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 7) 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.
The following is issued on behalf of the Hong Kong Monetary Authority:
The People's Bank of China (PBOC) will issue Renminbi Bills through the Central Moneymarkets Unit of the Hong Kong Monetary Authority (HKMA). Please find attached the tender notice and the tender information memorandum of the Renminbi Bills to be issued by the PBOC. Please also find attached the tender-related information provided by the Issuing and Lodging Agent through the HKMA.
​The Hong Kong Economic and Trade Office, London (London ETO) partnered with Focus Hong Kong to showcase a selection of Hong Kong films at the BFI Southbank in London on February 5 to 6 (London time) to embrace the Year of the Dragon.
The Director-General of the London ETO, Mr Gilford Law, addressed the audience at the opening screening. He highlighted the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region (HKSAR) Government's unwavering commitment to promoting film development, which is an essential part of Hong Kong's vibrant creative industries.
Mr Law said, "Focus Hong Kong exemplifies Hong Kong's film industry as 'Hollywood of the East' and our role as the East-meets-West centre for international cultural exchange. While the HKSAR Government has been introducing a range of support measures for the industry, say, the launch of the Film Financing Scheme for Mainland Market and the Hong Kong-Europe-Asian Film Collaboration Funding Scheme, what makes the sector to flourish is our film practitioners' passion and dedication."
The Focus Hong Kong film festival presents two Hong Kong films at the British Film Institute, namely "Elegies" and "Love Unto Wastes". The festival also presents "Comrades, Almost a Love Story" at the Garden Cinema in London.
The Centre for Food Safety (CFS) of the Food and Environmental Hygiene Department announced today (February 6) that a sample of prepackaged chili powder imported from Indonesia was found with a pesticide, ethylene oxide. Members of the public should not consume the affected batch of the product. The trade should also stop using or selling the affected batch of the product immediately if they possess it.
Product details are as follows:
Product name: Spicy chili sprinkle
Brand: BonChili
Place of origin: Indonesia
Net weight: 40 grams
Sole Distributor: Chi Shing (Golden Coconut) Trading Co. Ltd.
Best-before date: March 26, 2024
A spokesman for the CFS said, "The CFS collected the above-mentioned sample from an online shop for testing under its routine Food Surveillance Programme. The test result showed that the sample contained a pesticide, ethylene oxide. The CFS has informed the vendor concerned of the irregularity and instructed them to stop sale and remove from shelves the affected batch of the product. According to the CFS's instructions, the sole distributor concerned has initiated a recall on the affected batch of the product. Members of the public may call its hotline at 2607 3856 during office hours for enquiries about the recall of the product concerned."
The spokesman continued, "The International Agency for Research on Cancer has classified ethylene oxide as a Group 1 carcinogen. According to the Pesticide Residues in Food Regulation (Cap. 132CM), a food for human consumption containing pesticide residue may only be sold if consumption of the food is not dangerous or prejudicial to health. An offender is liable to a maximum fine of $50,000 and to imprisonment for six months upon conviction."
The spokesman urged the public not to consume the affected batch of the product if they have bought any. The trade should also stop using or selling the affected batch of the product concerned immediately if they possess it.
The CFS will alert the trade, continue to follow up on the incident and take appropriate action. An investigation is ongoing.
A dishwashing service company licensee pleaded guilty to 16 counts of charges of being an employer of a person who was not lawfully employable at the Shatin Magistrates' Courts yesterday (February 5) and was jailed for 19 months in total.
During November 2021 to June 2023, Immigration Department (ImmD) investigators raided seven restaurants and arrested 24 illegal workers working as dishwashing workers. Follow-up investigations revealed that the illegal workers were employed by the same dishwashing service company, and thus the dishwashing service company licensee was arrested. The licensee is a Hong Kong resident, male, aged 61. He is charged of being an employer of a person who was not lawfully employable as he did not take all practicable steps to ascertain whether the applicant was lawfully employable prior to employment. The licensee was jailed for 19 months by the Shatin Magistrates' Courts yesterday.
The illegal workers, who were employed by the licensee, comprised six men and eighteen women (including 14 Indonesian women, four Chinese women and six Chinese men), aged 26 to 60. Among them, six Indonesian women were holders of a recognisance form, which prohibits them from taking any employment. The illegal workers were jailed by the Fanling and Shatin Magistrates' Courts earlier and were sentenced to imprisonment ranging from two months to 15 months.
The spokesman reiterated that it is a serious offence to employ people who are not lawfully employable. Under the Immigration Ordinance, the maximum penalty for an employer employing a person who is not lawfully employable, i.e. an illegal immigrant, a person who is the subject of a removal order or a deportation order, an overstayer or a person who was refused permission to land, has been significantly increased from a fine of $350,000 and three years' imprisonment to a fine of $500,000 and 10 years' imprisonment to reflect the gravity of such offences. The director, manager, secretary, partner, etc, of the company concerned may also bear criminal liability. The High Court has laid down sentencing guidelines that the employer of an illegal worker should be given an immediate custodial sentence.
According to the court sentencing, employers must take all practicable steps to determine whether a person is lawfully employable prior to employment. Apart from inspecting a prospective employee's identity card, the employer has the explicit duty to make enquiries regarding the person and ensure that the answers would not cast any reasonable doubt concerning the lawful employability of the person. The court will not accept failure to do so as a defence in proceedings. It is also an offence if an employer fails to inspect the job seeker's valid travel document if the job seeker does not have a Hong Kong permanent identity card. Offenders are liable upon conviction to a maximum fine of $150,000 and to imprisonment for one year. In that connection, the spokesman would like to remind all employers not to defy the law by employing illegal workers. The ImmD will continue to take resolute enforcement action to combat such offences.