The Transport and Logistics Bureau (TLB) announced today (June 28) that during the long weekend of the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region Establishment Day holiday (July 1 holiday), there may be a large number of passengers travelling to and from the Mainland or Macao via various land-based boundary control points (BCPs). The Transport Department (TD) will closely monitor the traffic conditions at all ports, and in particular will strengthen the dissemination of the latest traffic information to citizens who use the Hong Kong-Zhuhai-Macao Bridge (HZMB) to travel between the three places.

     The TD has put in place corresponding traffic and transportation arrangements at various land-based BCPs. The TD's Emergency Transport Co-ordination Centre will operate 24 hours to monitor traffic conditions of the ports and major stations, implement response measures in due course, and disseminate the latest traffic information through various channels, including radio broadcasts, the TD's mobile application "HKeMobility", and the TD's website.

     The TD anticipates that there will be increased cross-boundary vehicles using the HZMB to depart and return to Hong Kong on the first day (June 29) and the last day (July 1) of the long weekend of the July 1 holiday respectively. The TD will closely monitor the operation of the HZMB, especially the clearance and traffic conditions at the HZMB Port during peak hours. Citizens can check the situation of the Hong Kong Port through the newly added real-time snapshots of traffic conditions at the vehicle clearance plaza of HZMB Hong Kong Port on the TD's mobile application "HKeMobility"; access the WeChat official accounts "hzmbzhport" or "zhuhaifabu", which provide real-time vehicle clearance situations of HZMB Zhuhai port (traffic-info.gzazhka.com:5015/#/) (Chinese only); as well as access the WeChat official account of the HZMB integrated information dissemination platform (mp.weixin.qq.com/s/mT9D9et-FybKKXDw9nJ9Dg) (Chinese only) to check the forecast of peak hours of inbound and outbound vehicles at the HZMB Zhuhai Port. The TD will issue the latest information through traffic notices and the TD's website, and will also send emails to citizens who have made bookings for travel under "Northbound Travel for Hong Kong Vehicles" during the long weekend of the July 1 holiday, reminding them to plan their trips returning to Hong Kong in advance, and travel during non-peak periods as far as possible.

     Hong Kong Customs mounted a special operation codenamed "Big Wave" in June and detected three suspected smuggling cases involving ocean-going vessels. A large batch of suspected smuggled goods with a total estimated market value of about $100 million was seized.
      
     Through intelligence analysis and risk assessment, Customs suspected that criminals were using ocean-going vessels to smuggle goods. Strategies were thus formulated and three suspicious containers scheduled to depart from Hong Kong to Malaysia through ocean-going vessels were selected for inspection.
      
     Upon examinations, Customs officers found a large batch of suspected smuggled electronic goods, including printed circuit boards, smart phones, computer tablets and car parts, in the three containers declared as carrying aluminium flakes, aluminium alloys and communication accessories respectively.
      
     After follow-up investigations, Customs officers arrested a 60-year-old man suspected to be connected with one of the above-mentioned cases. Investigations are ongoing. The arrested man has been released on bail pending further investigation and the likelihood of further arrests is not ruled out.
      
     Being a government department primarily responsible for tackling smuggling activities, Customs has long been combating various smuggling activities at the forefront. Customs will keep up its enforcement action and continue to fiercely combat sea smuggling activities through proactive risk management and intelligence-based enforcement strategies, with targeted anti-smuggling operations carried out at suitable times to disrupt these activities.
      
     Smuggling is a serious offence. Under the Import and Export Ordinance, any person found guilty of importing or exporting unmanifested cargo is liable to a maximum fine of $2 million and imprisonment for seven years.
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     Members of the public may report any suspected smuggling activities to Customs' 24-hour hotline 2545 6182 or its dedicated crime-reporting email account (crimereport@customs.gov.hk) or online form (eform.cefs.gov.hk/form/ced002).

      

     â€‹A sick 71-year-old male person in custody at Siu Lam Psychiatric Centre died in a public hospital today (June 28).
      
     The person in custody suffered from hypertension and diabetes mellitus. He required continuous medical care and follow-up treatment at the institution hospital. On June 25, he was sent to a public hospital for treatment due to physical discomfort. During hospitalisation, his condition deteriorated and he was certified dead at 3.38pm today.
      
     The case has been reported to the Police. A death inquest will be held by the Coroner's Court.
      
     The person in custody was convicted for the offence of possession of offensive weapon and detained under a hospital order for psychiatric treatment in April 2024.

     The Immigration Department (ImmD) mounted a series of territory-wide anti-illegal worker operations codenamed "Greenlane"," Lightshadow" and "Twilight" and joint operations with the Hong Kong Police Force codenamed "Champion" and "Windsand" for four consecutive days from June 24 to yesterday (June 27). A total of 11 suspected illegal workers, three suspected employers, one suspected aider and abettor and four overstayers were arrested.
 
     During the anti-illegal worker operations, ImmD Task Force officers raided 91 target locations including premises under renovation, residential buildings, restaurants and retail shops. Eleven suspected illegal workers, three suspected employers, one suspected aider and abettor and one overstayer were arrested. The arrested suspected illegal workers comprised four men and seven women, aged 22 to 57. Two men and one woman, aged 38 to 54, were arrested on suspicion of employing the illegal workers. One woman, aged 40, was arrested on suspicion of aiding and abetting a person who breached the conditions of stay in Hong Kong. One woman, aged 29, was the arrested overstayer.

