​The Government declared by notice in the Gazette today (May 13) the existence of a vacant elected seat in the Islands District Council Peng Chau and Hei Ling Chau Constituency.
The elected member, Ms Tsang Sau-ho Josephine, passed away on May 1, 2022. Pursuant to section 26(a) of the District Councils Ordinance (Cap. 547), her office has become vacant.
The Transport Department (TD) today (May 13) announced that the parking fees of 11 government public car parks under its management will continue to be frozen at their existing levels with effect from June 1 until early next year.
"In reviewing the parking fees, we have taken into account a number of factors, including the charges of nearby public car parks operated by the private sector, public acceptability and the utilisation of the government car parks, etc. Having considered the impact on the economy brought by the COVID-19 pandemic as well as the associated impact on the utilisation of the car parks, the TD has decided to maintain the parking fees at their existing levels," a spokesman for the TD said.
The 11 car parks are Kennedy Town Car Park, Rumsey Street Car Park, Star Ferry Car Park, City Hall Car Park, Tin Hau Car Park, Shau Kei Wan Car Park, Aberdeen Car Park, Sheung Fung Street Car Park, Wong Tai Sin Public Transport Terminus Car Park, Kwai Fong Car Park and Tsuen Wan Car Park. Details of the existing parking fees are available at TD's website (www.td.gov.hk/en/transport_in_hong_kong/parking/carparks).
The last parking fees adjustment of the TD's car parks was implemented on June 1, 2019.
The Government published the Occupational Safety and Occupational Health Legislation (Miscellaneous Amendments) Bill 2022 in the Gazette today (May 13).
The Bill seeks to amend the Factories and Industrial Undertakings Ordinance (Cap. 59) and the Occupational Safety and Health Ordinance (Cap. 509), as well as their subsidiary legislation, to increase the penalties for occupational safety and health (OSH) offences so as to enhance their deterrent effect for better protection of workers' OSH.
A spokesman for the Labour Department (LD) said, "Although the overall OSH situation of Hong Kong has been improving over the years, the improvement trend has tapered in recent years. The number of fatal industrial accidents has been hovering at some 20 cases per year for the past decade with no sign of going down. One of the major reasons is that the sentences of OSH offences are generally on the low side, which fails to pose sufficient deterrence. In the 2017 Policy Address, the Government made a commitment to review the maximum penalties of the relevant OSH legislation. After several rounds of extensive consultation and thorough consideration of views and comments received, we have stricken a balance between the interest of the employer and employee sides, and formulated the final amendment proposal. The Government has completed the drafting of the Bill and will introduce it into the Legislative Council for scrutiny on May 25."
The Bill proposes to make offences under the general duty (GD) provisions for employers, proprietors and occupiers of premises (employer GD provisions) of the relevant legislation triable as indictable offences so that extremely serious OSH offences can be tried at higher levels of court. The maximum fines and imprisonment terms of such extremely serious offences are proposed to be pitched at $10 million and two years respectively. The Bill also proposes to require the courts to take into account the turnover of the convicted entities in determining the levels of fines.
In addition, the Bill also proposes to amend the above ordinances and their subsidiary legislation as follows:
(i) increase the maximum fines for employer GD provisions prosecuted summarily and employee GD provisions to $3 million and $150,000 respectively;
(ii) adjust the maximum fines for other summary offences and set the maximum fine levels for employer-related offences at $25,000, $100,000 and $400,000 respectively according to their seriousness, and at $10,000, $50,000 and $150,000 respectively for employee-related offences; and
(iii) extend the time limit for prosecution for offences triable summarily from six months to one year so as to allow sufficient time for the LD to conduct more in-depth investigations into serious cases and to provide the courts with sufficient evidence for considering whether to impose immediate imprisonment penalty upon convicted persons.
"Upon enactment of the amendment bill, it will come into operation once published in the Gazette," the spokesman added.
A Government spokesman announced today (May 13) that the supply of fresh food from the Mainland yesterday (May 12) was sufficient and stable.
​According to the latest information, the quantity of vegetables supplied from the Mainland to Hong Kong yesterday (as of midnight) by land and water transportation was over 2 300 tonnes, comparable to the average daily supply from the Mainland on a normal day. The volume of vegetables supplied from the Mainland to Hong Kong sold through the wholesale markets of the Agriculture, Fisheries and Conservation Department (AFCD) and the Vegetable Marketing Organization was about 758 tonnes. The average wholesale prices of choi sum and pak choi stood at $5.30 and $4.00 per catty respectively yesterday, lower than their average daily wholesale prices last year. The supply of eggs to the wholesale market remained steady, with the average daily supply standing at about 3.4 million for the past week, comparable to the average daily supply on a normal day last year.
The total supply of chilled meat from the Mainland yesterday was over 33 tonnes. The supply of live pigs was plentiful.
The supply of chilled poultry from the Mainland was about 140 000 head yesterday, and over 11 000 live chickens were slaughtered locally. The supply was abundant.
Regarding the rice supply, in compliance with the requirement by the Government, stockholders of rice have to maintain the reserve stock of rice at a level sufficient for consumption by the local population for 15 days. The trade generally stocks double the required amount, which is sufficient for one month's consumption by Hong Kong citizens. In recent years, the import and consumption of rice in Hong Kong has stood at a steady level of around 320 000 to 330 000 tonnes per year. The import quantity (including reserve stock) as of end-March 2022 was 27 300 tonnes. Suppliers also maintain a reserve for food that can be stored, such as frozen meat, for around three months' stock generally.
The Government will continue to maintain close liaison with the Mainland authorities and major food suppliers to ensure a stable food supply.
The AFCD updates and publishes the fresh food supply information daily. Members of the public may visit the AFCD website for updates on daily supplies and wholesale prices of fresh food (www.afcd.gov.hk/english/agriculture/agr_fresh/agr_fresh.html).
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Here is an item of interest to swimmers.
The Leisure and Cultural Services Department announced today (May 13) that Butterfly Beach in Tuen Mun District is temporarily closed until further notice for maintenance of shark prevention net. Red flag has been hoisted at the beach. Beachgoers are advised not to swim at the beach.