The Labour Department (LD) will hold a public talk entitled "Occupational Safety and Health (OSH) for Confined Space Workers" on April 2 (Tuesday). To enhance workers' OSH awareness of working in confined spaces, the talk will explain the related hazards as well as their preventive measures.
 
     The talk will be given by the LD's occupational hygienist, occupational safety officer and occupational health nurse at 3.30pm at the Lecture Theatre of the Hong Kong Central Library, 66 Causeway Road, Causeway Bay.
 
     The LD will hold another talk, entitled "Noise Hazards and Prevention of Hearing Loss" on April 10 (Wednesday). The talk will give an introduction on the Factories and Industrial Undertakings (Noise at Work) Regulation and the Occupational Deafness Compensation Scheme, as well as health hazards posed by noise at work and preventive measures for hearing loss.
 
     The talk will be given by a representative of the Occupational Deafness Compensation Board, the LD's occupational hygienist and occupational health nurse at 3.30pm in the Lecture Hall of the Hong Kong Space Museum, 10 Salisbury Road, Tsim Sha Tsui.

     Both talks will be given in Cantonese. Admission is free but pre-registration is required. Interested participants can register online (www.oshsreg.gov.hk). For enquiries, please call 2852 4040.

     The Leisure and Cultural Services Department (LCSD) will launch its new "Hong Kong Artists" Series from May to November, aiming to provide a new platform for local artists to showcase their remarkable talents. In addition to individual performances, it also encourages cross-genre works to highlight their unique styles. This year's series will first introduce six distinguished musicians in four stunning recitals, featuring the flute and bassoon, piano, and huqin, to bring enchanting music to the stage of Hong Kong City Hall and further enrich the diverse cultural ambience of the city. Tickets will be available from tomorrow (March 27) onwards.
　　
     Brief introductions of the recitals are as follows:
 
Duo Recital by Alice Hui (Flute) and Tommy Liu (Bassoon)
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Date and time: May 1 (Wednesday), 8pm
Ticket prices: $200 and $240
 
     Young flautist Alice Hui and bassoonist Tommy Liu will jointly perform a number of musical compositions from the romantic era to the 20th century, to offer the audience a new level of enjoyment of woodwind chamber music.  
 
Piano Recital by Hui Ling
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Date and time: July 5 (Friday), 8pm
Ticket prices: $240 and $280
 
     Veteran pianist Hui Ling will demonstrate her superb piano-playing skills and personal interpretation style by performing beautiful pieces of well-known composers from the 18th to the 20th century.
 
Huqin Recital by Mak Ka-yin
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Date and time: August 13 (Tuesday), 8pm
Ticket prices: $200 and $240
 
     Huqin performer Mak Ka-yin will present a repertoire with huqin musical works from different eras, encompassing both traditional and contemporary huqin pieces, to guide the audience to appreciate the artistic skills and the beauty of the two-stringed musical instrument.
 
Piano Duo Recital by Stephen Wong and Amy Sze
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Date and time: November 2 (Saturday), 8pm
Ticket prices: $240 and $280

     After a hiatus of seven years, the LCSD has once again invited pianists Stephen Wong and Amy Sze to jointly present an exciting recital, to showcase their extraordinary skills and exceptional chemistry by a performance of classic two-piano compositions.
 
     The above recitals will be held at the Theatre of Hong Kong City Hall. Tickets will be available from March 27 (Wednesday) onwards at URBTIX (www.urbtix.hk). For telephone bookings, please call 3166 1288. Package discounts will be available for ticket purchases with different recitals in the "Hong Kong Artists" Series in 2024. For programme enquiries and discount schemes, please call 2268 7321 or visit www.lcsd.gov.hk/CE/CulturalService/Programme/en/music/groups_1688.html.

        

The following is issued on behalf of the Judiciary:
 
     Chief Justice Andrew Cheung Kui-nung, Chief Justice of the Court of Final Appeal, is pleased to announce today (March 26) the appointment of three Senior Counsel of the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region. They are:
 
Mr Benson Tsoi Yat-ming
Ms Frances Lok Man-yin
Miss Queenie Fiona Lau
 
     The appointments are made by the Chief Justice under section 31A of the Legal Practitioners Ordinance.
 
     The appointments will take effect from the date of the Instrument of Appointment, which will be executed on May 11, 2024, when the ceremonial proceedings are to take place at 10am in the Court of Final Appeal.
 
