The Chief Executive, Mrs Carrie Lam, will visit Hainan from March 27 to 29 to attend the Boao Forum for Asia Annual Conference 2019. The theme of this year's conference is "Shared Future, Concerted Action, Common Development". The Director of the Chief Executive's Office, Mr Chan Kwok-ki, will join the visit.

     On March 28, Mrs Lam will attend the opening ceremony of the annual conference, and the Women Roundtable to discuss with other panelists on "The Power of Women and the Value of Balance". She will speak at the "ASEAN-China Governors / Mayors' Dialogue" session on March 29. While in Hainan, she will also meet with the leaders of some provinces, cities and organisations, and have an exchange session with the Hong Kong student volunteers at the annual conference.

     Mrs Lam will return to Hong Kong in the afternoon on March 29. During her absence, the Chief Secretary for Administration, Mr Matthew Cheung Kin-chung, will be Acting Chief Executive.

     As at 4.30pm today (March 24), 1 588 of the 7 257 registered electors of the Tai Nan Constituency had cast their votes in the Yau Tsim Mong District Council by-election, representing a turnout of 21.88 per cent. (The voter turnout figures are only for temporary reference.)
 
     The polling station at the Fresh Fish Traders' School will remain open until 10.30pm.
 
     A dedicated polling station has been set up at Cheung Sha Wan Police Station for electors in the Tai Nan Constituency who are remanded or detained by law enforcement agencies other than the Correctional Services Department (CSD) to cast their votes. The polling hours are from 7.30am to 10.30pm.
 
    Three dedicated polling stations were also set up at penal institutions for electors in the constituency who are imprisoned or remanded in the CSD's custody to cast their votes at their respective penal institutions. For security reasons, the polling hours were from 9am to 4pm.

     The Centre for Health Protection of the Department of Health today (March 24) reported that the suspected case of Middle East Respiratory Syndrome (MERS) pending results yesterday (March 23), upon preliminary testing, tested negative for MERS Coronavirus.

     The Correctional Services Department (CSD) today (March 24) released a video, "Reborn on Stage", featuring artist Jade Kwan in a jam session with a band of young persons in custody at Pik Uk Correctional Institution. The session was held in support of the use of music by persons in custody as a rehabilitation programme.

     In the video, Kwan highly praises the young persons in custody for their effort in learning to play the musical instruments and sing the song "A New Beginning" with her. The performance was brought to the stage in a short time, reflecting the great improvements in their lives. She said that music heals people and changes their lives through the rhythms and lyrics. She expressed the hope that all young persons in custody can live their lives with gratitude, health and freedom and not give up easily. They were encouraged to search for the meaning of life.

     Pianist Nancy Loo, who has been a piano tutor at Pik Uk Correctional Institution for 15 years, also attended the jam session. She said she believes that everyone holds a unique melody, combining various harmonies and rhythms to create an impressive piece of music. She said in the video that most of the young persons in custody lived without goals before they joined the band in the institution. After becoming team members in the band, they started to understand that hard work pays off.

     Both Kwan and Loo said they hope that the young persons in custody have gained inspiration through performing music on the stage, and that they may have brighter journeys in their years ahead.

     Two young persons in custody who joined the band said they were happy to sing with Kwan. Both of them said that they could express their inner selves through music.

     The CSD has all along endeavoured to facilitate the rehabilitation of persons in custody, including arranging music courses conducted by volunteers, to help them develop positive attitudes and confidence, as well as build up determination of rehabilitation, through music.

     Members of the public are invited to watch and share the video, which has been uploaded to the CSD YouTube Channel at youtu.be/M1daNUdhFSM.

      

     Police yesterday (March 23) reclassified a person collapsed case in Tsim Sha Tsui on March 21 as murder.
      
     At about noon that day, Police received a report that a 50-year-old non-ethnic-Chinese (NEC) man was found collapsed inside a unit on Haiphong Road.

     Police officers sped to the scene and found the man lying unconsciously on a bed. Sustaining injuries to his face and upper body, the man was certified dead at scene.

     Some suspected dangerous drugs were found at scene and a 44-year-old NEC man was arrested for possession of dangerous drugs. Upon investigation, the man was found in suspected connection with the death of the 50-year-old man. The 44-year-old NEC man was charged with one count of murder. The case will be mentioned in Kowloon City Magistrates’ Courts tomorrow (March 25).

     Investigation by the District Crime Squad of Yau Tsim District is under way.