The Fire Services Department (FSD) held a launching ceremony for the Winter Disaster and Emergency Preparedness Promotional Month at Tsim Sha Tsui Fire Station today (December 6). The ceremony marks the start of over a hundred promotional activities and a series of fire safety inspections scheduled for this month. The promotional month is organised by the FSD and funded by the Hong Kong Jockey Club Charities Trust. 

     The promotional month aims to disseminate four key messages among the public through various activities, namely "keep smoke stop doors closed", "prepare the 'three essentials' for fire escape", "annual inspection on fire service installations" and "safe use of lithium batteries and charging devices". 

     Speaking at the ceremony, the Deputy Director of Fire Services (Public Safety and Corporate Strategy), Mr Derek Armstrong Chan, expressed gratitude to the active support and participation of the 18 District Fire Safety Committees and the Fire Services Department Community Collaboration Network in disseminating disaster and emergency preparedness messages to the public. He also called on all sectors of society to continue the collaboration in upholding the spirit of "Disaster and Emergency Preparedness: A Priority for Life". 

     Mr Chan added that the FSD will soon launch a new FSD Community Emergency Responder scheme. Through the teaching of various fire prevention, firefighting, self-rescue, and escape skills, the FSD will impart comprehensive and practical knowledge of disaster and emergency preparedness to members of the public, so that they can respond effectively in emergencies such as drowning, traffic accidents, mountaineering accidents or cardiac arrest to save themselves and others. 

     The promotional month features a rich array of activities, with the 18 District Fire Safety Committees organising multiple local publicity events and actively mobilising community resources for focused promotion in various shopping malls and buildings. The FSD will also collaborate with various District Offices, District Fire Safety Committees and Fire Safety Ambassadors Honorary Presidents' Association (to be renamed as FSD Community Emergency Responder Honorary Presidents' Association to tie in with the launch of the new FSD Community Emergency Responder scheme) to organise disaster and emergency preparedness carnivals in various districts. The Department's publicity vehicle will also visit various districts to promote the messages among the public with short videos, leaflets and souvenirs. 

     The FSD is funded by the Hong Kong Jockey Club Charities Trust to implement the HKSAR Government Fire Services Department's Disaster Management Programme, with the Winter Disaster Emergency Preparedness Promotional Month being one of its initiatives. 

        

     The Secretary for Security, Mr Tang Ping-keung, met Vice Mayor of Shanghai and Director of the Shanghai Municipal Public Security Bureau and visited the Shanghai Customs College (SCC) during the second day of his visit to Shanghai today (December 6).

     Mr Tang met with Vice Mayor of Shanghai and Director of the Shanghai Municipal Public Security Bureau, Mr Zhang Yahong. Mr Tang said that the Shanghai Municipal Public Security Bureau and the law enforcement departments of the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region Government have long maintained close co-operation, achieving remarkable results in areas such as the prevention and combat of cross-boundary crimes, as well as training and exchanges. He said he hoped that both parties could continue to deepen collaboration and give full play to their respective professional strengths to jointly safeguard national security, prosperity and stability.

     In the afternoon, Mr Tang and his delegation visited the SCC and met with SCC Vice Presidents Mr Yue Long and Mr Wang Xiaogang. Noting that the SCC and Hong Kong Customs have been collaborating in various aspects of training, Mr Tang said that the SCC has started to provide training on national studies and mainland customs duties for all new inspectors of Hong Kong Customs since last year to further strengthen exchanges, enhancing together the professional knowledge and capabilities of customs personnel on both sides to cope with the opportunities and challenges brought by the flows of people and trade in the future.

     Arriving in Shanghai yesterday afternoon (December 5), Mr Tang visited the latest self-service passenger clearance system jointly developed by the Shanghai Airport Authority and the Hongqiao Station of Immigration Inspection to exchange experiences on facilitating travellers and enhancing clearance efficiency. He also visited the Artificial Intelligence Data Center of SenseTime to explore the application of artificial intelligence on security work.

     Mr Tang will depart for Hangzhou tomorrow afternoon (December 7) to continue his visit.

        

Attention TV and radio duty announcers:

     Please broadcast the following special announcement as soon as possible, and repeat it at suitable intervals:

     A fire broke out at a shipyard on Shum Wan Road, Aberdeen, at 4.11pm today (December 6). The Fire Services Department is conducting firefighting operations.

     Members of the public who are being affected by the smoke and an unusual odour carried by the wind are advised to close their doors and windows and stay calm.

     A fire broke out at a shipyard on Shum Wan Road in Aberdeen at 4.11pm today (December 6). The fire was upgraded to No. 3 alarm at 4.45pm.

     Firemen are now using three jets and mobilising two breathing apparatus teams to fight the blaze.

     No casualties have been reported so far.

