The Secretary for Constitutional and Mainland Affairs, Mr Erick Tsang Kwok-wai, and Vice Mayor of Shenzhen Mr Wang Shourui, leading representatives of relevant bureaux and departments of the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region (HKSAR) Government and the delegation of the Shenzhen Municipal Government respectively, held the first meeting of the Task Force on the Development of the Qianhai Shenzhen-Hong Kong Modern Service Industry Co-operation Zone in Shenzhen today (February 6). At the meeting, the governments of Hong Kong and Shenzhen jointly learnt of the requirements and objectives of the Central Government in regard to the Overall Development Plan for the Qianhai Shenzhen-Hong Kong Modern Service Industry Co-operation Zone (Qianhai Overall Development Plan), and exchanged views on how to further promote the development of Qianhai and deepen the collaboration between Hong Kong and Shenzhen.

     Mr Tsang remarked, "The development of the Guangdong-Hong Kong-Macao Greater Bay Area (GBA) is a national strategy personally devised, personally planned and personally driven by President Xi Jinping. Qianhai is one of the major co-operation platforms in the GBA. The development of the Qianhai Shenzhen-Hong Kong Modern Service Industry Co-operation Zone (Qianhai Co-operation Zone) is an important initiative for supporting Hong Kong's social and economic development; fostering a higher level of co-operation among Guangdong, Hong Kong and Macao; and establishing a new development paradigm in pursuing opening up. The HKSAR Government has all along attached great importance to the co-operation with Qianhai, and maintained close liaison with the Guangdong Provincial Government, the Shenzhen Municipal Government and the Authority of Qianhai Shenzhen-Hong Kong Modern Service Industry Co-operation Zone of Shenzhen Municipality (Qianhai Authority). Meanwhile, the HKSAR Government has continuously stepped up its efforts to support Hong Kong talent and enterprises in participating actively in the development of Qianhai and taking forward the high-quality development of the GBA.
 
     "The first meeting of the Task Force held today will lay a more solid foundation for the governments of Hong Kong and Shenzhen to jointly formulate the work of implementing the promotion of the development of Qianhai in the new era, and further enhance the high-quality co-operation between Hong Kong and Shenzhen. The HKSAR Government will continue to lead all sectors of the community proactively to fully seize the opportunities of developing the GBA together and make new and greater contributions to the high-quality development and high-level opening up of the country."
 
     Before the meeting, the delegation of the HKSAR Government visited the Qianhai Co-operation Zone, where they were briefed by the Qianhai Authority on the latest developments of Qianhai. At the meeting, a National Development and Reform Commission representative introduced the key messages of the Central Government in regard to the requirements, objectives, etc, for the implementation as well as publicity and briefing of the Qianhai Overall Development Plan. The Hong Kong and Shenzhen sides jointly learnt of the requirements, and exchanged views in earnest on how to take forward the implementation of the objectives. Both sides arrived at a strong consensus to press ahead at full steam with promoting the demonstrative and leading roles Qianhai plays in the development of the GBA, and further deepening the collaboration between Hong Kong and Shenzhen.
 
     The Qianhai Overall Development Plan provides a comprehensive coverage of the strategic positioning and development objectives, among other things, of the Qianhai Co-operation Zone. It is of vital importance to the HKSAR's active participation in the development of Qianhai and the opening up of the Mainland market through Qianhai by industries in which Hong Kong's strengths lie. It also serves as an important guide and support for the high-quality development of the GBA and better promotes Hong Kong's integration into the overall development of the country. The governments of Hong Kong and Shenzhen both undertook to continue to maintain close collaboration with relevant central ministries and commissions, and support the enhanced publicity and briefing work on the content of the Qianhai Overall Development Plan.
 
     Mr Tsang said, "Since its development and opening up, the Qianhai Co-operation Zone has always observed the principles of 'relying on Hong Kong, serving the Mainland and opening up to the world'. The Qianhai Overall Development Plan stresses the collaboration between Hong Kong and Shenzhen, as well as supporting Hong Kong in consolidating and enhancing its competitive advantages. Going forward, Hong Kong and Shenzhen will jointly enhance collaboration and, in keeping with the requirements of the Qianhai Overall Development Plan, step up efforts in promoting the development of modern service industries in the Qianhai Co-operation Zone, support Qianhai in continuing to pursue more policy breakthroughs on pilot basis, and assist Qianhai in expediting the alignment of rules and harmonisation of mechanisms, in order to contribute to the further reform and opening up."
 
