Police today (August 1) appealed to the public for information on a man who went missing in Chai Wan.

     Cheng Wai-man, aged 44, went missing after he left his residence in Yue Wan Estate on July 30 night. His family made a report to Police yesterday (July 31).
    
     He is about 1.68 metres tall, 70 kilograms in weight and of thin build. He has a round face with yellow complexion and short black hair. He was last seen wearing a black hat, black shirt, black trousers, white shoes and carrying a black backpack.

     Anyone who knows the whereabouts of the missing man or may have seen him is urged to contact the Regional Missing Persons Unit of Hong Kong Island on 2860 1040 or 9886 0034 or email to rmpu-hki@police.gov.hk, or contact any police station.

  

     The Correctional Services Department (CSD) announced today (August 1) that new standards will be adopted for the entry physical fitness test for Officer and Assistant Officer II with effect from September 16.
 
     The new physical fitness test items will be changed from five to four, including replacing sit-up and vertical jump with isometric strength test, and modifying the shuttle run from 9 metres x 10 single laps to 10 metres x 4 single laps. The bailey bridge and 800 metres run will be retained.
 
     A spokesman for the CSD said, "The CSD regularly reviews its recruitment policy, including entry requirements, and adopts a proactive recruitment strategy, so as to attract more applicants.
 
     "Given that the test items and standards of the current physical fitness test have been in use for nearly 20 years, the CSD has invited a sports medicine expert to review and formulate new physical fitness test standards that better meet the daily work needs of correctional officers nowadays."
 
     To expedite the recruitment selection process, the CSD has in recent months arranged the physical fitness test, the Basic Law and National Security Law Test, the group interview and the selection interview to be completed within a day instead of two days as previously.
 
     The CSD will continue to enhance publicity and organise various recruitment activities including recruitment talks, workshops, exhibitions and recruitment talks at universities in the Guangdong-Hong Kong-Macao Greater Bay Area to attract more people to join the CSD.
 
     Please visit the following websites for the new entry physical fitness test standards:
 
Officer:
www.csd.gov.hk/english/recruit/recruitment_procedures/officer/pft_table/pft_table.html
 
Assistant Officer II:
www.csd.gov.hk/english/recruit/recruitment_procedures/assistant_officer_ii/pft_table/pft_table.html

     â€‹The Chief Executive, Mr John Lee, met the Secretary of the CPC Jiangmen Municipal Committee, Mr Chen Anming, today (August 1) to exchange views on deepening Hong Kong's co-operation with Jiangmen. The Director of the Chief Executive's Office, Ms Carol Yip, also attended the meeting.　
      
     Mr Lee welcomed Mr Chen's visit to Hong Kong with his delegation. He said that Hong Kong proactively promotes and strengthens its co-operation with Jiangmen, as well as other cities in the Guangdong-Hong Kong-Macao Greater Bay Area (GBA) to achieve complementarity and mutual benefits, contributing to the construction of an international first-class bay area for living, working and travelling.
      
     Noting that Hong Kong has strong capabilities in scientific research while the advanced manufacturing of Jiangmen has been developing rapidly, Mr Lee said he looked forward to the continued deepening of collaboration among the industry, academia and research sectors, promoting the transformation of technological outcomes, and strengthening the linkage of innovation and technology between the two places.
      
     Mr Lee said that he had led a Hong Kong Special Administrative Region delegation to visit three member states of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN), namely Singapore, Indonesia and Malaysia last week, where he introduced Hong Kong's unique advantages of enjoying the strong support of the motherland and being closely connected to the world under "one country, two systems" to local political and business communities, and encouraged ASEAN enterprises to explore the GBA market and expand their businesses in Hong Kong and other bay area cities by making good use of Hong Kong's professional services and financing platform.

  

     The Department of Health (DH) today (August 1) announced that a total of 41 persons were sentenced by the Magistrates' Courts from July 1 to 31 for violating the Prevention and Control of Disease Regulation (Cap. 599A).

     The 41 cases involved 22 men and 19 women aged between 24 and 69. The dates of violating the relevant regulation ranges from August 1 to December 26, 2022. They were sentenced to imprisonment for up to two months, suspended for 12 months, or a fine of up to $10,000 by the Magistrates' Courts.

     The DH will continue its actions against those who have breached the relevant regulations earlier.

     The Secretary for Home and Youth Affairs, Miss Alice Mak, attended the kick-off ceremony of the construction works of the Hong Kong Association of Youth Development (HKAYD) youth hostel, My Home, today (August 1).

     My Home is located in Mong Kok. The 23-storey youth hostel will provide up to 90 hostel places upon completion, each equipped with basic amenities. The youth hostel will also provide communal facilities for the tenants. The HKAYD will make arrangements for youth tenants to participate in no less than 200 hours of social outreach or volunteer services each year, enabling young people to leverage their strengths to contribute to the community. The Legislative Council Finance Committee approved the funding for the project's construction works in June 2023.
 
     Speaking at the ceremony, Miss Mak expressed her gratitude to the HKAYD for their support of the Youth Hostel Scheme and their efforts during the past few years in preparing for the construction of My Home and overcoming various technical challenges to commence the construction works of the youth hostel building. She looks forward to the early completion of the youth hostel building to allow more young people to have their own living space.
 
     Miss Mak added that the Youth Hostel Scheme has attained encouraging progress in recent years. In addition to My Home where the kick-off ceremony of the construction works was conducted today, the Hong Kong Federation of Youth Groups' youth hostel in Tai Po and the Po Leung Kuk's youth hostel in Yuen Long have respectively commenced operation, providing approximately 1 800 hostel places in total. The Chief Executive announced in the 2022 Policy Address that the Government will expand the Youth Hostel Scheme to increase the supply of youth hostels, including subsidising non-governmental organisations (NGOs) to rent suitable hotels and guesthouses for use as youth hostels. Since the launch of the subsidy scheme in January 2023, three projects have been approved, offering approximately 480 hostel places.
 
     She said, "These reflect the support towards the Youth Hostel Scheme by different sectors of the community and their eagerness to join hands with the Government to address the housing needs of young people. We will continue to collaborate with NGOs and relevant stakeholders who share our vision to implement the Youth Hostel Scheme, with a view to inspiring our youths and brightening our future."

     The Government implemented the Youth Hostel Scheme to unleash the development potential of the under-utilised sites of the NGOs so as to meet the aspirations of working youths for having their own living spaces. Participating NGOs of the scheme will be responsible for the construction of the youth hostel projects with the relevant capital costs being fully funded by the Government. Upon completion, the NGOs will operate the youth hostels on a self-financing basis. The NGOs managing the youth hostels will also provide youth tenants with various support and training activities so that they could achieve self-enrichment and widen their personal and social networks during their stay at the hostels with a view to embracing the challenges in their stages of life ahead.