Author Archives: hksar gov

     The Department of Health (DH) today (September 20) is investigating an information security incident in which unauthorised promotional SMS messages were sent to patients of the DH’s Dental Clinics.

     The DH, through its regular monitoring and review of transaction logs, observed abnormal SMS activities of sending unusual SMS messages to the patients of the DH’s Dental Clinics through the SMS portal. Subsequent investigations with the service provider maintaining the SMS portal revealed that there had been an unauthorised login to one of the user accounts of the portal on September 14 and promotional SMS messages not related to DH services were sent to some 2 700 patients of the DH’s Dental Clinics. According to the preliminary investigation, there was no downloading of personal data involved. The risk of leakage of personal information is likely to be minimal. The SMS account concerned and the DH’s SMS services have been suspended until further notice.

     The DH has reported the incident to the Police and the Office of the Government Chief Information Officer. A report will also be made to the Office of the Privacy Commissioner for Personal Data later today.

     Patients of the DH’s Dental Clinics are urged not to respond to any suspicious SMS messages or click on any dubious links received via SMS. Also, if members of the public received an SMS reminder from the Dental Service in the past two weeks and wish to enquire about further details of the incident, they may contact the DH at 2970 5955 during office hours.

     The DH attaches great concern to this incident and will step up information security for the portal, with additional security measures to be implemented by the service provider before resumption of the SMS service. The DH has also asked the service provider to submit an investigation report on the incident and will review existing information security measures to avoid the recurrence of similar incidents in future. read more

     The Electrical and Mechanical Services Department today (September 20) announced an adjustment to the auto-LPG (liquefied petroleum gas) ceiling prices for dedicated LPG filling stations from October 1 to October 31, 2018, in a… read more

     Hong Kong Customs yesterday (September 19) seized about 500 grams of suspected cocaine and about 650g of suspected crack cocaine in Kwun Tong and Hung Hom respectively with a total estimated market value of about $1.3 million.

     During an anti-narcotics operation in Kwun Tong yesterday evening, Customs officers intercepted a man and found about 500g of suspected cocaine as well as a batch of drug packaging paraphernalia inside luggage carried by him. The 23-year-old man was then arrested.

     After follow-up investigation, Customs officers intercepted a man at the lobby of a residential building in Hung Hom and found about 650g of suspected crack cocaine inside a plastic bag carried by him. Customs officers then arrested the 27-year-old man. A 21-year-old man suspected to be involved in the case was further arrested in a residential unit in the same building.

     Investigation is ongoing.

     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).

  

     Owing to the improvement works on the flag poles and the podium at the Golden Bauhinia Square, Wan Chai, the flag lowering parade scheduled at 6pm tomorrow (September 21) will be suspended.     &nbsp… read more

     Two Pakistani illegal workers were jailed by Shatin Magistrates’ Courts yesterday (September 19).
  
     During a joint operation conducted by the Immigration Department (ImmD) and the Hong Kong Police Force codenamed “Sahara” on April 23, enforcement officers raided a stall in Mong Kok. Two male Pakistani illegal workers, aged 32 and 46, were arrested. When intercepted, they were working as stall construction workers. Upon identity checking, they produced for inspection recognisance forms issued by the ImmD, which prohibit them from taking employment. Further investigation revealed that they were non-refoulement claimants.
 
     The two illegal workers were charged at Shatin Magistrates’ Courts yesterday with taking employment after landing in Hong Kong unlawfully and remaining in Hong Kong without the authority of the Director of Immigration or while being a person in respect of whom a removal order or deportation order was in force. After trial, they were sentenced to 22 months and two weeks’ imprisonment and 23 months’ imprisonment respectively.
 
     The ImmD spokesman warned that, as stipulated in section 38AA of the Immigration Ordinance, illegal immigrants or people who are the subject of a removal order or a deportation order are prohibited from taking any employment, whether paid or unpaid, or establishing or joining in any business. Offenders are liable upon conviction to a maximum fine of $50,000 and up to three years’ imprisonment. The Court of Appeal has issued a guideline ruling that a sentence of 15 months’ imprisonment should be applied in such cases.
      
     The spokesman reiterated that it is a serious offence to employ people who are not lawfully employable. The maximum penalty is imprisonment for three years and a fine of $350,000. The High Court has laid down sentencing guidelines that the employer of an illegal worker should be given an immediate custodial sentence. According to the court sentencing, employers must take all practicable steps to determine whether a person is lawfully employable prior to employment. Apart from inspecting a prospective employee’s identity card, the employer has the explicit duty to make enquiries regarding the person and ensure that the answers would not cast any reasonable doubt concerning the lawful employability of the person. The court will not accept failure to do so as a defence in proceedings. It is also an offence if an employer fails to inspect the job seeker’s valid travel document if the job seeker does not have a Hong Kong permanent identity card. The maximum penalty for failing to inspect such a document is imprisonment for one year and a fine of $150,000.
       
     Under the existing mechanism, the ImmD will, as a standard procedure, conduct initial screening of vulnerable persons, including illegal workers, illegal immigrants, sex workers and foreign domestic helpers, who are arrested during any operation with a view to ascertaining whether they are trafficking in persons (TIP) victims. When any TIP indicator is revealed in the initial screening, the officers will conduct a full debriefing and identification by using a standardised checklist to ascertain the presence of TIP elements, such as threat and coercion in the recruitment phase, and the nature of exploitation. Identified TIP victims will be provided with various forms of support and assistance, including urgent interference, medical services, counselling, shelter, temporary accommodation and other supporting services. The ImmD calls on TIP victims to report crimes to the relevant departments. read more