     Furthermore, the Qianhai Authority of Shenzhen, Invest Hong Kong, the Hong Kong Trade Development Council and the governments of Nanshan and Bao'an Districts of Shenzhen signed a co-operation memorandum of understanding, to jointly set up the Qianhai Hong Kong Enterprises Service Centre, which will provide one-stop services for Hong Kong residents and businesses engaging in entrepreneurship, investment and living in Qianhai, Shenzhen. The Hong Kong and Shenzhen sides also witnessed the inauguration ceremony of the Qianhai Hong Kong Enterprises Service Centre and the Qianhai Hong Kong Youth Development Centre jointly set up by the Qianhai Authority and the Hong Kong Federation of Youth Groups at the Qianhai Shenzhen-Hong Kong Youth Innovation and Entrepreneur Hub.
 
     Officials of the HKSAR Government attending the meeting also included the Under Secretary for Commerce and Economic Development, Dr Bernard Chan; the Under Secretary for Financial Services and the Treasury, Mr Joseph Chan; the Under Secretary for Development, Mr David Lam; the Under Secretary for Home and Youth Affairs, Mr Clarence Leung; the Under Secretary for Innovation, Technology and Industry, Ms Lilian Cheong; the Commissioner for the Development of the Guangdong-Hong Kong-Macao Greater Bay Area, Ms Maisie Chan; the Director-General of Investment Promotion, Ms Alpha Lau, and representatives of relevant bureaux and departments.

     â€‹The Food and Environmental Hygiene Department (FEHD), jointly with the Agriculture, Fisheries and Conservation Department (AFCD), raided an unlicensed food factory in Tin Sam Tsuen, Yuen Long, this morning (February 6).

     During the operation, a 79-year-old man suspected of dressing quails was arrested and will be charged with keeping livestock without a licence and operating an unlicensed food factory, which are in contravention of Section 3 of the Public Health (Animals and Birds) (Licensing of Livestock Keeping) Regulation (Cap. 139L) and Section 31(1) of the Food Business Regulation (Cap. 132X).

     The FEHD officers seized and destroyed about 11 kilograms of dressed quails, while the AFCD officers seized 2 361 live quails, 3 976 quail eggs and two hatchers during the operation.

     "The FEHD will continue to take stringent enforcement action against unlicensed food business to safeguard food safety and public health. Under the Food Business Regulation (Cap. 132X), anyone operating a food factory without a licence commits an offence and is liable to a maximum fine of $50,000 and imprisonment for six months upon conviction," a spokesman for the FEHD said.

     Members of the public can report any suspected illegal food business activities by calling the FEHD hotline 2868 0000.

The following is issued on behalf of the Hospital Authority.

     The spokesperson for Kwong Wah Hospital (KWH) made the following announcement today (February 6):

     Two babies (one girl and one boy, both aged 35 days) of a Neonatal Intensive Care Unit (NICU) of KWH were identified as carriers of Methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus (MRSA) without clinical symptoms by routine screenings on January 16 and 30 respectively. In accordance with the prevailing infection control guidelines, the hospital has performed screenings. Two more babies (one girl and one boy, aged 11 days and 14 days respectively) of the same ward were confirmed to be MRSA carriers without any symptoms of infection. The babies are in stable condition and are being treated in isolation. The hospital had informed their family members. 

     The hospital is very concerned about the incident and is investigating the source of infection. Moreover, the hospital has performed enhanced medical surveillance and screening of the patients in the NICU. The following infection control measures have been stepped up according to established guidelines:
 

1. Thorough cleaning and disinfection of the NICU, including the environment, incubators, equipment and instruments;
2. Enhanced medical surveillance of the patients and environmental screening procedures in the NICU; and
3. Applied stringent contact precautions and enhanced hand hygiene of staff. Family members are reminded that infection control measures must be implemented before visiting their babies.

     The cases have been reported to the Hospital Authority Head Office and the Centre for Health Protection for necessary follow up.

