The following is issued on behalf of the Hong Kong Monetary Authority: 
 
     The Hong Kong Monetary Authority (HKMA) wishes to alert members of the public to a press release issued by The Hongkong and Shanghai Banking Corporation Limited on phishing email, which has been reported to the HKMA. Hyperlink to the press release is available on the HKMA website for ease of reference by members of the public.
 
     Anyone who has provided his or her personal information to the email concerned or has conducted any financial transactions through the email should contact the bank concerned using the contact information provided in the press release, and report to the Police or contact the Cyber Security and Technology Crime Bureau of the Hong Kong Police Force at 2860 5012. 
 

     Police today (February 19) appealed to the public for information on a woman who went missing in Kwai Chung.
      
     Hung On-shui, aged 58, went missing after she was last seen in a care home on Wo Tong Tsui Street yesterday (February 18) afternoon. The staff of the care home made a report to Police on the same day.
      
     She is about 1.5 metres tall, 41 kilograms in weight and of thin build. She has a pointed face with yellow complexion and short grey hair. She was last seen wearing a black long-sleeved shirt with pink dots pattern, black trousers and blue slippers.

      Anyone who knows the whereabouts of the missing woman or may have seen her is urged to contact the Regional Missing Person Unit of New Territories South on 3661 1176 or 9689 7445 or email to rmpu-nts-2@police.gov.hk, or contact any police station.

  

     A sick 66-year-old male person in custody at Tai Lam Correctional Institution died in a public hospital today (February 19).

     The person in custody suffered from cholangiocarcinoma. He required continuous medical care and follow-up at the institution hospital and a public hospital. Yesterday (February 18), he was sent to a public hospital for treatment due to physical discomfort and was later diagnosed with septic shock. During hospitalisation, his condition deteriorated and he was certified dead at 10.07am today.

     The case has been reported to the Police. A death inquest will be held by the Coroner's Court.

     The person in custody was convicted for the offence of trafficking in a dangerous drug in April 2017.

     The Hong Kong School of Motoring Shatin Road Safety Centre in Siu Lek Yuen was again caught illegally discharging substandard wastewater into the Shing Mun River. It was convicted and fined $13,000 by Fanling Magistrates' Courts today (February 19) for contravening the Water Pollution Control Ordinance (WPCO). The company committed the same offence and was convicted and fined $8,000 in February last year.

     Environmental Protection Department (EPD) enforcement officers conducted an inspection at Shatin Road Safety Centre last August. It was found again that the wastewater treatment facilities of the centre did not operate properly and brownish turbid wastewater with foul odour was discharged unceasingly. The wastewater washed down into the Shing Mun River via the communal storm drains and polluted the water quality of the river. A wastewater sample was collected by the EPD for analysis and the result showed that the concentration of suspended solids, chemical oxygen demand and biological oxygen demand exceeded the upper limits of the wastewater discharge licence by two times. The EPD again prosecuted the licensee, the Hong Kong School of Motoring, in accordance with the WPCO.

     The EPD has all along been committed to protecting the water quality of the Shing Mun River. Inspections and water quality monitoring are conducted regularly in order to detect the pollution source as soon as possible and stop wastewater from entering the river. An EPD spokesman reminded all licensees concerned, including occupants of premises and property management companies, that they should ensure proper operation of their wastewater treatment facilities and strictly comply with the discharge standards as stipulated in the licence to protect water bodies.

     According to the WPCO, anyone who discharges wastewater which exceeds the limits of the discharge licence into the communal drainage system commits an offence. Offenders are liable to a maximum fine of $200,000 and six months' imprisonment. A maximum fine of $400,000 and six months' imprisonment may be imposed on second or subsequent convictions.

     The Census and Statistics Department (C&SD) published today (February 19) the February 2019 issue of the "Hong Kong Monthly Digest of Statistics" (HKMDS).

     Apart from providing up-to-date statistics, this issue also contains one feature article entitled "The Profile of Persons Residing in Private Elderly Homes in 2018".

"The Profile of Persons Residing in Private Elderly Homes in 2018"

     A survey was conducted by C&SD during July to August 2018 to collect the age-sex profile of persons residing in private elderly homes (PEH). Results of the survey together with some other administrative records are used in the General Household Survey to estimate the age-sex profile of the land-based non-institutional population of Hong Kong. The feature article gives a brief account of the results of the 2018 round of Annual Survey on Profile of Inmates of PEH.

     For enquiries about this feature article, please contact the Household Statistics Analysis Section, C&SD (Tel: 2887 5208; email: ghs@censtatd.gov.hk).

     Published in bilingual form, the HKMDS is a compact volume of official statistics containing about 140 tables. It collects up-to-date statistical series on various aspects of the social and economic situation of Hong Kong. Topics include population; labour; external trade; National Income and Balance of Payments; prices; business performance; energy; housing and property; government accounts, finance and insurance; and transport, communications and tourism. For selected key statistical items, over 20 charts depicting the annual trend in the past decade and quarterly or monthly trend in the recent two years are also available. Users can download the Digest free of charge at the website of the C&SD (www.censtatd.gov.hk/hkstat/sub/sp460.jsp?productCode=B1010002).

     Enquiries about the contents of the Digest can be directed to the Statistical Information Services Section of the C&SD (Tel: 2582 4738; email: gen-enquiry@censtatd.gov.hk).