing waste-to-energy facilities to replace landfills, integrating with public amenities or green tourism concepts to maximise synergy through co-locating public facilities that can widely benefit members of the public."

     The delegation concluded their duty visit to three cities in the Greater Bay Area. Mr Tse will proceed to Zhejiang Province in the evening to continue the visit.

              

     Police Anti-Deception Coordination Centre (ADCC) of the Commercial Crime Bureau launched a new wave of territory-wide publicity campaign against phishing scams today (August 9), and together with the Office of the Communications Authority (OFCA), explained trends in such scams and combating measures.
 
     From January to May 2023, the Police received 15 792 reports of frauds, the majority of which (11 700) were online ones. Such frauds accounted for 74.6 per cent of the overall fraud figure, with the amount of money involved amounting to HK$1.58 billion. Among such frauds, there were 2 369 phishing scams, accounted for 15 per cent of the overall fraud figure, with the amount of money involved amounting to near HK$50 million. Scammers impersonate banks, telecommunications companies, public bodies, etc. to send fraudulent messages (SMS messages in most cases) to the public to obtain their credit card information with various excuses, e.g. claiming that the points in their accounts will expire soon or they are eligible for gift redemption. After entering credit card information on fraudulent websites, the victims will find that their credit cards have been stolen.
 
     Besides phishing scams, fraudsters will also frequently use the Internet, social media, mobile phones, etc. to send phishing messages to victims. The most common types of frauds include investment scams and employment scams. From January to May 2023, the Police received 1 243 reports of online investment scams, with the amount of money involved amounting to HK$620 million, and 1 820 reports of online employment scams, with the amount of money involved amounting to near HK$370 million. After contacting the victims by phishing messages, scammers will create different scam scenarios according to victims’ personal backgrounds, incomes and psychological conditions to lure them walk into traps. Therefore, any person may become the victim of the next fraud, irrespective of their age, educational background and income level.
 
     The Police, OFCA and mobile network operators (MNOs) set up in early September 2022 a working group which is committed to, from the perspective of telecommunications services, co-ordinating the study and implementation of various measures by the telecommunications industry to combat fraudulent calls and messages delivered through telecommunications networks, and enhancing various anti-deception publicity and education for the public. Such measures include:
 
(1) Since May 1, 2023, mobile service providers have started to send voice alert or text alert for incoming calls with calling numbers prefixed with “+852” to alert mobile service users that the calls are from outside Hong Kong, enabling receivers to stay vigilant against such calls which originate from outside Hong Kong even though the calling numbers may be masqueraded as Hong Kong phone numbers. OFCA also updated the “Code of Practice in relation to Calling Line Identification and Other Calling Line Identification Related Services” in February 2023 to provide telecommunications operators with practical guidelines to block suspicious calls starting with “+852”.

(2) With the co-ordination of OFCA, telecommunications operators and the Police have established a liaison protocol, based on the deception records and information provided by the Police, to block or suspend services of the phone numbers suspected to be involved in deception cases and to prevent users from accessing to suspected fraudulent websites.

(3) OFCA has also formulated a code of practice which requires mobile service providers to monitor calls originated from their networks and systems.  Once having identified calling modes suspected to be involved in deception, mobile service providers will take appropriate action to suspend the telecommunications services of relevant phone numbers.

(4) OFCA, mobile service providers, the banking industry and the Police, are formulating technical proposals and details in relation to the implementation of the registration scheme for SMS senders. The scheme will be launched for the telecommunications and banking industries by the end of this year to assist the public in ascertaining the authenticity of SMS sender addresses.

     In order to effectively prevent fraud cases, apart from stepping up combating measures, it is essential to raise public awareness of defrauding tricks and response plans. With the aim to enhance public alertness to phishing message scams, the ADCC has launched a publicity campaign titled “Don’t Click On Embedded Links in SMS messages without Hesitation” to educate members of the public about the right ways to deal with suspected fraudulent messages. The public are also advised not to reply to uninvited messages, click on fraudulent links and check it first if in doubt. If the members of the public suspect that they have fallen prey to scams, they should call ADCC’s round-the-clock enquiry hotline “Anti-Scam Helpline 18222” and seek verification with “Scameter” or “Scameter+”.

     Renowned local musician Harry Ng has been invited to write the promotional song “There’s no free lunch” for the campaign, which is performed by the band “HEA”, comprising Harry Ng, Edwin Siu and Albert Au. On the other hand, “HEA” has taken part in two publicity videos promoting prevention of phishing message scams, in which the defrauding tricks used by scammers are pinpointed, subsequent to ADCC’s case analysis. The videos have been uploaded to the promotional website www.I-Got-U.org for public access.

     With the tremendous support of OFCA and MNOs, SMS featuring the anti-deception publicity campaign has been gradually sent to local mobile phone users starting early August to spread more widely the anti-deception message of “beware of suspicious SMS messages” to each member of the public.
 