1. Overall situation

     The overall number of crimes reported in 2023 was 90 276 cases, representing an increase of 28.9% when compared with 70 048 cases in 2022. The upsurge was mainly attributed to the increase in deception cases. The overall detection rate was 31.1%. Leaving deception cases aside, the detection rate was 46.2%.

     In fact, the overall crime figures in recent years have inevitably been affected by factors such as the "black-clad violence", the COVID-19 epidemic and the surge in deception cases worldwide, which necessitated careful interpretation of the figures.

     It was noteworthy that in the first half of 2022 amid the epidemic, a number of traditional crime figures dropped to a particularly low level, some of which even hit a record low. As the society resumed normalcy in 2023, most traditional crimes recorded an increase when compared with 2022, but quite a number of them registered a fairly significant decrease when compared with 2018, the year before the outbreak of the "black-clad violence" and the epidemic.

     In 2023, a number of traditional crimes saw a very low figure and a high detection rate over a number of years. Among them, the detection rate of robbery and arson cases even hit a record high of 82.5% and 48.4% respectively, and that of burglary cases reached 37.4%, which was the second highest on record. Some serious crimes of great public concern were swiftly detected by Police.

2. Deception

     39 824 cases of deception were recorded, representing a rise of 11 901 cases or 42.6% and 31 452 cases (a 3.8-fold increase) when compared with 2022 and 2018 respectively. Among them, around 70% of the reports were Internet-related. The amount involved in deception cases was over $9 billion.

     The prevalent types of deception cases included online shopping scams (8 950 cases, +215 cases, +2.5%), investment fraud (6 330 cases, +3 480 cases, a 1.2-fold increase), phishing scams (4 322 cases, no comparative figures provided as the item has been covered in the scope of statistics compilation since January 2023), employment fraud (3 930 cases, +934 cases, +31.2%), social media deception (3 372 cases, -233 cases, -6.5%), and telephone deception (3 213 cases, +382 cases, +13.5%).

     The number of deception cases is on the increase worldwide. With the robust development of information network technology and cross-border consumption and remittances around the globe, many countries and places have seen a significant rise in deception cases and technology crimes in recent years. To tackle the escalating trend of deception cases, Police sustained their efforts over the past year to step up enforcement, intercept fraudulent payments and adopt the approach of upstream scam intervention to mitigate victims' losses. Police also rolled out multiple anti-deception measures with important stakeholders and supervisory bodies, and continued to raise anti-deception awareness among members of the public through various approaches.

Enhancing enforcement efficiency

     Considering that deception syndicates had been using a large number of stooge accounts to collect fraudulent payments and launder money, Police stepped up enforcement actions to combat such crimes. Last year, a total of 9 239 persons were arrested for involving in various types of deception cases and committing money laundering offences. Such figure saw an increase of more than 75% when compared with the figure for 2022; and among them, about 6 500 persons were stooge account holders. Police have already reached a consensus with the Department of Justice to enhance the procedures for evidence gathering and prosecution so as to expedite prosecution. Police will also continue to apply to the court for enhanced sentencing. In September last year, Police succeeded in enhancing the sentence of three stooge account holders by 20%, resulting in 26 to 38 months of imprisonment respectively.

Provision of anti-deception tools for members of the public

     Last year, Police launched various anti-deception tools for use by members of the public. Upon launching a one-stop scam and pitfall search engine "Scameter" in 2022, Police launched a mobile version "Scameter+" in February last year to assist the public in identifying fraud and online pitfalls. So far, the search engine has recorded over 2.13 million searches and issued nearly 360 000 alerts on frauds and cyber security risks.

     In November, Police launched the Suspicious Proxy ID Alert in collaboration with 44 banks and stored value facilities operators, so as to link the "Scameter" to the Faster Payment System (FPS) and thus allow the system to issue alerts to members of the public when they would like to make transfers to suspicious accounts. By the end of December, more than 148 000 alerts were issued, covering high-risk transfers amounting to nearly $180 million. The number of FPS Proxy IDs used for collecting fraudulent payments or money laundering also dropped by 32% from 4 100 in November to 2 800, which was a satisfactory result. However, noting that many members of the public still choose to make transfers after receiving the alerts, Police will work with the Hong Kong Monetary Authority (HKMA) and the banking industry to explore ways to revise the wording of the alerts and step up publicity, as well as to examine the feasibility of adopting such mechanism in other platforms.

