Twenty-one convictions were recorded in May 2024 for breaches of legislation enforced by the Environmental Protection Department.

     Three of the convictions were under the Air Pollution Control Ordinance, three were under the Noise Control Ordinance, nine were under the Public Cleansing and Prevention of Nuisances Regulation, and six were under the Waste Disposal Ordinance.

     A company was fined $8,000, which was the heaviest fine in May, for failing to take measures to control air pollutant emissions.

     The Buildings Department approved 13 building plans in April, with five on Hong Kong Island, four in Kowloon and four in the New Territories.
 
     Of the approved plans, six were for apartment and apartment/commercial developments, three were for commercial developments, one was for factory and industrial development, and three were for community services development.
 
     In the same month, consent was given for works to start on 12 building projects which, when completed, will provide 265 603 square metres of gross floor area for domestic use involving 5 938 units, and 61 393 sq m of gross floor area for non-domestic use. The department has received notification of commencement of superstructure works for six building projects.
 
     The department also issued 18 occupation permits, with five on Hong Kong Island, four in Kowloon and nine in the New Territories.
 
     Of the buildings certified for occupation, the gross floor area for domestic use was 28 263 sq m involving 727 units, and 103 518 sq m was for non-domestic use.
 
     The declared cost of new buildings completed in April totalled about $5.3 billion.
 
     In addition, eight demolition consents involving eight building structures were issued.
 
     The department received 3 113 reports about unauthorised building works (UBWs) in April and issued 721 removal orders on UBWs.
 
     The full version of the Monthly Digest for April can be viewed on the Buildings Department's homepage (www.bd.gov.hk).

     The Centre for Food Safety (CFS) of the Food and Environmental Hygiene Department announced today (June 24) that in view of a notification from the World Organisation for Animal Health (WOAH) about an outbreak of highly pathogenic H5N1 avian influenza in Lyon County of the State of Minnesota in the United States (US), the CFS has instructed the trade to suspend the import of poultry meat and products (including poultry eggs) from the area with immediate effect to protect public health in Hong Kong.

     A CFS spokesman said that according to the Census and Statistics Department, Hong Kong imported about 16 480 tonnes of chilled and frozen poultry meat and about 7.73 million poultry eggs from the US in the first three months of this year.

     "The CFS has contacted the American authority over the issue and will closely monitor information issued by the WOAH and the relevant authorities on the avian influenza outbreak. Appropriate action will be taken in response to the development of the situation," the spokesman said.

     Police Licensing Office (PLO) of the Hong Kong Police Force (HKPF) launched "HKP e-Licence" mobile application today (June 24) for issuing electronic licences and permits, providing applicants with further convenience through e-service.

     All eight types of licences and permits processed by the PLO will be issued through the application. They are:
(1) Arms Licence,
(2) Massage Establishments Licence,
(3) Playing Musical Instrument Permit in Public Street or Road,
(4) Pawnbrokers Licence,
(5) Temporary Liquor Licence,
(6) Lion/Dragon/Unicorn Dance Permit,
(7) Security Personnel Permit, and
(8) Societies Registration.

     Since the launch of the "Licensing e-Service" platform by the HKPF in 2022, members of the public have been able to make online applications and payments for the abovementioned licences or permits. Licence/permit holders can now access their approved licences and permits at any time through "HKP e-Licence", which also features a push notification function to remind users to renew their licences or permits.

     Besides, the paper form of licences and permits will continue to be available after the launch of "HKP e-Licence" in order to allow licence and permit holders to keep a paper copy if they so preferred. Both electronic and paper licences/permits contain identical information with QR codes, and the holders can present either format for inspection by enforcement officers.

     "HKP e-licence" supports iOS and Android operating systems. Members of the public can download it from Apple App Store, Google Play and HUAWEI AppGallery. More information on the application can be found on the PLO’s website: www. police.gov.hk/licensing.

     The Education Bureau (EDB) today (June 24) announced that starting from July 1, newly issued Certificates of Registration of a School and Certificates of Provisional Registration of a School will fully adopt an electronic version with an e-Proof and a digital signature to replace the existing manually signed or stamped paper certificates. The EDB will also renew the paper certificates in phases.
      
     An EDB spokesman said, "In line with the Government's policy objective of providing more electronic public services, new electronic certificates of school registration offer greater convenience to the school sector and the public. Once the school's application for registration is approved, the school supervisor will instantly and conveniently receive an electronic certificate of school registration in portable document format (pdf) by email for downloading and printing, without the need to visit the EDB's office in person for collection of the certificate."

     Electronic and paper certificates of school registration carry the same legal status and information, namely the registration number, school name and address, date of issue, period of validity (if applicable) and signature of the responsible EDB officer. Schools are required to exhibit a printout of the electronic certificate in the same manner as the paper certificate. 

     Each Certificate of Registration of a School and Certificate of Provisional Registration of a School contains an e-Proof QR code. The public may access the e-Proof website (www.eproof.gov.hk) of the Government by mobile phone and scan the QR code of the electronic certificates to verify the validity of the certificates. 

     â€‹For schools with paper certificates, the EDB will conduct a replacement exercise in phases from September for them to obtain an electronic certificate at no cost. Schools will receive the EDB's written notice about the replacement exercise in due course. Information on the electronic certificates of school registration and the schedule of the replacement exercise are available on the EDB website (www.edb.gov.hk/en/sch-admin/sch-registration/about-sch-registration/e_licensing.html).