The Centre for Health Protection (CHP) of the Department of Health is today (June 4) investigating two epidemiologically linked food poisoning clusters affecting four persons, and reminded the public to maintain personal, food and environmental hygiene to prevent foodborne diseases.

     The first cluster involved a 6-year-old girl and a 10-year-old boy, who developed abdominal pain, diarrhoea, vomiting, and fever about 15 hours after having dinner at a restaurant in Tsuen Wan on May 31.
 
     The other cluster involved two girls aged 6 and 8 respectively, who developed similar symptoms about 10 to 24 hours after consuming takeaway food purchased from the same restaurant at night on the same day.
 
     All affected persons have sought medical advice and are in stable condition.

     Initial investigations by the CHP revealed that the affected persons had consumed common food and the food concerned was spaghetti with meat sauce, potato wedges, corn kernels and jelly. The stool specimens of two affected persons were positive for Salmonella upon laboratory testing.

     The personnel from the Centre for Food Safety (CFS) of the Food and Environmental Hygiene Department have conducted an inspection at the restaurant and instructed the concerned premises to suspend the sale of relevant food and carry out cleaning and disinfection of the premises. The investigations of the CHP and the CFS are ongoing, including the testing of food and environmental samples.

     To prevent foodborne diseases, members of the public are reminded to maintain personal, food and environmental hygiene at all times. When dining out:
 

• Patronise only reliable and licensed restaurants;
• Avoid eating raw seafood;
• Be a discerning consumer in choosing cold dishes, including sashimi, sushi and raw oysters, at a buffet;
• Pre-cooked or leftover foods should be stored and reheated properly before consumption;
• Ensure food is thoroughly cooked before eating during a hotpot or barbecue meal;
• Handle raw and cooked foods carefully and separate them completely during the cooking process;
• Use two sets of chopsticks and utensils to handle raw and cooked foods;
• Do not patronise illegal food hawkers;
• Drink boiled water;
• Do not try to use salt, vinegar, wine or wasabi to kill bacteria as they are not effective; and
• Always wash hands before eating and after going to the toilet.

     The Housing Department (HD) said that there was a fire incident in the main power supply room located on the ground floor of Sui Lok House in Siu Sai Wan Estate in early morning today (June 4). The fire was quickly brought under control and no one was injured. However, the electricity supply for the whole building was interrupted. Preliminary investigation revealed that the housing unit above the main power supply room is undergoing renovation works and there is leakage from the water pipe. The water seepage caused an electrical short circuit and fire in the main power supply room. The power supply facilities of Sui Lok House were therefore seriously damaged and the power supply to the entire building was interrupted.

     Staff members of the HD arrived at the scene immediately and liaised with relevant government departments to take emergency action to help the residents, especially those with care need or with mobility difficulties. The HD has promptly contacted the maintenance contractors and the Hongkong Electric Company Limited to replace the damaged electrical switches urgently. Besides, as a temporary arrangement, cables from neighboring buildings have been connected to Sui Lok House, with a view to restoring part of the power supply to some public facilities tonight, and restoring the power supply to the residential units by phases.

     There were about 590 residents living in Sui Lok House. The HD has already arranged staff to visit households with special needs, set up an enquiry counter on the ground floor, distributed bottled water, arranged water trucks with the Water Supplies Department to provide clean drinking water, as well as collaborated with the Eastern District Office (EDO) and the Care Teams to distribute lunch and dinner boxes, and installed temporary lighting, etc. The EDO has also opened a temporary shelter at the Siu Sai Wan Community Hall (G/F, Siu Sai Wan Complex, 15 Siu Sai Wan Road, Siu Sai Wan, Hong Kong) for residents in need.

     The HD will continue to closely monitor the progress of the incident and provide further assistance to the affected residents in a timely manner.

     A Hong Kong resident was arrested and prosecuted by the Immigration Department (ImmD) for conspiracy to obtain airline services by deception and was sentenced to 32 months' imprisonment at the District Court today (June 4).
      
     The ImmD launched a series of anti-illegal migration operations in 2020 and successfully detected a case involving a Hong Kong resident (defendant) conspiring with others to assist a Mainlander to seek illegal migration to Canada. Investigators discovered that in 2019, the defendant approached a middleman, who arranged for him to obtain a boarding pass for a Toronto-bound flight at an airline check-in counter of an airport on the Mainland using his Hong Kong Special Administrative Region passport. He then passed the boarding pass to the middleman inside the airport's restricted area, who on the same day transferred it to another Mainlander inside the airport's restricted area. The Mainlander later boarded the flight to Toronto, Canada, using the defendant's boarding pass.
 
     During the investigation, the defendant admitted to have conspired with others to assist the Mainlander to seek illegal migration. He was later charged with one count of conspiracy to obtain airline services by deception. The defendant pleaded guilty to the charge at the District Court and was sentenced to 32 months' imprisonment today.

     The ImmD spokesman warned that under the laws of Hong Kong, people who, by any deception, dishonestly obtain services from another shall be guilty of an offence and shall be liable, upon conviction, to imprisonment for 10 years.
 
     "Under the laws of Hong Kong, it is an offence to make a false representation to Immigration Officers. Offenders are liable to prosecution and, upon conviction, the maximum penalty of a fine of $150,000 and imprisonment for 14 years," the spokesman reiterated.

     Following is the transcript of remarks by the Secretary for the Civil Service, Mrs Ingrid Yeung, at a media session on offers of the 2024-25 civil service pay adjustment at the Central Government Offices this afternoon (June 4):
 
Reporter: So can you recap in English why the salary increase is just three per cent, which is lower than the pay trend survey, and why the increase rates are the same for every rank of civil servants?
 
Secretary for the Civil Service: The Executive Council has, in accordance with the mechanism governing the adjustment of civil service pay, considered six factors, namely the state of Hong Kong's economy, changes in the cost of living, the net pay trend indicators, the Government's fiscal position, the pay claims of the staff side, as well as the morale of the civil servants. We believe that this is a balanced decision taking into account all those six factors and the specific circumstances of this year. We note that the pay offers are some way behind the net pay trend indicators, but given all the six factors taking into consideration as a whole, we believe that this is an appropriate decision for this year.
 
(Please also refer to the Chinese portion of the transcript.)

     â€‹Correctional officers at Stanley Prison stopped a male remand person in custody attacking a staff member today (June 4).

     At 2.05pm today, a 39-year-old male remand person in custody suddenly became emotional and attacked a correctional officer inside a staff duty room. Officers at the scene immediately stopped the assailant and applied OC foam to subdue him after repeated warnings were ignored.

     During the incident, the attacked officer sustained injuries to his arm, chest and abdomen, while the assailant sustained an injury to his face. After examination and treatment by the institution Medical Officer, they did not need to be sent to a public hospital.

     The case has been reported to the Police for investigation.

     The assailant was remanded for the offence of murder in May 2022.