The Centre for Food Safety (CFS) of the Food and Environmental Hygiene Department today (June 13) announced that a sample of frozen sole imported from France was detected with methylmercury, a metallic contaminant, at a level exceeding the legal limit. The CFS is following up on the incident. 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: Frozen Sole
Place of origin: France
Manufacture Date: February 7, 2024
Best-before: February 7, 2027
Importer: The House of Fine Foods Limited

     "The CFS collected the above-mentioned sample at the import level for testing under its routine Food Surveillance Programme. The test result showed that the sample contained methylmercury at a level of 0.8 parts per million (ppm), exceeding the legal limit of 0.5 ppm," a spokesman for the CFS said.

     The spokesman said that the CFS had informed the importer concerned of the irregularity and instructed it to stop sale and remove from shelves the affected product. The CFS is also tracing the source and distribution of the product concerned.

     "Methylmercury is the major form of mercury in fish. At high levels, mercury can affect foetal brain development, and affect vision, hearing, muscle co-ordination and memory in adults. Furthermore, as some international organisations such as the World Health Organization have pointed out, consuming predatory fish species is the main source of mercury intake for human beings. The report of the CFS's Total Diet Study has also pointed out that large fish or predatory fish species may contain high mercury levels (for example, tuna, alfonsino, shark, swordfish, marlin, orange roughy and king mackerel). Hence, groups particularly susceptible to the adverse effects of mercury, such as pregnant women, women planning a pregnancy and young children should opt for fish that are smaller in size for consumption and avoid consumption of the above-mentioned types of fish to minimise excessive exposure to metal contaminants in food," the spokesman added.

     According to the Food Adulteration (Metallic Contamination) Regulations (Cap. 132V), any person who sells food with metallic contamination above the legal limit is liable upon conviction to a fine of $50,000 and imprisonment for six months.

     The CFS will alert the French authorities and the trade, continue to follow up on the incident and take appropriate action. An investigation is ongoing.

     The Secretary for Environment and Ecology, Mr Tse Chin-wan, met with the Managing Director of CLP Power Hong Kong Limited (CLP) today (June 13) to express deep concern over the power outage incident that occurred in the Wong Tai Sin area last night (June 12).
 
     Stable and reliable power supply is very important to the daily lives of the public and every level of economic activities in Hong Kong. Recently, there have been a number of voltage dips and power supply interruption incidents, and the frequency of these incidents has led to concerns about whether CLP's service quality is on the decline. This incident should not be treated as an isolated event, and CLP needs to examine its company culture and management system for the entire power supply system to identify the root causes of the problem, make fundamental improvements to reduce the chances of similar incidents in the future, and maintain the stable and reliable power supply that Hong Kong has always been proud of.
 
     At the meeting, Mr Tse made a request to the Managing Director of CLP for CLP to allocate resources for an independent consultant. The Electrical and Mechanical Services Department (EMSD) will be responsible for engaging an independent consultant, who will report to the Director of Electrical and Mechanical Services (DEMS) after:
 
(1) Conducting a re-examination of all voltage dips and power supply interruption incidents that occurred in the past three years, listing the causes, improvement measures, implementation status of the measures, and their effectiveness; 

(2) Conducting a comprehensive review of the safety design of the power supply system, its capability to withstand the impact of external factors, the arrangements for maintenance and preventive maintenance, the procurement and inspection system for materials, the supervision and quality assurance standards, as well as personnel qualification, training and retraining requirements; and 

(3) Providing comprehensive recommendations on how to enhance the stability and reliability of the power supply, and reduce the chances of similar incidents in the future. 

     The EMSD will form a task force with CLP to work on the above requirements, with a view to completing the tasks and submitting a report within 12 months. The DEMS will also invite local experts and scholars to establish a steering committee to work together in supervising the work of the independent consultant and advise on the report. At the same time, the Environment and Ecology Bureau will continue to negotiate with CLP on modifying the Scheme of Control Agreement by introducing terms of penalty to facilitate a reduction in the occurrence of electrical incidents.
 
     Furthermore, the EMSD has requested that CLP identify the cause of the power supply incident last night and submit a detailed report within four weeks in accordance with the Electricity Ordinance (Cap. 406).

  

     An owner of premises was convicted with a criminal record and fined $18,000 by the Kowloon City Magistrates' Courts on June 12 for the premises being used as an unlicensed guesthouse, which contravened the Hotel and Guesthouse Accommodation Ordinance.

     The court heard that officers of the Office of the Licensing Authority (OLA) of the Home Affairs Department had identified a suspected unlicensed guesthouse being operated in Kowloon. The OLA officers posed as lodgers and rented a room in the premises concerned. According to the OLA's records, the guesthouse did not have a valid licence on the date of lodging. The OLA invoked section 5A(1) of the Hotel and Guesthouse Accommodation Ordinance and instigated prosecution against the owner of the premises.

     Section 5A(1) of the Hotel and Guesthouse Accommodation Ordinance stipulates that if any premises are a hotel or guesthouse while no licence is in force for the premises, each of the owners and tenants of the premises commits an offence.

