In connection with a murder and wounding case happened in Yuen Long on January 22, Police further arrested a 27-year-old man, a 24-year-old man and a 36-year-old man for murder and wounding with intent, and a 35-year-old man for assisting offenders in Yau Ma Tei yesterday (March 30).

     In the murder and wounding case, a 24-year-old man died and a 28-year-old man was injured.

     The 27-year-old man, the 24-year-old man and the 36-year-old man have been laid holding charges of one count of murder and one count of wounding with intent respectively; while the 35-year-old man has been laid a holding charge of one count of assisting offenders. The case will be mentioned at Fanling Magistrates’ Courts tomorrow morning (April 1).

     Police had arrested another 14 men and two women, aged between 18 and 42, in suspected connection with the case earlier, for offences such as murder, wounding, assisting offenders and trafficking in dangerous drug.

     For the ten men who had been charged earlier, the case was mentioned at Tuen Mun Magistrates’ Courts and Fanling Magistrates’ Courts on January 25 and 27, February 18 and March 29 respectively. The other four men and two women were released on bail and are required to report back to Police in late April.

     Active investigation by the Regional Crime Unit of New Territories North is under way. Anyone who witnessed the case or has any information to offer is urged to contact the investigating officers on 3661 3356.

     The Health Bureau announced today (March 31) the extension of the Pilot Scheme for Supporting Patients of the Hospital Authority in the Guangdong-Hong Kong-Macao Greater Bay Area (Pilot Scheme) for one year till March 31 next year, with a view to enabling eligible patients of the Hospital Authority (HA) to choose to receive subsidised consultation services at the designated collaborating healthcare institution in the Guangdong-Hong Kong-Macao Greater Bay Area (GBA). The Scheme aims to provide Hong Kong people with more choices when receiving HA's services, and is currently applicable to the University of Hong Kong-Shenzhen Hospital (HKU-SZH). The Government and the HA will evaluate the effectiveness and scope of services of the Pilot Scheme each year and make necessary adjustments in a timely manner.

     From May 10, 2023 until the end February this year, a total of 5 100 eligible patients have participated in the Pilot Scheme, with over 60 per cent being elderly aged 65 or above. According to a patient survey conducted by the HKU-SZH in the end of last year, about 90 per cent of the respondents found its services satisfactory.

     To provide more targeted healthcare support to patients, the Pilot Scheme will be enhanced. With effect from tomorrow (April 1), for eligible patients participating in the Pilot Scheme to utilise the subsidy under the Pilot Scheme, they are required to attend consultations at the service departments of the HKU-SZH that correspond with the HA's out-patient service categories for which they have follow-up appointments.

     Moreover, building on the Pilot Scheme and targeting at specific HA services, the Government is exploring the introduction of more healthcare choices of receiving services in the GBA for patients with follow-up appointments in the HA. Relevant measures will be rolled out once ready.

     The Secretary for Health, Professor Lo Chung-mau, said, "The Government has long been taking forward collaborations on medical and health aspects in the GBA in accordance with the principles of complementarity and mutual benefits. The HA will continue to explore more in-depth healthcare collaborations with suitable organisations and enhance the efficiency of public healthcare services with a view to shortening patients' waiting time."

     Apart from the above enhancement measure, other arrangements of the Pilot Scheme upon extension will remain largely the same as those at present. Eligible patients will be required to pay on their own a consultation fee of RMB100 for each consultation received at the designated out-patient clinic of the HKU-SZH (except for specified persons whose medical fees would be waived upon verification by the HA). Such consultation fee payable by eligible patients will be adjusted on January 1 next year in accordance with the specialist out-patient consultation fee as set under the fees and charges reform for public healthcare. The Government will announce the details in due course. The remaining consultation fee will be subsidised by the Pilot Scheme, subject to a cap of RMB2,000. The validity period of the relevant subsidy is from tomorrow to March 31 next year.