     To take a step further, Police will optimise the functions of "Scameter+" in February by incorporating automation elements, which will enable the application to issue alerts when users browse suspicious websites and receive suspicious calls. To further enrich the database of "Scameter", Police will also introduce a public "reporting " mechanism for members of the public to report suspicious calls or websites through the application.

     The Anti-Scam Helpline 18222, operated by the Anti-Deception Coordination Centre (ADCC), continued to play a role in answering public enquiries and minimising the victims' losses, with some 52 000 calls received last year, registering a rise of 37% when compared with 2022. More than $1.29 billion of fraudulent payments were intercepted in 989 deception cases.

Collaborating with the HKMA and the banking industry

     Last year, Police have also collaborated with important stakeholders such as the HKMA and the banking industry in rolling out multiple innovative anti-deception measures: in May, the "Upstream Scam Intervention" scheme was launched with the aim of actively identifying individuals who may be at risk of falling victim to scams, and 654 persons were successfully dissuaded from continuing to transfer money to fraudsters by the end of the year; in November, Police collaborated with 10 major banks in establishing the Anti-Deception Alliance (ADA), where bank representatives are deployed to work in the Police Headquarters to provide more direct and instant communication and assistance in intercepting fraudulent payments and issuing alerts. Since the establishment of the ADA, the average response time of banks in intercepting fraudulent payments significantly reduced by 70%.

Interception at source in collaboration with OFCA and mobile network operators

     In September 2022, Police set up a designated working group and launched multiple measures with the Office of the Communications Authority (OFCA) and mobile network operators so as to intercept deception cases at source. Apart from blocking spoofed calls from outside Hong Kong with the prefix "+852", and sending voice or text alerts to service users when they receive incoming calls originating from outside Hong Kong with caller number prefixed with "+852", mobile network operators blocked or filtered a total of 6 800 websites and nearly 2 500 telephone numbers relating to deception cases upon Police's request, and have been taking the initiative to identify and intercept scam calls on the technical front.

     The latest measure also included the "SMS Sender Registration Scheme" launched in December last year. All Registered Senders will use Registered SMS Sender IDs with the prefix "#" to send SMS messages to local subscribers of mobile services. The Scheme will first cover the telecommunications sector, with a view to enabling members of the public to identify scam SMS messages masquerading as mobile network operators. The "Upstream Scam Intervention" scheme under the ADCC has also completed registration, and will send alerts through SMS messages to potential victims with its registered SMS sender ID "#ADCC18222" starting from January 2024.

     Upon the launch of various measures, the average number of telephone deception cases in the fourth quarter of 2023 registered a drop of 38.1% when compared with the same period of 2022, highlighting the significance of close cooperation between Police and other stakeholders.

Publicity and education

     Combating deception does not only rely on the publicity and enforcement work done by Police, but also requires the collective efforts from various stakeholders and regulatory bodies, as well as the enhancement of public awareness against fraud. Police continued to disseminate the latest anti-deception messages through online and offline publicity work, including the recent launch of the official "Xiaohongshu" and "Douyin" channels. In June 2023, Police launched "Project SILVERSHIELD" so as to promote the message of "Scams are rampant; Tell everyone" with the aid of community power.

     In December last year, Police organised the Anti-Scam Charity Run, which was the first of such kind under the theme of anti-deception and attracted more than 1 700 participants. Recently in January 2024, Police also held the Cyber Defenders' Carnival 2024 at HarbourChill Wan Chai, with a view to raising cyber security awareness. Besides, with due collaborative effort between Police and the Hong Kong Ferry Company Limited, the anti-deception ferry "Ping On" will be in service for a year starting from this week to disseminate anti-deception messages in a new approach. Furthermore, Care Teams of different districts will assist Police in getting the anti-deception messages across to households.

3. Homicide

     28 cases of homicide were recorded, representing a drop of 2 cases (-6.7%) and 20 cases (-41.7%) when compared with 2022 and 2018 respectively. Nine cases involved domestic or family violence; the remaining 19 cases involved disputes, industrial accidents, psychiatric problems, etc. Only one case was yet to be detected, and Police are making every effort to bring an absconded suspect who had fled Hong Kong on the offence date to justice.