     Nine landlords of subdivided units (SDUs), who contravened Part IVA of the Landlord and Tenant (Consolidation) Ordinance (Cap. 7) (the Ordinance), pleaded guilty and were fined a total of $34,800 today (December 6) at the Eastern Magistrates' Courts. Since the Ordinance came into force, the Rating and Valuation Department (RVD) has successfully prosecuted 476 cases involving a total of 411 SDU landlords, with fines ranging from $400 to $34,800, amounting to a total of $1,050,610.
 
     The offences of these landlords include (1) failing to submit a Notice of Tenancy (Form AR2) to the Commissioner of Rating and Valuation within 60 days after the term of the regulated tenancy commenced; and (2) requesting the tenant to pay money other than the types permitted under the Ordinance (i.e. requiring the tenant to pay an amount of rent for the second-term tenancy exceeding the maximum amount of rent permitted under the Ordinance). One of the landlords committed eight offences under (1) and was fined $6,400.

     The RVD earlier discovered that the landlords failed to comply with the relevant requirements under the Ordinance. Upon an in-depth investigation and evidence collection, the RVD prosecuted against the landlords.
 
     A spokesman for the RVD reiterated that SDU landlords must comply with the relevant requirements under the Ordinance, including prohibiting landlords from doing any act calculated to interfere with the peace or comfort of members of the tenant's household, with the intention of causing the tenant to give up occupation of the SDU; or requiring the tenant to pay an amount of rent for the second-term tenancy exceeding the maximum amount of rent permitted under the Ordinance, and also reminded SDU tenants of their rights under the Ordinance, including a four-year (i.e. two years plus two years) security of tenure. He also stressed that the RVD will continue to take resolute enforcement action against any contraventions of the Ordinance. Apart from following up on reported cases, the RVD has been adopting a multipronged approach to proactively identify, investigate and follow up on cases concerning landlords who are suspected of contravening the Ordinance. In particular, the RVD has been requiring landlords of regulated tenancies to provide information and reference documents of their tenancies for checking whether the landlords concerned have complied with the requirements of the Ordinance. If a landlord, without reasonable excuse, refuses to provide the relevant information or neglects the RVD's request, the landlord commits an offence and is liable to a maximum fine at level 3 ($10,000) and to imprisonment for three months. Depending on the actual circumstances, and having regard to the information and evidence collected, the RVD will take appropriate actions on individual cases, including instigating prosecution against suspected contraventions of the Ordinance.
 
     To help curb illegal acts as soon as possible, members of the public should report to the RVD promptly any suspected cases of contravening the relevant requirements. Reporting can be made through the telephone hotline (2150 8303), by email (enquiries@rvd.gov.hk), by fax (2116 4920), by post (15/F, Cheung Sha Wan Government Offices, 303 Cheung Sha Wan Road, Kowloon), or in person (visiting the Tenancy Services Section office of the RVD at Room 3816-22, 38/F, Immigration Tower, 7 Gloucester Road, Wan Chai, Hong Kong, and please call 2150 8303 to make an appointment). Furthermore, the RVD has provided a form (Form AR4) (www.rvd.gov.hk/doc/en/forms/ar4.pdf) on its website to facilitate SDU tenants' reporting to the RVD.
 
     The RVD reminds that pursuant to the Ordinance, a regulated cycle of regulated tenancies is to comprise two consecutive regulated tenancies (i.e. the first-term tenancy and second-term tenancy) for an SDU, and the term of each regulated tenancy is two years. A tenant of a first-term tenancy for an SDU is entitled to be granted a second-term tenancy of the regulated cycle, thus enjoying a total of four years of security of tenure. Since the first batch of regulated tenancies has already approached their second-term tenancies, the RVD has started a new round of publicity and education work in order to assist SDU landlords and tenants to understand the important matters pertaining to the second-term tenancy, and procedures that need to be followed about two months prior to the commencement of the purported second-term tenancy. In addition, the RVD has started issuing letters enclosing relevant information to the landlords and tenants concerned of regulated tenancies in batches, according to the expiry time of their first-term tenancies, to remind them about their respective obligations and rights under the Ordinance. These landlords and tenants may also visit the dedicated page for the second-term tenancy on the RVD's website (www.rvd.gov.hk/en/tenancy_matters/second_term_tenancy.html) for the relevant information, including a concise guide, brochures, tutorial videos and frequently asked questions. SDU landlords and tenants are also advised to familiarise themselves with the relevant statutory requirements and maintain close communication regarding the second-term tenancy for handling the matters properly and in a timely manner according to the Ordinance.
 
     For enquiries related to regulated tenancies, please call the telephone hotline (2150 8303) or visit the RVD's webpage (www.rvd.gov.hk/en/our_services/part_iva.html) for the relevant information.