Hong Kong Customs today (June 3) arrested a salesperson of a private detective agency suspected of applying a false trade description in the course of sale of detective services, in contravention of the Trade Descriptions Ordinance (TDO).

     Customs earlier received information alleging that a salesperson of a private detective agency made a false claim to a customer – that individual global positioning system services for tracking the location of a specific target could be provided. After the customer had paid for the services, the detective agency could not provide such services.

     After investigation, Customs officers today arrested a 48-year-old man.

     Investigation is ongoing and the arrested man has been released on bail pending further investigation.

     Customs reminds traders to comply with the requirements of the TDO and consumers to procure services at reputable shops.

     Under the TDO, any trader who applies a false trade description to a service supplied to a consumer commits an offence. The maximum penalty upon conviction is a fine of $500,000 and imprisonment for five years.

     Members of the public may report any suspected violations of the TDO to the Customs' 24-hour hotline 2545 6182 or its dedicated crime-reporting email account (crimereport@customs.gov.hk).

     The Centre for Health Protection (CHP) of the Department of Health is today (June 3) investigating two suspected food poisoning clusters affecting five persons, and reminded the public to maintain personal, food and environmental hygiene to prevent food-borne diseases.

     The first cluster involved one male and two females, aged 3 to 39, who developed abdominal pain, vomiting, diarrhoea and fever about nine to 10 hours after having dinner at a restaurant in Kowloon Bay yesterday (June 2).
 
     Another cluster involved a boy and a girl, aged 4 and 6, who developed similar symptoms about six hours after having dinner at the same restaurant on the same day.

     Four of the affected persons sought medical advice and none required hospitalisation. All affected persons are in a stable condition.
 
    "We have alerted the Food and Environmental Hygiene Department to the incident and investigations are ongoing," a spokesman for the CHP said.

     To prevent food-borne 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;
• Ensure food is thoroughly cooked before eating during a hot pot 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 food;
• Do not patronise illegal food hawkers;
• Drink boiled water;
• Do not try to use salt, vinegar, wine and wasabi to kill bacteria as they are not effective; and
• Always wash hands before eating and after going to the toilet.

     Correctional officers at Shek Pik Prison stopped a person in custody attacking a correctional officer today (June 3).

     At 8.56am, the 44-year-old male person in custody attacked a correctional officer with his hand outside the recreation room. Officers at the scene immediately stopped him and called for reinforcement.

     During the incident, the officer sustained injury to his eye. After treatment by the institution Medical Officer, he was referred to a public hospital for further examination and treatment. The assailant did not sustain any injury. 

     The case has been reported to the Police for investigation.

     The assailant was sentenced to imprisonment for the offence of trafficking in a dangerous drug.

     The Centre for Food Safety (CFS) of the Food and Environmental Hygiene Department announced today (June 3) that in view of a notification from the Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Affairs about an outbreak of highly pathogenic H5N6 sub-type avian influenza in Horgos in Yili Prefecture, Xinjiang, it has followed the existing approach for control of highly pathogenic avian influenza and taken recommendations from the World Organisation for Animal Health into account to suspend the import of poultry and poultry products, including poultry eggs, from an area within a radius of 3 kilometres from the said place for a period of 90 days, and from an area within a radius of 13km for 21 days, with immediate effect for the protection of public health in Hong Kong.

     A spokesman for the CFS said that according to information from the General Administration of Customs, the outbreak does not affect any registered Mainland poultry farms that export to Hong Kong. No registered poultry meat or poultry egg processing plants are currently situated within the import restriction zone concerned.

     The CFS will closely monitor the latest developments of the avian influenza case in the area and take appropriate follow-up action as necessary.

     The Labour Department (LD) today (June 3) released the newly revised "Code of Practice (CoP) in times of Typhoons and Rainstorms". The CoP aims at alerting employers to consult employees as soon as possible on the work and resumption of work arrangements in times of adverse weather conditions before typhoon season. The revised CoP also provides reference guidelines to employers and employees on the work and resumption of work arrangements in the event of the Government issuing the new post-super typhoon "extreme conditions" announcement. 
 
     Following the experience with Super Typhoon Mangkhut last year, the Government conducted an inter-departmental review of the handling mechanism to improve the city's preparedness, emergency response and recovery efforts. One of the new measures is, if the situation warrants, the Government may issue an "extreme conditions" announcement before Typhoon Warning Signal No. 8 (T8) is replaced with No. 3 (T3). "Extreme conditions" may include serious disruption of public transport services, extensive flooding, major landslides or large-scale power outage occurring after a super typhoon.  
 
     Upon the announcement of "extreme conditions" by the Government, apart from essential staff who have an agreement with their employers to be on duty when "extreme conditions" is in force, employees are advised to stay at the place they are currently in for two hours after cancellation of T8, instead of heading for work immediately. The Government will review the situation, and further advise the public by the end of the two-hour period whether the "extreme conditions" period will be extended or cancelled. During the period, employers and employees should stay alert to further government announcements. Once the "extreme conditions" period is over, employees should follow the work arrangements they have previously agreed with the employers and resume work as appropriate. If employees are unable to report for duty due to practical difficulties, they should notify their supervisors as soon as possible. Employers are also advised to be sympathetic and make flexible arrangements for their employees under such circumstances.
 
    "To maintain smooth operations and good labour-management relations, it is of utmost importance for employers to draw up in advance, in consultation with their employees, realistic and practical work arrangements in times of and after typhoon and rainstorm warnings, post-super typhoon 'extreme conditions' and other adverse weather conditions," an LD spokesman stressed.
 
     "When implementing the work arrangements, employers should adopt a sympathetic and flexible approach, according top priority to employees' safety at all times. Due consideration should also be given to the individual circumstances of employees. In drawing up the work arrangements for adverse weather conditions, employers should conduct realistic assessment on the need for essential staff and keep the staff number to a minimum as far as possible. Employees identified as essential staff should be notified in advance. 
 
    "Employers should discuss with essential staff in advance the arrangements for their transportation, meals and rest places, as well as other contingency safety measures under adverse weather conditions. They should also explain clearly to employees the calculation methods of working hours, wages, duty and travel allowances under different scenarios. Employees' wages, allowances and good attendance bonuses should not be affected if they are not required to report for duty in accordance with the work arrangements," the LD spokesman added.
 
     It is incumbent upon employers to observe the statutory obligations and requirements under the Employment Ordinance, the Occupational Safety and Health Ordinance, the Factories and Industrial Undertakings Ordinance, the Employees' Compensation Ordinance and the Minimum Wage Ordinance.
 
     Prime consideration should be given to the safety of essential staff at all times, with adequate safety facilities, personal protective equipment and suitable rest breaks provided for them during working hours. Employers should grant extra duty allowance to essential staff required to work in adverse weather or when an "extreme conditions" announcement is in force.
     
     On work resumption arrangements, as employees' journeys to workplaces may be hindered in the aftermath of adverse weather, employers should exercise flexibility and give prime consideration to employees' safety at all times. If workplaces are damaged by adverse weather posing potential safety risks, employers should immediately carry out safety inspections and adopt suitable safety measures before arranging for employees to resume work.
 
     To promote the community's understanding of the revised CoP and "extreme conditions" after super typhoons, the LD will step up publicity efforts for employer associations, workers' unions and human resources practitioners, including conducting briefings for them. TV and radio Announcements in the Public Interest on the subject will also be launched in the coming months. The revised CoP booklet can be downloaded from the LD's website (www.labour.gov.hk/eng/public/wcp/Rainstorm.pdf).