4. Wounding and serious assault

     There were 3 636 cases of wounding and serious assault. The total figure saw a slight increase of 22 cases (+0.6%) when compared with 2022. The detection rate was 73% (+2.9 percentage points). The upsurge was attributed to the rise in cases involving domestic violence (+92 cases, +13.8%). When compared with 2018, the figure registered a drop of 20.8%, and was even the second lowest on record over the past 50 years. The detection rate was the highest since 1981.

     A total of 308 triad-related wounding and serious assault cases were recorded, representing a drop of around 10% to 20% when compared with 2022 and 2018 respectively.

5. Robbery

     There were a total of 97 cases of robbery, which was the second lowest on record maintained since 1969. While the figure increased by 20 cases (+26%) when compared with the record low in 2022, it registered a drop of 34% when compared with 2018. Besides, the detection rate in 2023 reached 83% (+8.5 percentage points), which was the highest on record.

     Over the past year, there were neither bank robbery cases nor robbery cases involving genuine firearms and stun guns. All seven cases of goldsmith/watch and jewelry shop robbery, which were of public concern, were detected, with all stolen property successfully recovered in some of the cases. In January 2024, Police also met with the jewelry and watch industry to provide security advice and thus forestall crimes.

6. Burglary

     There were 1 354 cases of burglary, which was the second lowest on record, similar to the case of robbery. While the figure was only higher than the record low in 2022 amid the epidemic by 468 cases (+52.8%), it registered a drop of 14% when compared with 2018. The detection rate was 37.4%, which was the second highest on record, with 506 cases detected and 386 persons arrested.

7. Theft

     There were 23 135 theft cases of various types, an increase of 27% (+4 879 cases) and 8.6% when compared with 2022 and 2018 respectively. The upsurge was mainly attributed to the increase in miscellaneous theft (12 470 cases, +2 742 cases, +28.2%), shop theft (8 221 cases, +1 785 cases, +27.7%) and pickpocketing (673 cases, +488 cases, a 2.6-fold increase). Given that a majority of miscellaneous theft cases involved victims failing to properly look after their belongings in public places and shops, Police urged members of the public to pay due attention.

8. Blackmail

     A total of 2 659 cases of blackmail were recorded, a rise of 45%. Among the 833 increased cases, "naked chat" alone took 715 cases (to 2 117 cases, +51%). Although the proportion of students falling victim to “naked chat” blackmail dropped from 34.5% in 2021 to 22.8% and 20.9% in 2022 and 2023 respectively, they remained as the largest group of victims. Therefore, Police will continue to conduct targeted publicity and public education alongside enforcement actions, so as to prevent youths, students in particular, from becoming victims.

     As for enforcement, Police conducted joint operations with the Public Security Bureau of the Mainland in June. A total of 19 persons were arrested in both the Mainland and Hong Kong. The arrestees were involved in at least 149 deception cases, including "naked chat" blackmail cases. Police also sustained their efforts to step up publicity. In August, an online game named "CyberDefenders' Quest" was launched to raise the awareness of parents and teenagers on sexual grooming.

9. Sexual offences

     There were 67 cases of rape, with an increase of 14 cases (+26.4%). Only three cases were committed by strangers, all of which were detected. Among the 67 cases, only two cases were yet to be detected. The suspect and the victim of the two cases were co-workers and friends respectively. Police were actively pursuing for the two suspects.

     A total of 1 162 indecent assault cases were recorded, with a rise of 209 cases (+21.9%). The upsurge was attributed to the rise of cases which happened in public places and MTR premises, as well as the post-epidemic resumption of social activities. The detection rate was 77.6%.

10. Serious drug offences

     There were 1 153 serious drug cases, with a drop of 283 cases (-19.7%). Seizures of various major drugs recorded increases ranging from 25% to more than two folds. The number of youth students arrested in connection with serious drug cases dropped by nearly half (-47 persons, -49.5%) to 48, while that for non-students arrested only dropped by 36% (-73 persons). It was believed that the difference in the rate of decrease between students and non-students was related to Police’s increasing efforts in launching anti-drug publicity and education for students with schools, parents, non-governmental organisations and other stakeholders.

