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Author Archives: hksar gov

Update on supplies from Mainland

     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 (September 20) that Shenzhen operated 54 cargo vessel trips and transported around 6 090 twenty-foot equivalent units (TEUs) of cross-boundary supplies by water yesterday (September 19), equivalent to about 21 230 tonnes of goods, all of which 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 979 750 TEUs of cross-boundary supplies have been transported, equivalent to about 4 658 170 tonnes of goods, of which around 2 330 TEUs (about 19 660 tonnes) were fresh food and around 977 420 TEUs (about 4 638 510 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 3 557 rapid nucleic acid tests were conducted yesterday, among which one case that tested indeterminate was 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. read more

One more assistance seeker in relation to employment fraud in Southeast Asian countries returns to Hong Kong safely

     â€‹A spokesman for the Security Bureau (SB) today (September 20) said that one more Hong Kong resident, who sought assistance from the Assistance to Hong Kong Residents Unit of the Immigration Department (ImmD) earlier, has returned to Hong Kong from Thailand safely today with the assistance of the Office of the Commissioner of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs in the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region, the Chinese Embassy in the Republic of the Union of Myanmar, the Chinese Embassy in the Kingdom of Thailand, the SB’s dedicated task force and the Hong Kong Economic and Trade Office in Bangkok. Since the establishment of the SB’s dedicated task force, a total of 15 assistance seekers have returned to Hong Kong safely under the task force’s co-ordination.

     The spokesman appealed to Hong Kong residents or their family members concerned about missing relatives to contact the ImmD as soon as possible. They may make use of the WhatsApp hotline 5190 8909 dedicated to the matter, call the 24-hour hotline of the Assistance to Hong Kong Residents Unit of the ImmD at (852) 1868, call the 1868 hotline by network data call via the ImmD mobile application or submit an Online Assistance Request Form. Citizens should make a report to the Police as soon as practicable if a scam is suspected. If anyone knows or has received information that there are victims in need of assistance, they should contact the ImmD as soon as possible to secure the safe return of the Hong Kong resident. read more

Mainland visitor jailed for making false representation

     A female Mainlander was charged at the Sha Tin Magistrates’ Courts with two counts of making false representation to an Immigration Department (ImmD) staff member, and was sentenced to five months’ imprisonment yesterday (September 19).

     The 62-year-old defendant arrived in Hong Kong as a visitor. During her stay, the defendant submitted an application for extension of stay to the ImmD, and claimed her reason for the extension was to visit her husband in Hong Kong. However, when processing the application, the ImmD found that the defendant’s husband had passed away prior to the defendant’s arrival. 
 
     In the course of the investigation, the defendant admitted under caution that in order to have her extension application approved, she declared upon the extension application to Immigration staff that she was to visit her husband in Hong Kong, even though she clearly knew that her husband had passed away. The defendant was subsequently charged with making false representation to Immigration staff for the reason of extension. The defendant pleaded guilty to the charges and was sentenced to five months’ imprisonment by the Sha Tin Magistrates’ Courts yesterday.

     “Under the laws of Hong Kong, any person who makes false representation to an Immigration officer commits an offence. Offenders are liable to prosecution and, upon conviction, subject to the maximum penalty of a fine of $150,000 and imprisonment for 14 years,” an ImmD spokesman said. read more