The Agriculture, Fisheries and Conservation Department (AFCD) announced today (October 27) that all of the 157 country park barbecue sites under the department will resume normal operation from November 3.

     Meanwhile, country park campsites will continue to be closed until further notice.

     A department spokesman also reminded country park visitors to comply with social distancing measures, as well as maintain personal and environmental hygiene. Visitors should dispose of used masks and waste properly and take their litter home.

     For enquiries, please call the AFCD on 2708 8885. Please refer to the AFCD's website (www.afcd.gov.hk) for details of the barbecue sites.

     The Task Force on Supplies from the Mainland led by the Transport and Logistics Bureau (TLB) has been working closely with the Guangdong Provincial Government and the Shenzhen Municipal People's Government to explore various means to stabilise the supply of goods from the Mainland to Hong Kong.
 
     A spokesperson for the TLB said that the "Sea Express" water transportation service from the Mainland to Hong Kong has been fully launched and its capacity is rising to increase the supplies of fresh food, other daily necessities and manufacturing materials. The current supply of fresh food from the Mainland is stable.
 
     The spokesperson said today (October 27) that Shenzhen operated 42 cargo vessel trips and transported around 3 650 twenty-foot equivalent units (TEUs) of cross-boundary supplies by water yesterday (October 26), equivalent to about 17 250 tonnes of goods, of which around 10 TEUs (about 50 tonnes) were fresh food and around 3 640 TEUs (about 17 200 tonnes) were non-fresh food, according to information from the Mainland authorities.
 
     Since the launch of services from the three ports in Shenzhen since February 18 to yesterday, a total of around 1 140 690 TEUs of cross-boundary supplies have been transported, equivalent to about 5 404 660 tonnes of goods, of which around 2 510 TEUs (about 21 130 tonnes) were fresh food and around 1 138 180 TEUs (about 5 383 530 tonnes) were non-fresh food.
 
     Meanwhile, to avoid a spillover of the epidemic, the Transport Department (TD) arranges for dedicated staff to conduct rapid nucleic acid tests, using nasopharyngeal swabs for specimen collection, for cross-boundary goods vehicle drivers at various land boundary control points. Only drivers with a negative result are allowed to enter the Mainland. A total of 3 677 rapid nucleic acid tests were conducted yesterday, among which three cases that tested preliminarily positive or indeterminate were found. The TD has passed the cases to the Department of Health for follow-up.
 
     The TLB will closely monitor the situation and co-operate with the Mainland authorities to facilitate and implement various measures to ensure both smooth cross-boundary land transport and a stable goods supply to Hong Kong, while reducing the risk of epidemic transmission in both the Mainland and Hong Kong.

     Hong Kong Customs detected five dangerous drugs cases, in which local freight consolidators were being exploited, at Hong Kong International Airport between end-July and mid-October this year and seized about 29 kilograms of suspected methamphetamine and about 12kg of suspected cannabis buds with a total estimated market value of about $20 million. Three men suspected to be connected with the cases were arrested. Customs revealed that the drug traffickers attempted to deliver consignments with dangerous drugs concealed inside to different freight consolidators to evade Customs detection.

     In the first case, through risk assessment, Customs on July 31 inspected an air cargo consignment, declared as carrying facial masks, arriving in Hong Kong from Thailand at the airport. The consignee address was a freight consolidator in Sham Shui Po. Upon inspection, Customs officers found that the batch of about 270 packs of facial masks were infused with about 13kg of suspected methamphetamine.

     In the second case, through risk assessment, Customs on October 3 inspected five air cargoes, declared as carrying printers and guitar tuners, arriving in Hong Kong from the United States. About 12kg of suspected methamphetamine were found concealed inside two printers and three speakers. The consignee address was a freight consolidator in Hung Hom. After a follow-up investigation, Customs officers on October 8 arrested three men, aged between 40 and 41, suspected to be connected with the case in Hung Hom and North Point. The trio were suspected of arranging to collect one of the five cargoes which had about 3kg of suspected methamphetamine concealed inside.

     Meanwhile, Customs officers found that the same consignor had arranged for the freight consolidator concerned to transship two cargo consignments, also declared as carrying printers and guitar tuners, overseas in mid-September. Customs contacted the overseas law enforcement agencies concerned to conduct follow-up investigations.

     Later, Customs officers found that the consignor concerned adopted the same approach to arrange for the same freight consolidator to receive a consignment, declared as carrying guitar tuners, arriving in Hong Kong from the United States. The consignment was intercepted on October 10 at the airport and about 4kg of suspected methamphetamine were found concealed inside a printer and a speaker. The third dangerous drugs case was thereby detected successfully.  

     In the fourth and fifth cases, through risk assessment, Customs officers on October 13 inspected two air cargo consignments arriving in Hong Kong from the United States. Two batches of about 12kg of suspected cannabis buds in total were found concealed inside tea leaf packaging bags. The two consignments had the same consignee address, which was a freight consolidator in Kwai Chung.

     Investigations of the five above-mentioned cases are ongoing. The three arrested men have been released on bail pending further investigation.

     Customs reminds members of the public to stay alert and not to participate in drug trafficking activities for monetary return. They must not accept hiring or delegation from another party to carry controlled items into and out of Hong Kong. They are also reminded not to carry unknown items for other people, nor to release their personal data or home address to others for receiving parcels or goods.

     Under the Dangerous Drugs Ordinance, trafficking in a dangerous drug is a serious offence. The maximum penalty upon conviction is a fine of $5 million and life imprisonment.

