The following is issued on behalf of the Judiciary:

     The Judiciary today (February 9) announced that it will be launching the second trial run of live broadcasting of court proceedings through video webcasting for two appellate proceedings in the Court of Final Appeal (CFA) to be heard respectively in March and May. 

     Open justice is a key to maintaining public confidence in the judicial system and upholding the rule of law.  To enhance the transparency of court procedures and public confidence in the judicial process, the Judiciary has been actively pursuing the initiative of live broadcasting of selected judicial proceedings outside court premises. 

     The Judiciary launched the first trial run of live broadcasting of court proceedings on two CFA cases heard on January 10 and 16 respectively for testing the technical feasibility of the arrangements, including the information technology and audio-visual setup, as well as the logistical and operational details.

     To further test certain technical and operational arrangements including the possible element of remote hearing and another screen layout of fixed grids view, the Judiciary has identified two additional CFA substantive appeal hearings respectively on March 4 and May 3 for another trial run of live webcast.  Major details are as follows:
 

• Members of the public can view the live webcast of the two selected CFA cases on the CFA website via desktop computers or mobile devices installed with common browsers.

• Relevant information of the live webcast will be provided nearer the time of the court proceedings on the websites of the CFA and the Judiciary.

• After the live webcast ends, the videos of the court proceedings will be uploaded to and kept on the CFA website for three calendar days after the hearing date to allow easy access and flexible viewing.

• Members of the public, including the media, must not record the live webcast or use the live broadcast footage for any purpose.  Measures such as digital rights management commonly found on streaming platforms will be put in place to deter unauthorised recording, screen capturing and illegal distribution of the live broadcast footage.  Any person who records, edits or re-broadcasts the live broadcast footage without prior permission of the Court is liable for contempt of court or copyright infringement.  Warnings will be shown on the CFA website during the live webcast and webcast playback.

     Upon completion of the second trial run, the Judiciary will conduct a review and consider the way forward for live broadcasting of court proceedings outside court premises in the longer term.

     A property owner who failed to comply with a removal order issued under the Buildings Ordinance (BO) (Cap. 123) was convicted and fined $60,000 at the Tuen Mun Magistrates' Courts last week.

     The case involved an unauthorised swimming pool and an unauthorised ground floor structure with area of about 67 and 54 square metres respectively at a village house in Tai Kek, Pat Heung, Yuen Long. As the unauthorised building works (UBWs) were carried out without prior approval and consent from the Buildings Department (BD), a removal order was served on the owner under section 24(1) of the BO.

     Failing to comply with the removal order, the owner was prosecuted by the BD. The owner subsequently completed the removal. After inspection and confirmation by the BD, the owner pleaded guilty and was fined $60,000 at the Tuen Mun Magistrates' Courts on February 2.

     A spokesman for the BD said today (February 9), "UBWs may lead to serious consequences. Owners must comply with removal orders without delay. The BD will continue to take enforcement action against owners who have failed to comply with the removal orders, including instigation of prosecution, to ensure building safety."

     Failure to comply with a removal order without reasonable excuse is a serious offence under the BO. The maximum penalty upon conviction is a fine of $200,000 and one year's imprisonment, and a further fine of $20,000 for each day that the offence continues.

     Hongkong Post announced today (February 9) that, as advised by the postal administration of Chile, due to wildfires, mail delivery services to the Valparaíso region in Chile are subject to delay.

Attention TV/radio announcers:

Please broadcast the following as soon as possible:

     Here is an item of interest to swimmers.

     The Leisure and Cultural Services Department announced today (February 9) that due to big waves, red flags have been hoisted at Silverstrand Beach and Clear Water Bay Second Beach in Sai Kung District. Beachgoers are advised not to swim at these beaches.

     Correctional officers stopped a 33-year-old female person in custody from committing suicide by hanging in Lo Wu Correctional Institution yesterday (February 8).

     At 8.05pm yesterday, a correctional officer found the person in custody attempting suicide by hanging with a towel tied to the grille bars of her cell. The officer immediately called for reinforcement to rescue and provide first aid treatment to her. The person in custody was found conscious at the time and was subsequently sent to a public hospital for further treatment.

     A clinical psychologist of the department will follow up on the case.

     A spokesman for the Correctional Services Department said, "The department uses all possible measures to prevent persons in custody from attempting suicide or self-harm. These measures include administrative arrangements, improvement of institution facilities, staff training and first aid services."

     The person in custody was sentenced to imprisonment for the offence of trafficking in a dangerous drug in October 2018.