     Moreover, the ADCC will deploy five promotional trucks, including a 3D one, to 15 locations from August 11 to 13, 2023. ADCC officers will join police officers in districts and community leaders to distribute anti-deception souvenirs to the public who are welcome to join. For details of the event, please visit the official website of the ADCC at www.adcc.gov.hk or the event webpage at www.I-Got-U.org.
 

        

     The Secretary for Health, Professor Lo Chung-mau, attended the Organ Donation Promotion Forum organised by the Hospital Authority (HA) and inspected Queen Elizabeth Hospital (QEH)'s work on the establishment of the Kowloon Central Cluster Integrated Neuroscience Centre, as well as the HA's Head Office Major Incident Control Centre (HOMICC) and Emergency Operation Command (HAEOC) today (August 9), thereby showing support for organ donation and transplant work in Hong Kong, and getting a better grasp of the services assisting patients who are suffering from complex neurological diseases and the operation of the HA's emergency response system.

     Accompanied by the Chairman of the HA, Mr Henry Fan, and the Chief Executive of the HA, Dr Tony Ko, Professor Lo and the Under Secretary for Health, Dr Libby Lee, attended the Organ Donation Promotion Forum arranged for healthcare staff of the Kowloon Central Cluster of the HA at QEH. At the Forum, representatives of the HA Head Office, organ transplant experts and representatives from the Department of Health introduced the organ transplant mechanism of the Mainland, the organ transplant services and the operation of the Centralised Organ Donation Register (CODR) in Hong Kong, as well as the Government's efforts to promote organ donation respectively.

     Addressing the Forum, Professor Lo said, "Organ donation is a selfless and generous act of benevolence to save lives. I have every confidence that frontline healthcare staff will set a good example by devoting their support for organ donation and encouraging their relatives and friends to register on the CODR. Furthermore, the Government fully backs the HA in strengthening staff training to solidify the role of healthcare professionals in pushing ahead with the work on organ donation and transplant, such that they can actively give full play to cultivate an environment favouring registration for organ donation registration, thereby drumming up society’s support for organ donation at large."

     Professor Lo added, "At present, over 2 600 patients suffering from organ failure have been waiting for organ transplant in Hong Kong, while there are only some 30 deceased donors each year. A downward trend is observed in recent years under the impact of COVID-19 epidemic, with the supply of organs falling far behind the demand. In this connection, we are actively exploring with relevant Mainland authorities the establishment of a standing organ transplant mutual assistance mechanism, with a view to giving patients of the two places an extra chance for a new life through such cross-boundary mutual assistance."

     The Organ Donation Promotion Forums are being held in seven hospital clusters and the HA Head Office from August onwards for several weeks in a row.

     Professor Lo proceeded to inspect QEH's work on the establishment of the Kowloon Central Cluster Integrated Neuroscience Centre and learnt about the multi-disciplinary team's support for patients suffering from complex neurological diseases and provision of one-stop services in diagnosis, treatment and rehabilitation. The Chief Executive set out in last year's Policy Address that the HA would set up integrated neuroscience centres. QEH is one of the hospitals which took the lead to set up such centres.

     Separately, Professor Lo also visited the Hospital Command Centre in QEH and received a briefing by healthcare staff on the hospital's daily management of clinical operations, bed turnover and resources allocation as well as how the hospital leverages technology to enhance efficiency and improve treatment procedures for patients, thus driving the development of Smart Hospital in the long run.

     During his visit to the HA's HOMICC and HAEOC afterwards, Professor Lo received a briefing by staff on the HA's three-level emergency response system, and gained a better understanding of how the HOMICC maintains close communication with relevant government departments when major incidents occur (including civil disasters, infectious diseases and other major crises and events) to keep abreast of the latest situation and co-ordinate cross-cluster allocation of resources for prompt provision of comprehensive emergency services to the injured. In addition, he also learnt from the staff about how the HAEOC made use of real-time data of hospitals during the COVID-19 epidemic to directly mobilise resources including beds and manpower and transfer patients to appropriate hospitals or relevant facilities for treatment by adopting a "seven-in-one" model steering cross-cluster co-ordination.

     Professor Lo said, "Having handled various major incidents since its inception, the round-the-clock operation of the MICC during the epidemic plays an important part in Hong Kong's victory over the epidemic. The experiences gained during the epidemic are conducive to enhancing the contingency capability of the healthcare system of Hong Kong for better preparation for any possible major incident that may happen in the future."

     Professor Lo expressed his gratitude to the HA for maintaining close collaboration with various government departments in safeguarding the health of Hong Kong people over the years. He was also proud of the endeavour and contributions of all healthcare personnel. He said that the Government will continue to fully support the work of the HA to ensure the sustainable development of the public healthcare system in Hong Kong.