     Customs also reminds that cannabis and tetrahydro-cannabinol (THC) are classified as dangerous drugs under the Ordinance. Importation of products (including food or drinks) containing cannabis or THC into Hong Kong is prohibited unless the relevant provisions in the Ordinance are complied with. In order to avoid breaching the law inadvertently, special attention should be paid to the packaging labels of food and drinks.

     Members of the public may report any suspected drug trafficking activities to Customs' 24-hour hotline 2545 6182 or its dedicated crime reporting email account (crimereport@customs.gov.hk).

      

     The Government announced today (October 27) that the Financial Secretary, under the authority delegated by the Chief Executive, has appointed five new members, as well as re-appointed the Chairman and seven incumbent members of the Process Review Panel for the Securities and Futures Commission (PRP) for a term of two years from November 1, 2022, to October 31, 2024. 
 
     The five new members are Professor Chan Ka-lok, Ms Miranda Kwok Pui-fong, Mr Brian David Li Man-bun, Mr Charles Lin Xiaodong and Dr Levin Wang Lei. Mr Lawrence Lee Kam-hung has been re-appointed as the Chairman of the PRP, while Mr Jeffrey Chan Lap-tak, Ms Dilys Chau Suet-fung, Ms Kerry Ching Kim-wai, Ms Ivy Chua Suk-lin, Mr Vincent Chui Yik-chiu, Ms Margaret Kwan Wing-han and Mr Henry Lai Hin-wing have been re-appointed as members of the PRP.
 
     Announcing the appointments, the Secretary for Financial Services and the Treasury, Mr Christopher Hui, said, "We are grateful for the time and effort that the Chairman and members of the PRP have devoted to review and advise the Securities and Futures Commission (SFC) on the adequacy of its internal procedures and operational guidelines. With their background and experience in the financial services area, we are confident that the five new members will contribute to the work of the panel."
 
     Mr Hui also expressed his heartfelt gratitude to the outgoing members, Ms Lena Chan, Mr Chester Kwok Tun-ho, Dr Billy Mak Sui-choi, Mr Frederick Tsang Sui-cheong and Ms Helen Zee, for their invaluable contribution and dedication to the panel.
 
     The PRP is an independent non-statutory panel established in November 2000 to review the operational procedures of the SFC and determine whether the SFC has followed its procedures in carrying out its work. This helps ensure that the SFC exercises its regulatory power in a fair and consistent manner. The membership comprises a good mix of knowledge, experience and expertise from relevant sectors.
 
     The membership of the PRP with effect from November 1, 2022, is as follows:

Chairman
————
Mr Lawrence Lee Kam-hung
 
Members
————
Professor Chan Ka-lok
Mr Jeffrey Chan Lap-tak
Ms Dilys Chau Suet-fung
Ms Kerry Ching Kim-wai
Ms Ivy Chua Suk-lin
Mr Vincent Chui Yik-chiu
Ms Margaret Kwan Wing-han
Ms Miranda Kwok Pui-fong
Mr Henry Lai Hin-wing
Mr Brian David Li Man-bun
Mr Charles Lin Xiaodong
Dr Levin Wang Lei
 
Ex-officio members
————————-
The Chairman of the SFC
The Secretary for Justice or his representative
 
 

     The Government announced today (October 27) that in order to fight the coronavirus epidemic, the Environmental Protection Department and the Drainage Services Department have been collecting sewage samples for virus testing in all districts, and had detected positive results in some areas, indicating that there may be hidden cases in the premises within these areas.
 
Rapid test
 
     As regards positive sewage testing results with relatively high viral loads in the following areas, the respective District Offices will commence distributing about 105 000 sets of the COVID-19 rapid antigen test (RAT) kits to residents, cleaning workers and property management staff working in the following areas for them to take the test on their own, in order to help identify infected persons:
 

• Tai Po District – Ying Pun Ha, Chuk Hang, San Wai Tsai, Ka King Lane, Serenity Park, and residential premises around Chui Lok Street and Mei Sun Lane (see Annex)
• Wan Chai District – Li Chit Garden, Rialto Building, Man Hee Mansion, Wing Cheong Building, Johnston Court, Tung Hey Building, Kar Yau Building, and residential premises around Hennessy Road, Lockhart Road and Marsh Road (see Annex)
• Yuen Long District – Long Ping Estate, and Yeung Uk San Tsuen

 
     Members of the public may refer to (www.coronavirus.gov.hk/rat/eng/rat.html) for enquiries relating to the use of the RAT kits.
 
     When using an RAT kit, please pay attention to and follow the instructions from the manufacturer to perform the test and read the result properly. It is advisable to record the displayed result by taking a photo immediately after reading. Users should wash their hands before and after performing the tests, and avoid placing non-essential items within the specimen collection area. After completing the test, wrap and seal all components of the test kit carefully and dispose properly. If the household environment is contaminated during the specimen collecting process, disinfection should be conducted with 1 in 49 diluted bleach solution or 70 per cent alcohol.
 
     People who obtained a positive result through an RAT for the first time can report via the online platform "Declaration System for individuals tested positive for COVID-19 using Rapid Antigen Test" (www.chp.gov.hk/ratp). If individuals encounter difficulties using the online platform, they can call the automated system at 183 6119 to register their identification document and telephone number. The Centre for Health Protection of the Department of Health will contact the relevant person later to finish the report procedure.