Following reports of a cluster of infections of a disease of temporarily unknown cause in the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC), the Centre for Health Protection (CHP) of the Department of Health (DH) said today (December 5) that it had taken the initiative to seek further information from the World Health Organization (WHO), the Africa Centres for Disease Control and Prevention and the DRC health authorities.
      
     According to the information announced by the DRC health authorities, since late October, 79 deaths due to a disease of still unknown cause have been recorded in a district in Kwango province, and more than 300 people have been infected. Most of the patients were aged above 15 and suffered from fever, headache, runny nose, cough, breathing difficulty and anaemia.
      
     "Under the current mechanism, Hong Kong has been equipped with the ability to detect infections of unknown cause and emerging infectious diseases at boundary control points and hospitals. On the immigration level, the DH has been conducting temperature screening for arrivals at all boundary control points. Those who are found to have a fever will be assessed and transferred to public hospitals for medical examination as appropriate. Upon noticing that a disease of temporarily unknown cause in the DRC, the DH has immediately tried to collect the latest information from various channels to conduct risk assessment and formulate appropriate preventive and control measures," a spokesman for the CHP said.

     There are currently no direct flights between the DRC and Hong Kong. The CHP has learned from the trade that travellers coming to Hong Kong from the DRC may generally choose transit hubs in Africa to Hong Kong, including Johannesburg in South Africa and Addis Ababa in Ethiopia. In light of the disease of temporarily unknown cause in the DRC, the CHP has, as a precautionary measure, immediately stepped up health screenings at the airport for passengers on all flights arriving in Hong Kong from the above-mentioned transit hubs. Port Health staff have been arranged to carry out temperature checks for travellers at the relevant flight gates, conduct medical assessments for symptomatic travellers and refer suspected cases of infections with public health significance to hospitals for medical examination.
      
     "Members of the public who plan to go to the DRC should be vigilant and pay attention to personal and environmental hygiene at all times, and avoid visiting crowded places and having contact with sick persons. Upon returning to Hong Kong, one should seek medical treatment as soon as possible if they feel unwell and take the initiative to inform their doctors of their relevant travel history," he added.
      
     Since October, the DH has not received any reports of people or travellers arriving in Hong Kong from the DRC suffering from unknown diseases.
      
     "The DH will continue to closely monitor the situation in the DRC and WHO's related information, and take appropriate preventive and control measures based on risk assessment to protect public health," the spokesman said.

     Hong Kong Customs yesterday (December 4) arrested a male director of a Wi-Fi devices rental service provider who was suspected of renting Wi-Fi devices on which a false trade description was applied, in contravention of the Trade Descriptions Ordinance (TDO).

     Customs earlier received information from members of the public that when they rented Wi-Fi eggs from a service provider and paid the deposits, they were informed that the deposits would be refunded at a specified period of time after the return of the devices. However, the provider did not refund the deposits on time and the total deposits involved amounted to $9,000.

     After an investigation, Customs officers yesterday arrested a 35-year-old male director of the provider. The investigation is ongoing and the arrested person has been released on bail pending further investigation.

     Customs reminds traders to comply with the requirements of the TDO and consumers to procure services at reputable shops.

     Under the TDO, any trader who applies a false trade description to a service supplied to a consumer commits an offence. The maximum penalty upon conviction is a fine of $500,000 and imprisonment for five years.
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     Members of the public may report any suspected violations of the TDO to Customs' 24-hour hotline 182 8080 or its dedicated crime-reporting email account (crimereport@customs.gov.hk) or online form (eform.cefs.gov.hk/form/ced002/).

     Police today (December 5) appealed to the public for information on a man who went missing in Tin Shui Wai.

     Yeung Wing-shun, aged 36, went missing after he was last seen in Tin Chak Estate yesterday (December 4) morning. His family made a report to Police today.

     He is about 1.75 metres tall, 80 kilograms in weight and of fat build. He has a round face with yellow complexion and short black hair. He was last seen wearing a dark blue T-shirt, brown shorts and grey slippers.