     During operation "Champion", enforcement officers raided 49 target locations in Hung Hom and Kowloon City districts. Three overstayers were arrested. The arrested overstayers comprised one man and two women, aged 32 to 45.

     An ImmD spokesman said, "Any person who contravenes a condition of stay in force in respect of him or her shall be guilty of an offence. Also, visitors are not allowed to take employment in Hong Kong, whether paid or unpaid, without the permission of the Director of Immigration. Offenders are liable to prosecution and upon conviction face a maximum fine of $50,000 and up to two years' imprisonment. Aiders and abettors are also liable to prosecution and penalties."

     The spokesman warned, "As stipulated in section 38AA of the Immigration Ordinance, 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 is prohibited from taking any employment, whether paid or unpaid, or establishing or joining in any business. Offenders are liable upon conviction to a maximum fine of $50,000 and up to three years' imprisonment. Under the prevailing laws, it is an offence to use or possess a forged Hong Kong identity card or a Hong Kong identity card related to another person. Offenders are liable to prosecution and upon conviction face a maximum fine of $100,000 and up to 10 years' imprisonment."
 
     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.
 
     Under the existing mechanism, the ImmD will, as a standard procedure, conduct an initial screening of vulnerable persons, including illegal workers, illegal immigrants, sex workers and foreign domestic helpers, who are arrested during any operation with a view to ascertaining whether they are trafficking in persons (TIP) victims. When any TIP indicator is revealed in the initial screening, the ImmD officers will conduct a full debriefing and identification by using a standardised checklist to ascertain the presence of TIP elements, such as threats and coercion in the recruitment phase and the nature of exploitation. Identified TIP victims will be provided with various forms of support and assistance, including urgent intervention, medical services, counselling, shelter or temporary accommodation and other supporting services. The ImmD calls on TIP victims to report crimes to the relevant departments immediately.

  

     Applications for Light Public Housing (LPH) started on June 24. The Acting Secretary for Housing, Mr Victor Tai, along with District Service Teams (DSTs) (Note 1), visited LPH mock-up units today (June 28) together with a group of citizens interested in knowing more about, and applying for, LPH. He encouraged eligible members of the public living in inadequate housing to apply for LPH.
 
     Mr Tai, the DSTs and about 60 members of the public interested in knowing more about, and applying for, LPH visited LPH mock-up units at Choi Hing Road, Ngau Tau Kok, this afternoon, enabling those interested to see for themselves the design and basic facilities of the units as well as to understand the ancillary facilities to be provided within the project. Representatives of the Housing Bureau (HB) and members of the DSTs also answered questions about LPH applications on the spot.
 
     Mr Tai said that the number of LPH applications received has been overwhelming. Around 5 800 applications were received as at 3pm today. He said that the environment and ancillary facilities of LPH are far better than those of the inadequate housing. The first two LPH projects, covering both Urban and Extended Urban/New Territories, have their respective advantages and offer an affordable rental level. He encouraged those in need and eligible to grasp the opportunity and apply as soon as possible to give themselves and their families a chance to improve their living environment.
 
     Mr Tai also visited the LPH mock-up units at Choi Hing Road with the Kwun Tong District Council today and briefed its members on the project and application details.
 
     LPH mainly caters for general applicants, i.e. families with two or more members and elderly one-person applicants, waiting for traditional public rental housing (PRH) for three years or more with priority given to family applicants to meet their pressing housing needs. The HB has sent LPH application forms by post to those eligible earlier this month. Interested applicants who submit the duly completed application forms on or before July 15 will be handled with priority. From July 16 and beyond, the HB will continue to accept applications, which will be handled upon completion of processing the application forms submitted on or before July 15.  
 
     The LPH Phase 1 application includes two projects at Yau Pok Road, Yuen Long, and Choi Hing Road, Ngau Tau Kok, respectively, providing a total of about 4 440 units for gradual intake anticipated from the first quarter of 2025 onwards. The estimated monthly rent for the Yau Pok Road, Yuen Long, project ranges from about $740 to $1,420, while that for the Choi Hing Road, Ngau Tau Kok, project ranges from about $1,110 to $2,650, depending on the unit size (Note 2). For enquiries, please visit the LPH website of the HB (www.hb.gov.hk/eng/lph), call 3464 0700, or send email to lphapp@hb.gov.hk.
 
Note 1: Alongside the implementation of tenancy control on subdivided units (SDUs) in January 2022, the Government has engaged non-governmental organisations to set up six DSTs (i.e. New Home Association Hong Kong Island Service Centre (Hong Kong Island); Y. T. M. Concern For Livelihood Association (Kowloon West); Hong Kong Single Parents Association (Kowloon West); New Home Association Kowloon West Service Centre (Kowloon Central and East); New Territories Association of Societies (Community Services) Foundation (New Territories West); and Shatin Inhabitants Association (New Territories East)) to reach out to the grassroots through their networks for promoting tenancy control on SDUs at the district level and providing relevant information to SDU households.
 
Note 2: Rents vary depending on the unit size and the district. The rental level is preliminarily set at around 90 per cent of the rent of newly completed traditional PRH in the same district and is estimated based on the current rent of traditional PRH. Having regard to the biennial rent review of the traditional PRH, the rent of LPH will also be adjusted accordingly.