     Last year, Police continued to promote anti-drug messages among members of the public and stakeholders. For instance, a large-scale anti-drug event was held in November. Besides, a total of 100 mentees of the second cohort of the Leadership Institute on Narcotics (L.I.O.N.) graduated in December, with 10 outstanding mentees going to join an exchange trip to New Zealand in early 2024 to share their experience with local youths and tell the good anti-drug stories of Hong Kong. The third cohort of L.I.O.N has already commenced in January 2024.

11. Triad-related crimes

     A total of 2 334 triad-related crimes were recorded, representing a drop of 220 cases (-8.6%). The detection rate was 95.1%, which was a record high over the past 20 years. Police mounted a number of large-scale anti-triad operations over the past year, including the tripartite joint anti-crime operation, codenamed "THUNDERBOLT 2023", mounted by police authorities of Hong Kong, Guangdong and Macao from June to September, with a total of 6 400 persons arrested in Hong Kong.

     Police acknowledges that the community's perception of the overall law and order situation is often affected by individual triad-related cases and those of recent concern. It is therefore imperative for Police to detect these cases as soon as possible. As a matter of fact, the number of triad-related wounding and serious assault cases is on a downward trend when compared with both 2022 and 2018, the year before the outbreak of the "black-clad violence" and the epidemic.

12. Youth crime

     A total of 3 041 youths were arrested for committing criminal offences, representing a rise of 10% (+267 persons). The upsurge of youth arrested was mainly attributed to the rise in cases of deception (589 persons, +249 persons, +73.2%), shop theft (196 persons, +55 persons, +39%) and miscellaneous theft (215 persons, +44 persons, +25.7%).

     The rise in youth arrests was related to the epidemic, as the figure for 2022 amid the epidemic was the third lowest on record. Nevertheless, last year's figure was 12% below the average of the past decade.

     Police are very concerned about the situation of youth crime and have been actively working with school principals' associations, parent-teacher associations and school sponsoring bodies, etc., to step up crime prevention work since 2020, and have collaborated with the Education Bureau since February last year to regularly develop teaching materials and provide training on crime prevention for teachers of primary and secondary schools in Hong Kong, including the publishing of the "Youth Crime Prevention Booklet" series for two consecutive years. In January 2024, Police also participated in the Po Leung Kuk Teachers' Development Day to share with 1 000 primary school principals and teachers the strategies to tackle youth crimes and the latest crime prevention information. Furthermore, arrangements have also been made for Police's participation in the teachers' development days of five other secondary schools from March to April.

     Besides, Police recently paid a visit to the Education University of Hong Kong on January 25, so as to share with 200 prospective teachers who were pursuing a diploma or a master's degree in education on topics relating to digital literacy, anti-drugs and child protection.

     To cultivate the law-abiding awareness among young people and to prevent youths from committing crimes, Police firmly believe that the key is to start educating since young age with ongoing and concerted efforts from various stakeholders. Thus, various stakeholders shall continue to strengthen communication with youngsters so as to reach a synergetic effect. Police will also engage youngsters in Mainland exchange programmes through the Junior Police Call (JPC). In fact, since the full resumption of normal travel between Hong Kong and the Mainland, various police districts have already arranged more than 1 700 JPC members to participate in the programmes.

13. Enforcement on National Security Law

     As at December 31, 2023, Police arrested a total of 290 persons. Amongst them, around 60% have been charged.

Commissioner's Operational Priorities 2024
===============================

      There are eight items for the Commissioner's Operational Priorities 2024, which include:
 
•    safeguarding national security
•    combating violent crime
•    combating triads, syndicated and organised crime
•    combating dangerous drugs
•    combating deception and quick cash crime
•    enhancing cyber security and combating technology crime
•    enhancing public safety
•    enhancing counter-terrorism

Work focuses in 2024
===============

     Firstly, to safeguard national security. Police have to guard against acts of "soft resistance" in the society, and continue to uphold the principle of "laws are observed and strictly enforced, so as to bring offenders to account". Police will keep up effort to strengthen the effectiveness of intelligence gathering, with a view to cracking down on those who endanger national security. Various approaches will also be adopted to proactively raise public awareness about "Spot and Report " awareness.

     Secondly, to enhance community engagement and solicit support from members of the public. Police will continue to proactively strengthen communication with various sectors of the community, young people in particular, and make good use of different channels, including traditional and social platforms, so as to extend our reach with members of the public. Police will also sustain our efforts to optimise policing services, boost work efficiency and facilitate members of the public with the aid of technology, and further enhance the transparency of police work, so as to gain public confidence and trust in and support for the Police Force.

