The Secretary for Justice, Ms Teresa Cheng, SC, today (April 16, The Hague time) commenced her visit to The Hague, the Netherlands, by meeting with judges from International Court of Justice, government officials and representatives from different international organisations. 

     Ms Cheng called on Judge Peter Tomka of the International Court of Justice in the morning. During the meeting, Ms Cheng introduced the legal system in Hong Kong and the work of the Department of Justice, adding that the "one country, two systems" principle has been fully and successfully implemented and the rule of law has been upheld since Hong Kong's return to the Motherland. Judge Tomka was glad to note the judicial independence and sound legal system in Hong Kong as well as the development of Hong Kong as an international arbitration centre.

     Ms Cheng then proceeded to The Hague Academy of International Law where she met with the Secretary-General Professor Jean-Marc Thouvenin to exchange views on capacity building in international law and explore collaboration opportunities.

     In the afternoon, Ms Cheng visited The Hague Conference on Private International Law (HCCH). She met with the Secretary General of HCCH, Dr Christophe Bernasconi, to exchange views on international legal co-operation and explore further opportunities of collaboration on the legal side through its Asia Pacific Regional Office in Hong Kong. HCCH is a global inter-government organisation which develops multilateral legal instruments to respond to global needs.

     Ms Cheng will later today meet with the Secretary-General of the Permanent Court of Arbitration, Mr Hugo Siblesz, to be followed by a meeting with the Executive Director of the International Council for Commercial Arbitration, Ms Lise Bosman. Ms Cheng will introduce the latest developments in international dispute resolution in Hong Kong and exchange views with them.

     Afterwards, Ms Cheng will call on the Charge d' Affaires a.i. of the Chinese Embassy in the Netherlands, Mr Chen Ribiao.

     On her last day of visit to Paris yesterday (April 15, Paris time), Ms Cheng visited the International Chamber in the Commercial Courts of Paris to meet with its president, Mr Paul-Louis Netter, and gave an introduction of the laws and legal system of Hong Kong. The Commercial Court of Paris, seated by judges from business community based on their commercial expertise, specialises in handling complex commercial disputes.

     She then arrived at the Cour de Cassation to have meetings with Prosecutor General, Mr Francois Molins, and Judge Dominique Hascher respectively. Ms Cheng told Judge Hascher that the principle of "one country, two systems" and the rule of law have been successfully implemented and upheld in Hong Kong. She also gave him a brief account of the Arrangement Concerning Mutual Assistance in Court-ordered Interim Measures in Aid of Arbitral Proceedings by the Courts of the Mainland and of the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region and the relevant provisions of Third Party Funding of Arbitration. Established in 1790, the Cour de Cassation is the highest court in the French judiciary to ensure that all the laws are interpreted in the same way throughout the nation.

     Afterwards, Ms Cheng called on the Minister for Justice of France, Ms Nicole Belloubet, to explore signing of a memorandum of cooperation to strengthen collaboration on issues relating to deal making and dispute resolution services.

     Ms Cheng will leave for Vienna tomorrow morning (April 17, The Hague time) for the final leg of her visit.

      

     The Department of Health (DH) today (April 16) urged the public not to buy or consume a virility product called Blue M as it was found to contain undeclared controlled ingredients.
 
     Acting on a public complaint, samples of the above product, with each pack containing two capsules and one wet wipe, were collected for analysis by the Government Laboratory. The test results confirmed that samples of the wet wipe contained lignocaine, a Part 1 poison under the Pharmacy and Poisons Ordinance (Cap 138), while one sample of the capsules also contained another Part 1 poison, sildenafil.
 
     Based on the laboratory results, the DH and the Police raided a retailer in Mong Kok in a joint operation today during which a woman aged 26 was arrested for suspected illegal sale and possession of Part 1 poisons and unregistered pharmaceutical product.
 
     The DH's investigation is continuing.
 
     Sildenafil is a prescription drug used for erectile dysfunction and should be taken under a doctor's advice or supplied at pharmacies under the supervision of a registered pharmacist upon a doctor's prescription. Side effects of sildenafil include low blood pressure, headache, vomiting, dizziness and transient vision disturbances. It may interact with some drugs (such as nitroglycerin for the treatment of angina) and cause a decrease in blood pressure to dangerous levels. Improper use of sildenafil may pose serious health risks, especially for patients with heart problems. Lignocaine is a local anaesthetic and may cause hypersensitivity reactions.
 
     According to the Ordinance, all pharmaceutical products must be registered with the Pharmacy and Poisons Board of Hong Kong before they can be sold legally in the market. Illegal sale and possession of unregistered pharmaceutical products or Part 1 poisons are criminal offences. The maximum penalty for each offence is a fine of $100,000 and two years' imprisonment.
 
     "The public should not buy or consume products of doubtful composition. All registered pharmaceutical products should carry a Hong Kong registration number on the package in the format of "HK-XXXXX". Safety, quality and efficacy of unregistered pharmaceutical products are not guaranteed," a DH spokesman said.
 
     "The public may visit the Drug Office's webpage for health messages on sexual dysfunction and virility products and the list of virility products found to contain undeclared western medicines for more information," the spokesman added.
 
     Those who have purchased the above product should stop taking it immediately and consult healthcare professionals if in doubt or feeling unwell after consumption. They may submit the product to the Drug Office at Room 1856, Wu Chung House, 213 Queen's Road East, Wan Chai, during office hours for disposal.