     A department spokesman stressed that operating or managing an unlicensed hotel or guesthouse is a criminal offence. The owner of the subject premises, unless a statutory defence can be established, also commits a criminal offence. The maximum penalty is a fine of $500,000 and three years' imprisonment. A conviction will result in a criminal record. The court may also issue a six-month closure order for premises involved in a repeated offence.

     The list of licensed hotels and guesthouses is available on the OLA's website (www.hadla.gov.hk) and the mobile application "Hong Kong Licensed Hotels and Guesthouses" for public reference. Anyone with information about suspected unlicensed hotels and guesthouses should immediately report it to the OLA through the hotline (tel: 2881 7498), by email (hadlaenq@had.gov.hk), or by fax (2504 5805) using the report form downloaded from the OLA website, or through the mobile application.

     The Correctional Services Department (CSD) today (June 13) held the first Rehabilitation Partners Award Scheme Award Presentation Ceremony to honour 120 non-governmental organisations, charitable institutions, commercial organisations and post-secondary institutions, etc, in recognition of their active support for persons in custody and rehabilitated offenders over the past two years, as well as to encourage various sectors in the community to join the Scheme and support the work of rehabilitation.
      
     Speaking at the Ceremony, the Deputy Financial Secretary, Mr Michael Wong, said that the CSD has endeavoured to establish close partnerships with organisations and individuals from various sectors in the community to provide comprehensive rehabilitation services. He commended the Rehabilitation Partners for their selfless efforts in supporting and assisting persons in custody and rehabilitated offenders by providing them with a wide range of services, such as organising thematic group counselling classes and interest classes for persons in custody, as well as providing assistance to supervisees on matters relating to employment, education and building family relationships after release, enabling them to smoothly reintegrate into society and turn over a new leaf after release.
      
     The Rehabilitation Partners Award Scheme by the CSD aims to give recognition to organisations and individuals who have been supporting rehabilitation work, and to promote community participation in rehabilitation work. The Scheme comprises three categories, namely Employment, Rehabilitation Service and Donation. A total of 24 awardees and 96 awardees were presented with Outstanding Rehabilitation Partners and Rehabilitation Partners respectively today in recognition of their contributions in their respective categories over the past two years.
      
     The logo of Rehabilitation Partners consists of two letters, "C and C", representing "Correctional Services" and "Community". The combination of the two letters forms an infinity symbol which symbolises the collaboration between the CSD and stakeholders from different sectors of the community to promote more diversified and targeted effective rehabilitation programmes, creating unlimited possibilities for rehabilitated offenders.

     The awardees may display the Outstanding Rehabilitation Partners or Rehabilitation Partners logos in their offices, and on websites or business cards etc.
      
     The CSD has been working closely with the Rehabilitation Partners to provide comprehensive and appropriate rehabilitation services for persons in custody and rehabilitated offenders, so that after their release they will become law-abiding citizens who love the country and Hong Kong. The CSD calls on various sectors in the community to continue to support and participate in rehabilitation work to build a safer and more inclusive society.
      
     For the list of awardees and the assessment criteria for Outstanding Rehabilitation Partners or Rehabilitation Partners, please refer to the following website:
www.csd.gov.hk/english/reh/reh_overview/reh_overview_partner_award_scheme/pas/qc.html.

          

     The Deputy Secretary for Justice, Mr Cheung Kwok-kwan, and the Director General of the Research Office of the Supreme People's Court, Mr Zhou Jiahai, today (June 13) in Beijing signed a memorandum of understanding on establishing a standing interface platform on judicial and legal co-operation in the Guangdong-Hong Kong-Macao Greater Bay Area (GBA), which serves as a regular and institutionalised high-level official communication mechanism for deepening exchanges and co-operation and taking forward the work on the interfaces of mechanisms, regulatory frameworks and talent. Before the signing of the memorandum of understanding, the Executive Vice-president of the Supreme People's Court, Mr Deng Xiuming, met with Mr Cheung and his delegation.

     The establishment of the interface platform is one of the policy initiatives in "The Chief Executive's 2023 Policy Address", and also an important measure in the Department of Justice's Action Plan on the Construction of Rule of Law in the Guangdong-Hong Kong-Macao Greater Bay Area for strengthening the interface of the communication mechanism between the Mainland and Hong Kong.

     The two sides reached an agreement on various fronts to enhance the advantages of the GBA development, including the establishment of a standing interface mechanism to deepen the judicial and legal interface of regulatory frameworks in the GBA, thereby enhancing the cross-boundary multifaceted dispute resolution mechanism; strengthening exchanges and co-operation in the training of foreign-related legal talent; and conducting regular exchanges and visits of relevant officers.

     Under the framework of the interface platform, high-level joint meetings between the two sides will be convened at least once a year to set the work priorities for the next stage, jointly prepare the work plans and programmes and notify each other on a regular basis.

     Mr Cheung said the standing interface platform would enable the two sides to advance closer and smoother practical and research work on judicial and legal matters relating to the GBA, and better utilise the unique advantages of "one country, two systems and three jurisdictions" of the GBA, so as to consolidate Hong Kong's status as a centre for international legal and dispute resolution services in the Asia-Pacific region, serving the high-quality development of the country and the construction of the rule of law in the GBA.