Police today (April 30) laid charges against a 35-year-old man with three counts of manslaughter.
Police arrested the man today in relation to a fatal industrial accident that happened on September 7, 2022 in Sau Mau Ping, leading to the death of three men and injuries to six men.
The case will be mentioned at Kwun Tong Magistrates’ Court in the morning on May 2 (Thursday).
The exhibition "Breaking New Ground: Donated Works of Chan Wing-sum" will be held from tomorrow (May 1) at the Hong Kong Heritage Museum (HKHM). This exhibition showcases more than 10 flower-and-bird and landscape paintings created and donated by Chan to the HKHM, and also works by his mentor, Professor Chao Shao-an, renowned master of the Lingnan School of Painting. It allows visitors to see how Chan has incorporated his mentor's painting technique into his own works and to appreciate his mastery of ink adaptation.
Chan is an accomplished painter of the Lingnan School of Painting with a strong personal style. He learned painting from Professor Chao starting in 1976, while apprenticing for traditional Chinese painting, calligraphy, and seal carving from other renowned teachers. He has participated in various joint and solo exhibitions in Hong Kong, the Mainland, Canada, etc. In 2019, Chan's painting "Lotus and bird" was featured in the Japan-China Suiboku Joint Exhibition, where it was awarded the Foreign Minister of Japan's Commendation.
Based on the composition, imagery and ink adaptation in traditional Chinese painting, Chan adds his carefree brushwork and contemporary interpretation to create his ink paintings in an abstract manner. His works embrace the flexible concept of the Lingnan School of Painting to blend traditional and modern elements with innovative approaches. Highlight exhibits include "Lotus and bird", "Rain came upon lotus pond", "Birds singing in banana tree" and "Red kapok and blue bird".
The Chao Shao-an Gallery was set up with a donation of works from Professor Chao during the establishment of the HKHM. It aims to showcase the heritage and innovation of the Lingnan School of Painting, and to promote Professor Chao's artistic vision. As a student of Professor Chao, Chan not only inherited his painting skills, but also continues his selfless acts. In 2021, Chan generously donated 15 of his representative artworks, enriching the HKHM's collection of the art of the Lingnan School of Painting.
To tie in with the exhibition, Chan has been invited to conduct painting demonstrations for students and the public, and co-host a lecture on the Lingnan School of Painting with the curator during the summer holidays so that audiences can gain a more in-depth understanding of his art exploration and the art of the Lingnan School of Painting.
The exhibition is presented by the Leisure and Cultural Services Department (LCSD), and organised by the HKHM. For details of the exhibition, please visit
www.heritagemuseum.gov.hk/en/web/hm/exhibitions/data/chan-wing-sum.html, or call 2180 8188 for enquiries.
The exhibition is one of the activities of the Chinese Culture Promotion Series. The LCSD has all along promoted Chinese history and culture through organising an array of programmes and activities to enable the public to learn more about the broad and profound Chinese culture. For more information, please visit www.lcsd.gov.hk/en/ccpo/index.html.
The Immigration Department (ImmD) and the Hong Kong Applied Science and Technology Research Institute (ASTRI) signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) today (April 30) to explore an innovative proposal for the application of technologies in four areas, i.e. Innovative Immigration Control Operation, Biometric Identification and Authentication, Artificial Intelligence Assisted Immigration Application and Collaborative Robotics Technology, with a view to providing quality and efficient public services. The MOU was jointly signed by the Director of Immigration, Mr Benson Kwok, and the Chief Executive Officer of ASTRI, Dr Denis Yip, witnessed by the Secretary for Security, Mr Tang Ping-keung, and the Board Chairman of ASTRI, Mr Sunny Lee.
In his speech, Mr Kwok stated that the ImmD has been actively adopting advanced technologies and innovative thinking in various business areas to enhance service quality and efficiency. The collaboration with ASTRI this time will support the research and development of local innovation and technology, and pursue the goal of developing Hong Kong into a Smart City. It is of paramount importance to facilitate Hong Kong's transformation into an international innovation and technology centre under the National 14th Five-Year Plan, enabling the public and visitors from around the world to experience the benefits of innovative technologies.
In appreciation of the ImmD's decision to co-operate with ASTRI to support technology research in Hong Kong, Mr Lee stressed that the collaboration would set an example for neighbouring smart cities to expedite the adoption of innovative solutions that enhance public convenience.