     Anyone who knows the whereabouts of the missing man or may have seen him is urged to contact the Regional Missing Persons Unit of New Territories North on 3661 3128 or email to rmpu-ntn-1@police.gov.hk, or contact any police station.  

    

     Hong Kong Customs yesterday (December 4) conducted an operation to combat the online sale of copyright infringing children's learning cards. During the operation, one person was arrested and a mobile phone suspected to be involved in the case was seized.

     Customs earlier received a complaint from a copyright owner alleging that suspected infringing children's learning cards were put on sale through an online platform. After an in-depth investigation, Customs officers found that a seller solicited the business via an online marketplace. Upon receiving an order, the seller would ask the buyer to transfer money to a designated electronic payment account. After that, a hyperlink for downloading the suspected infringing children's learning cards would be sent to the buyer via email.

     With the assistance of the copyright owner, Customs officers took enforcement action yesterday and raided a domestic premises in Tsuen Wan. A 42-year-old woman suspected to be involved in the case was arrested and a mobile phone suspected to be connected with the case was seized. The woman has been released on bail pending further investigation.

     An investigation is ongoing.

     Customs appeals to the public to respect intellectual property rights and not to sell infringing articles.

     Under the Copyright Ordinance, without the licence of the copyright owner, any person who sells or possesses for sale any infringing goods commits an offence. The maximum penalty upon conviction is a term of imprisonment for four years and a fine of $50,000 per infringing copy.

     Members of the public may report any suspected infringing activities to Customs' 24-hour hotline 182 8080 or its dedicated crime-reporting email account (crimereport@customs.gov.hk) or online form (eform.cefs.gov.hk/form/ced002/).

     Following are the remarks by the newly appointed Secretary for Transport and Logistics, Ms Mable Chan, at a media session today (December 5):

Reporter: What are your expectations and priorities of your new role? What do you want to achieve in the coming two and a half years? Also, the CE mentioned that he is confident in your leadership and articulation skills and also proactiveness. How do you plan to use such qualities to serve the general public? Thank you.
 
Secretary for Transport and Logistics: Thank you for your questions. I have been the Permanent Secretary in the Transport and Logistics Bureau. I have good knowledge of the policy areas under my portfolio. I know my colleagues well. I am action-oriented and have a proactive working style. I am confident that I will bring impetus to the Bureau in taking forward the various policy initiatives as set out in "The Chief Executive's 2024 Policy Address". In particular, our focus will be to further develop Hong Kong as an international shipping centre and an international aviation hub. Apart from that, the transport and railway development is very pivotal to the economic development of Hong Kong. As I've just mentioned, we have promulgated a transport blueprint (Hong Kong Major Transport Infrastructure Development Blueprint), which lists out a number of railways and road projects. In the coming years, I will be leading my Bureau in taking forward steadfastly in order to make sure that these projects are implemented and constructed on time within budget in order to better serve the population intake in various areas. As regards aviation and the shipping centres, Hong Kong has been a very international city. We have extensive connections with the various parts of the world. It is important that we leverage on our unique advantage of being part of the Mainland and our advantage under the "one country, two systems" principle in order to connect ourselves with the Mainland markets and the global markets. We should better serve our motherland as a "super-connector" in order to enable the various industries and enterprises to use Hong Kong as a platform in order to better connect with the world. With the development and implementation of the Three-Runway System, my Bureau will take a more proactive and more strategic framework and approach in extending and negotiating discussions with our aviation partners in order to unleash our potential in the Hong Kong International Airport in order to build our connections to better connect to the Mainland cities as well as the global markets. Lastly, as regards the shipping centre, no doubt that we are facing a lot of serious challenges but this is a good opportunity for us to work in partnership with our stakeholders to build Hong Kong's brand and to rebuild our competitiveness. The recent promulgation of our Action Plan on Green Maritime Fuel Bunkering lists out a number of measures which I am confident that with the industries' support and participation, we will increase and enhance our competitiveness and be more proactive in attracting more ocean-going vessels to come to Hong Kong to add their green fuel as well as to enable them to come to Hong Kong to do business. Thank you.

(Please also refer to the Chinese portion of the remarks.)