     The biographical notes of the newly appointed Senior Counsel are as follows:

Mr Benson Tsoi Yat-ming
 
Mr Benson Tsoi Yat-ming, aged 41, obtained a Bachelor of Laws degree from the University of Leicester. He was admitted to the Hong Kong Bar in 2007. He specialises in criminal law, particularly organised and white-collar crimes.
 
Ms Frances Lok Man-yin
 
Ms Frances Lok Man-yin, aged 43, obtained a Bachelor of Arts degree from the Chinese University of Hong Kong, a Master of Arts (Jurisprudence) degree from the University of Oxford and a Master of Laws degree from Harvard University. She was admitted to the Hong Kong Bar in 2007. She mainly practises in the areas of company law, construction and arbitration, probate and trusts.
 
Miss Queenie Fiona Lau
 
Miss Queenie Fiona Lau, aged 41, obtained a Bachelor of Laws degree from the University of Cambridge. She was admitted to the Hong Kong Bar in 2008. She has a general civil and commercial practice, including audit and professional negligence, defamation, employment and probate litigation.

     â€‹The Home Affairs Department (HAD) today (March 26) launched a one-stop thematic webpage (www.had.gov.hk/pbg) to enable applicants for Burial Certificates (Certificates) to obtain information regarding hillside burials.
      
     The thematic webpage introduces hillside burial arrangements, and provides an application form for the Certificate as well as application procedures and points to note. Applicants for the Certificates can also make use of the interactive map on the webpage to search for the geographical locations of Permitted Burial Grounds (PBGs), and download the site plan of each PBG to identify its boundary and area.
 
     The hillside burial policy is jointly implemented by various government departments, and eligible indigenous villagers of the New Territories and locally based fishermen can be buried after their death in the PBGs jointly managed by the departments. Before proceeding with burials for the eligible deceased in the PBGs, descendants are required to apply for the Certificates from the related New Territories District Offices (NTDOs) and arrange the burials in accordance with the requirements laid down in the Certificates and at the locations specified therein. The Certificate holders must also inscribe the serial numbers of the Certificates in a prominent position on the gravestones/urns/containers of ashes for identification purposes.
 
     To assist applicants for the Certificates in identifying the area and boundaries of the PBGs, relevant departments have implemented a series of measures in recent years. These measures include erection of boundary markers along the boundaries of PBGs with higher usage and adoption of information technology tools (including the MyMapHK mobile application and the GeoInfo Map website) for applicants to identify the burial locations of the deceased within the PBGs.
　
     The spokesman emphasised that hillside burials are only applicable to eligible persons, whose descendants must obtain the Certificates issued by the related NTDOs beforehand and ensure that the burials will take place in the locations specified in the Certificates; otherwise, the authorities shall have the right to carry out enforcement actions to remove the gravestones and remains. Before applying for the Certificates, applicants can refer to the thematic webpage (www.had.gov.hk/pbg) to identify the area and boundaries of the PBGs and obtain information on hillside burials.

     â€‹Hong Kong Customs yesterday (March 24) detected a dangerous drugs internal concealment case involving an incoming passenger at Hong Kong International Airport and seized about 1.5 kilograms of suspected liquid cocaine with an estimated market value of about $1.5 million.
      
     A female passenger, aged 52, arrived in Hong Kong from Sao Paulo, Brazil, via Addis Ababa, Ethiopia, yesterday. During customs clearance, Customs officers suspected that the passenger had dangerous drugs concealed inside her body cavity. She was then escorted to the hospital for examination.
      
     Upon examination, the woman was confirmed by a doctor to have foreign objects concealed inside her body cavity. She was arrested immediately. As at 6pm today (March 25), the arrested woman has excreted 44 pellets of suspected liquid cocaine weighing about 1.5kg in total.
      
     A holding charge with one count of trafficking in a dangerous drug has been laid against the arrested woman. The case will be brought up at the West Kowloon Magistrates' Courts tomorrow (March 26).
      
     Following the increasing number of visitors to Hong Kong, Customs will continue to apply a risk assessment approach and focus on selecting passengers from high-risk regions for clearance to combat transnational drug trafficking activities.
      
     With Easter holidays approaching, Customs believes that the local demand for drugs will increase. The department will therefore further step up enforcement action to fiercely combat different kinds of dangerous drug trafficking activities during the long holidays. Customs again reminds the public to stay alert and not to participate in drug trafficking activities for monetary return. Under the Dangerous Drugs Ordinance, trafficking in a dangerous drug is a serious offence. The maximum penalty upon conviction is a fine of $5 million and life imprisonment.
      
     Members of the public may report any suspected drug trafficking 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/).