A property owner was convicted and fined over $100,000 at the Fanling Magistrates' Courts last week for failing to comply with a removal order issued under the Buildings Ordinance (BO) (Cap. 123).

     The case involved the subdivision of a domestic flat in a composite building in Heung Sze Wui Square, Tai Po, with the erection of partition walls subdividing the flat into several individual rooms. As the alteration and addition works obstructed the means of escape of the premises and contravened the Building (Planning) Regulations, a removal order was served on the owner under section 24(1) of the BO.

     Failing to comply with the removal order, the owner was prosecuted by the Buildings Department (BD). The owner has many previous convictions for non-compliance with removal orders regarding other premises. For this case, he expressed in the court that a contractor had been appointed to arrange the required removal works. Eventually the owner was fined $108,700 upon conviction at the Fanling Magistrates' Courts on April 23.

     A spokesman for the BD said today (May 3), "Illegal subdivision of flats causing obstruction to the means of escape may lead to serious consequences. Owners must comply with the removal orders without delay. The BD will continue to take enforcement action against owners who have failed to comply with the removal orders, including instigation of prosecution, to ensure building safety."

     Failure to comply with a removal order without reasonable excuse is a serious offence under the BO. The maximum penalty upon conviction is a fine of $200,000 and one year's imprisonment, and a further fine of $20,000 for each day that the offence continues.

     The Financial Secretary, Mr Paul Chan, arrived in Georgia yesterday (May 2, Tbilisi time) afternoon, for attending the 57th Annual Meeting of the Board of Governors of the Asian Development Bank (ADB) from May 2 to 5.
      
     In the afternoon, Mr Chan first met with the President of the ADB, Mr Masatsugu Asakawa. They exchanged views on various issues including regional green transition, climate finance, infrastructure development, as well as strengthening co-operation between Hong Kong, China and the ADB.
      
     Responding to climate change is one of the themes of this year's Annual Meeting. Mr Chan pointed out that as an international financial centre, Hong Kong is a leader in Asia in green and sustainable finance. The amount of green bonds issued in Hong Kong accounts for over one-third of the entire Asian market's. Meanwhile, Hong Kong continues to enrich its variety of green financial products and actively aligns with international green standards. While meeting the needs of different investors, these also help channel funds to support regional green and transition projects more effectively.
      
     Mr Chan stressed that Hong Kong, China has long maintained a cordial cooperation relationship with the ADB, and is willing to share knowledge and exchange experiences with the ADB and other regional partners, particularly in the areas of finance, infrastructure development, and innovative technology applications. They are warmly welcomed to make use of Hong Kong's deep and wide fundraising platforms and professional services to support the rolling-out and management of different projects.
      
     Mr Chan later attended the Asian Development Fund (ADF) 14 Pledging Meeting. He said that Hong Kong, China has been supporting the replenishments of the ADF for years, with a view to helping developing member countries to engage in sustainable development projects, including responding to climate change, promoting gender equality, meeting their own social development needs, and more. Hong Kong, China will continue to contribute to the development and progress of the region. 
      
     Mr Chan will attend the Constituency Meeting at the ADB Annual Meeting today (May 3, Tbilisi time) and meet with the ADB senior management as well as financial officials from other countries and regions.

      

     A man who went missing in Sham Shui Po has been located.

     Tsang Chiu-sau, aged 76, went missing after he was last seen outside Apliu Street Public Toilet on April 30 afternoon. His family made a report to Police on the same day.

     The man was located outside MTR Mong Kok Station tonight (May 2). He sustained no injuries and no suspicious circumstances were detected.

     A spokesman for the Electrical and Mechanical Services Department (EMSD) said today (May 2) that the department is following up on a system security incident of an online server platform, which involved data collected by the EMSD in "restriction-testing declaration" (RTD) operations conducted between March and July of 2022 in combating COVID-19.

     Data stored on the designated online server platform include names, telephone numbers, identity card numbers and addresses of about 17 000 members of the public at 14 buildings which are listed at Annex. The data were only accessible to authorised personnel by logging in with a password. 

     On the evening of April 30, the EMSD was notified by the Office of the Privacy Commissioner for Personal Data that according to a public report, the data concerned could be browsed on the server platform. The EMSD immediately checked and found that the password login system failed. The data could be browsed without entering any password but they were not downloadable. Upon EMSD's request, the service provider of the online server platform removed the data from the platform that evening (April 30). The EMSD has reported the incident to the Police, the Office of the Government Chief Information Officer and the Security Bureau.

     The EMSD expresses sincere apologies for the incident. Although there is no evidence that relevant data have been published so far, the EMSD will notify relevant households by mailing to flats of the buildings involved. In case of suspicious circumstances, they should report to the Police as soon as possible. For enquiries, please call the EMSD's hotline at 2333 3762.

The following is issued on behalf of the Legislative Council Secretariat:
 
     The Legislative Council (LegCo) Panel on Health Services visited the Hong Kong Genome Institute (HKGI) in the Hong Kong Science Park today (May 2) to learn about the latest development of the Hong Kong Genome Project (HKGP).
 
     Members received a briefing on the HKGP by the HKGI's Chairperson, Mr Philip Tsai; the Deputy Chairperson, Professor Raymond Liang; the Chief Executive Officer, Dr Lo Su-vui, and the Chief Medical and Scientific Officer, Dr Brian Chung. The HKGP is the first large-scale genome sequencing project in Hong Kong. Since its full operation in 2021, the HKGI has been collaborating with the Department of Health, Hospital Authority and medical schools of universities, to help patients and their families, who join the project on a voluntary basis, look for the potential disease-causing genetic variants through whole genome sequencing analysis. They said that the HKGP aimed to establish a genome database of the local population, testing infrastructure and talent pool with a view to accelerating the development of genomic medicine and addressing the healthcare needs of Hong Kong in the long run. Members then exchanged views with the management team of the HKGI on the HKGP and the development of genomic medicine.
 
     Members then toured the Genomic Laboratory. It is the first laboratory in Hong Kong that offers end-to-end whole genome sequencing services and equipped with advanced instruments for performing sequencing services, analysis and research.  
 
     Members who participated in the visit were the Panel Chairman Ms Chan Hoi-yan, the Deputy Chairman, Dr David Lam and Panel members Mr Chan Kin-por, Ms Lam So-wai, Mr Edward Leung, Mr Chan Pui-leung and Professor Chan Wing-kwong.