  

     The Centre for Health Protection (CHP) of the Department of Health (DH) is today (April 16) investigating a suspected poisoning case after consumption of self-prepared wine containing taxus, and appealed to members of the public to be cautious of the risk of poisoning from consumption of taxus-containing substances.

     Upon notification by the Hospital Authority, the CHP immediately commenced epidemiological investigation. The case involves a 57-year-old man with good past health who developed muscle pain, lower limbs weakness and numbness 30 minutes after consumption of wine containing taxus on April 14. He sought medical attention at the Accident and Emergency Department of Ruttonjee Hospital on the same day and was admitted. He was subsequently transferred to the Intensive Care Unit of the hospital last night for further management. He is now in a serious condition. The clinical specimen of the patient and the remnants of the wine have been sent to a laboratory for analysis and the result is pending.
 
     Preliminary investigation revealed that the patient consumed the wine containing taxus with three friends, who remain asymptomatic so far. The wine was self-prepared by one of his friends a few years ago using taxus obtained in the Mainland. Investigation is still continuing.
 
     "Taxus is a genus of toxic tree known as yew. All species of yew contain highly poisonous taxine alkaloids. Severe poisoning after consumption of yew has also been reported in literature. Patients may first present with gastrointestinal symptoms, and onset of other symptoms such as muscle weakness generally occurs within three to four hours after consumption. In severe cases, tachycardia followed by bradycardia, hypotension, respiratory depression, convulsions and coma will occur. Death may also result in severe cases. At present, there is no specific antidote," a spokesman for the CHP said.

     "Members of the public should not self-make and consume food or drinks containing taxus or unknown plants to avoid poisoning. If poisoning related to the consumption of related food or drink is suspected, the patient should seek immediate medical attention," the spokesman advised.

     The Centre for Food Safety (CFS) of the Food and Environmental Hygiene Department today (April 16) urged the public not to consume a kind of cheese imported from France due to possible contamination with Listeria monocytogenes, a pathogen. The trade should stop using or selling the product concerned immediately if they possess it.
      
     Product details are as follows:
      
Product name: Cheese Brillat Savarin
Brand: Bordier
Place of origin: France
Importer: Classic Fine Foods (Hong Kong) Ltd
Lot No.: 352702, 352203, 352802 and 352803
Best-before dates: April 12 to May 7, 2019
      
     "The CFS received a notification from the Rapid Alert System for Food and Feed (RASFF) of the European Commission that the above-mentioned product might have been contaminated with Listeria monocytogenes and was being recalled. According to the information provided by the RASFF, a local importer, Classic Fine Foods (Hong Kong) Ltd, had imported some of the affected product into Hong Kong," a spokesman for the CFS said.
      
     The CFS immediately contacted the importer concerned for follow-up. Preliminary investigation found the importer had imported 11 pieces of the affected product and all of them had been distributed. The importer has initiated a recall according to the CFS' instructions. Enquiries about the recall can be made to the importer's hotline at 2612 2066 during office hours.
      
     "Listeria monocytogenes can be easily destroyed by cooking but can survive and multiply at refrigerator temperature. Most healthy individuals do not develop symptoms or only have mild symptoms like fever, muscle pain, headache, nausea, vomiting or diarrhoea when infected. However, severe complications such as septicaemia, meningitis or even death may occur in newborns, the elderly and those with a weaker immune system. Although infected pregnant women may just experience mild symptoms generally, the infection of Listeria monocytogenes may cause miscarriage, infant death, preterm birth, or severe infection in the newborns," the spokesman said.
      
     The spokesman urged consumers not to consume the affected product if they have bought any. The trade should also stop using or selling the product concerned immediately if they possess it.

     The CFS will alert the trade to the incident, and will continue to follow up and take appropriate action. Investigation is ongoing.

     The Lands Department announced today (April 16) that tenders for three petrol filling stations have been awarded on 21-year land grants at a total premium of $1,365,260,884.

     Rural Building Lot No. 1209 at No. 100 Pok Fu Lam Road, Pok Fu Lam, Hong Kong, was awarded to the highest tenderer, Shell Hong Kong Limited, at $236,006,048. New Kowloon Inland Lot No. 6614 at No. 590 Prince Edward Road East, Kowloon, was awarded to the highest tenderer, Shell Hong Kong Limited, at $564,002,618. New Kowloon Inland Lot No. 6616 at No. 6 Kai Fuk Road, Kowloon Bay, Kowloon, was awarded to the highest tenderer, Shell Hong Kong Limited, at $565,252,218.

     The successful tenders were submitted on an individual basis for the purchase of the three sites. These three sites are existing, re-tendered sites for the development of petrol filling stations. Four tenderers took part in the exercise, which produced a total of 12 tenders.

     The tenderers other than the successful tenderers that tendered in respect of each lot (individually or as a package) and in alphabetical order, with the name of the parent company where provided by the tenderer in brackets, were:
 
(a) Rural Building Lot No. 1209
(1) Chevron Hong Kong Limited
(2) ExxonMobil Hong Kong Limited
(3) Sinopec (Hong Kong) Limited (Sinopec Marketing Company Limited)
 
(b) New Kowloon Inland Lot No. 6614
(1) Chevron Hong Kong Limited
(2) ExxonMobil Hong Kong Limited
(3) Sinopec (Hong Kong) Limited (Sinopec Marketing Company Limited)
 
(c) New Kowloon Inland Lot No. 6616
(1) Chevron Hong Kong Limited
(2) Sinopec (Hong Kong) Limited (Sinopec Marketing Company Limited)