Hong Kong Customs yesterday (April 29) shut down a suspected storage centre for duty-not-paid cigarettes, commonly known as "cheap whites", in Lok Ma Chau and three suspected sales outlets for these cigarettes in Mei Foo, Kwai Chung and Tai Kok Tsui, seizing a total of about 1.03 million suspected duty-not-paid cigarettes with an estimated market value of about $4.6 million and a duty potential of about $3.4 million.
Yesterday afternoon, Customs discovered that a suspicious light goods vehicle departed from a metal shed in Lok Ma Chau and distributed suspected duty-not-paid cigarettes to a newsstand and two stores downtown. Later, Customs officers intercepted the light goods vehicle and seized about 330 000 suspected duty-not-paid cigarettes inside. A total of about 100 000 suspected "cheap whites" were also seized at the newsstand in Mei Foo, as well as the two stores in Kwai Chung and Tai Kok Tsui. Thereafter, Customs further searched the metal shed in Lok Ma Chau and seized a total of about 600 000 suspected duty-not-paid cigarettes of multiple brands therein and from a truck inside, shutting down the suspected "cheap whites" storage centre.
During the operation, Customs arrested two men and three women, aged between 33 and 60. They comprise a truck driver, a truck assistant, as well as three newsstand and store owners and employees.
An investigation is ongoing. Customs will continue to trace the source and the flow of the batch of suspected duty-not-paid cigarettes.
Customs found that illicit cigarette syndicates would disguise duty-not-paid cigarettes as duty-paid ones and lure retail merchants such as newsstands and stores with the promise of considerable profits to act as distributors or promoters of these duty-not-paid cigarettes on the market. In addition, the illicit cigarette syndicates would use remote and concealed metal huts as a cover to increase the difficulties for law enforcement by Customs.
Customs reminds all retailers, including newsstands, convenience stores and grocery stores, that if the department has reasonable suspicion that the cigarettes being sold are duty-not-paid, regardless of the quantity of cigarettes involved, decisive enforcement actions will be taken. Meanwhile, Customs appeals retailers not to sell cigarettes of unknown sources. They must ascertain whether the relevant cigarette companies or intermediaries are legal and whether the cigarettes they supply are duty-paid in order to avoid criminal liability.
Under the Dutiable Commodities Ordinance, anyone involved in dealing with, possession of, selling or buying illicit cigarettes commits an offence. The maximum penalty upon conviction is a fine of $1 million and imprisonment for two years.
Retailers and members of the public may report any suspected illicit cigarette activities to Customs' 24-hour hotline 2545 6182 or its dedicated crime-reporting email account (crimereport@customs.gov.hk) or online form (eform.cefs.gov.hk/form/ced002/).
The Food and Environmental Hygiene Department (FEHD) today (April 30) obtained closure orders from the court against two food premises in Yau Ma Tei that have been persistently operating without a licence and causing serious street obstruction.
The two food premises, located at Shop C-D and Shop A respectively on the ground floor of 29-35 Temple Street, have been operating without a licence and occupying the pavement and carriageways continuously, causing serious obstruction and environmental hygiene problems, as well as a great nuisance to residents nearby. From July 2022 to March this year, the FEHD received 437 complaints concerning the two restaurants, and conducted 132 blitz enforcement operations and instituted 306 prosecutions against their irregularities.
A spokesman for the FEHD said, "The FEHD has been taking enforcement and regulatory actions against the blatant contraventions of these two food premises in question and deploying additional manpower to step up the enforcement actions. However, both restaurants continued to operate without a licence and obstruct public areas persistently. Given the fact that the food premises persistently breached the Food Business Regulation (Cap. 132X) and other related legislation, the FEHD applied to the court for closure orders under the Public Health and Municipal Services Ordinance (Cap. 132) to completely rectify their irregularities. Upon affixing a copy of the closure order at a conspicuous place on the respective premises earlier today, the orders will come into force at the beginning of the eighth day (May 8) in accordance with the law."
According to the Public Health and Municipal Services Ordinance (Cap. 132), unless with written permission from the FEHD, no person may enter or remain on any closed premises, failing of which is an offence and is liable on conviction to a maximum fine of $100,000, imprisonment for 12 months and a daily fine of $1,750.
The spokesman stressed that the FEHD will continue to crack down on unlicensed food premises to safeguard food safety and public health. Operators are urged not to defy the law, while members of the public are urged to not patronise these premises.
Licensed food premises are required to exhibit their licences and a sign at a conspicuous place of the premises, indicating that the premises have been licensed. A list of licensed food premises is available on the department website (www.fehd.gov.hk/english/licensing/list_licensed_premises.html). Members of the public can report any suspected unlicensed food premises by calling the FEHD hotline 2868 0000.