     Thirdly, to focus on fighting and preventing crimes, with an emphasis on combating deception cases. Police will continue to step up enforcement and enhance prosecution efficiency. In order to rigorously combat the use of stooge accounts by deception syndicates in committing crimes, applications for enhanced sentencing will be made. Approaches such as interception of fraudulent payments and upstream scam intervention will be adopted to minimise victims’ losses. Furthermore, Police will continue to raise anti-deception awareness of members of the public through online and offline publicity and actively seek to maintain close cooperation with stakeholders from various sectors, relevant government departments and other law enforcement agencies, including those in the Mainland and overseas, so as to create synergy in combating deception cases.

     The Secretary for Health, Professor Lo Chung-mau, inspected the Accident and Emergency (A&E) Department of Kwong Wah Hospital as well as the Robert Black General Out-patient Clinic (GOPC) this morning (February 6), to get a better grasp of the array of measures taken by the Hospital Authority (HA) in enhancing service provision during the Lunar New Year.
 
     Accompanied by the Chief Executive of the HA, Dr Tony Ko, Professor Lo; the Under Secretary for Health, Dr Libby Lee; and the Commissioner for Primary Healthcare, Dr Pang Fei-chau, received briefings by the healthcare personnel on the daily operation of the A&E Department and the GOPC, and learnt about the measures adopted by the HA to cope with anticipated huge service demand during and after the long holiday of the Lunar New Year. Such measures include increasing the GOPC consultation quota by 25 per cent, opening additional GOPCs (from 14 to 18), and providing 1 800 government-subsidised out-patient consultation quotas at the Chinese Medicine Clinics cum Training and Research Centres across 18 districts during the holiday.
 
     Professor Lo said, "We understand that quite a number of private clinics, family doctors and Chinese medicine practitioners in the community will not provide service during the Lunar New Year. To minimise the impact of service demand surge on the public healthcare system, the Health Bureau has collated information of private hospitals, healthcare facilities, family doctors and Chinese medicine clinics which will be in operation during the holiday across the city. The information (including addresses, phone numbers and operation hours) of the relevant hospitals and clinics have been uploaded to an online portal for public reference in collaboration with the Spatial Data Office of the Development Bureau and the Lands Department. Such a move aims to enable citizens in need to look for suitable hospitals or clinics for medical treatment. Citizens can also simply get access to this online portal via the HA webpage as well as the mobile applications of eHealth and 'HA Go'. According to the information on hand, some 100 private hospitals, clinics and healthcare facilities, as well as over 40 Chinese medicine clinics will operate during the long holiday of the Lunar New Year."

     Professor Lo chatted with patients at the Robert Black GOPC. A number of patients highly praised the services provided by the HA and the professionalism of its medical staff. Two of them mentioned that they made their appointments via "HA Go" this morning and that they appreciated the high efficiency of public health services. Professor Lo was pleased to learn that HA services are well received by the public. "I would like to express my gratitude to all healthcare personnel for holding fast to their duty during the Lunar New Year to provide professional and efficient healthcare services to the citizens and to safeguard their health."
 
     The Centre for Health Protection of the Department of Health announced on January 11 that Hong Kong has entered the winter influenza season and COVID-19 cases are continuously recorded. As indicated by the latest surveillance data, there are subsiding signs of positive rate of influenza viral tests and relevant hospital admissions over the last two weeks, but intermittent fluctuations of the relevant situation cannot be ruled out. Moreover, it is expected that there will be more respiratory tract infection cases in Hong Kong given that the public may likely go for more social gatherings and travel during the Lunar New Year holiday.
 
     Professor Lo appealed to members of the public, especially the high-risk groups such as the elderly and children, to get vaccinated against influenza and COVID-19 as early as possible, so as to lower the risks of severe illnesses and deaths. In addition, high-risk groups should wear surgical masks in public areas. Citizens are also advised to wear surgical masks on public transport or in crowded places. Persons who have respiratory tract infection symptoms should wear surgical masks and avoid going to work or school with a view to reducing transmission risk, even if the symptoms are mild. They should also attend medical consultation as soon as possible.