     Meanwhile, the scope of subsidised consultation services under the Pilot Scheme will continue to cover out-patient services provided by the HA, namely anaesthesiology (pain clinic only); cardiothoracic surgery; clinical oncology; ear, nose and throat; eye; gynaecology; internal medicine; neurosurgery; obstetrics; orthopaedics and traumatology (orthopaedics); paediatrics; surgery; and general out-patient services. Episodic illnesses, inpatient or day inpatient, as well as Accident and Emergency services are not included under the scope of subsidised consultation services. Eligible patients are required to attend at the service departments of the HKU-SZH that correspond with the HA's out-patient service categories for which they have medical follow-up to receive subsidised consultation services.

     The subsidy for existing patients under the Pilot Scheme will expire today. Eligible patients who wish to continue participating in the Pilot Scheme may make appointments through the existing channels whereby the HKU-SZH will make appointments at the departments that correspond with the HA's out-patient service categories for which they have follow-up appointments. They should also complete the declaration to confirm continued participation at the HKU-SZH before receiving any subsidised consultation services. For patients who wish to cease participation in the Pilot Scheme and return to Hong Kong for follow-up consultations at the out-patient clinics of the HA, they may approach the HKU-SZH and the hospital will make referral for them to arrange follow-up appointments at the corresponding out-patient clinics of the HA according to their clinical needs.

     As for eligible patients who have not participated in the Pilot Scheme before or those who have joined the Scheme but need to have their personal information updated, they may submit their application to the HKU-SZH from tomorrow onwards.

     Details will be uploaded to the websites of the HA and the HKU-SZH later for public reference. For enquiries, citizens may also call the HA (Tel. No.: 2300 7070; Service Hours: 9am – 6pm, Mondays to Fridays, except public holidays) or the HKU-SZH (Tel. No.: (+86) 0755-86913101; Service Hours: 8am – 12.30pm and 2pm – 5.30pm, Mondays to Fridays, except public holidays).

     The Development Bureau invited the market to submit expressions of interest (EOI) for the three pilot areas of large-scale land disposal in Hung Shui Kiu/Ha Tsuen New Development Area, Fanling North New Development Area and San Tin Technopole on December 31, 2024. The invitation for the EOI closed today (March 31), and a total of 22 submissions have been received.

     The spokesperson said, "The enterprises/organisations making the submissions include local and Mainland developers, contractors, conglomerates and e-commerce logistic company, etc. We will immediately consolidate and analyse the collected feedbacks to determine the area, development parameters, works requirements and financial arrangements etc for the pilot areas, in order to finalise the tender details and conditions later."

     The spokesperson added, "As the feedbacks involve commercially sensitive information from individual enterprises, they will not be disclosed. However, relevant views will be duly reflected in the tender conditions in due course as appropriate."

     Large-scale land disposal is one of the innovative and diversified development approaches in the Northern Metropolis. Under this approach, the Government will identify sizeable parcels of land, including those with commercial value and public facilities, for integrated development by successful tenderers. This aims to better leverage market forces to expedite the development of the Northern Metropolis while reducing the Government's financial outlay. The Development Bureau will take forward the three pilot areas in full steam, with a view to commencing the tendering work progressively from the second half of this year to next year.

     The Social Welfare Department (SWD) today (March 31) held the Kick-off Ceremony themed "Act Together for a Caring Community" to announce the extension of the District Services and Community Care Teams – Scheme on Supporting Elderly and Carers to all 18 districts for a period of 12 months starting from tomorrow (April 1) to provide support and care to elderly persons and carers in need.

​     Addressing the ceremony, the Deputy Chief Secretary for Administration, Mr Cheuk Wing-hing, said that all 452 Care Teams across the territory will help identify elderly persons and carers in need through visits and contacts in the coming 12 months. Apart from sending them care and providing assistance to ensure elderly persons and carers feel the warmth and support from the community, the Care Teams will also refer those in need to social welfare service units for suitable support.

​     He said that with the extension of the Scheme to 18 districts the Care Teams are expected to reach over 60 000 households in need. He hoped that members of the Care Teams would go beyond serving as care ambassadors in the community by strengthening collaboration with other stakeholders. In addition to encouraging carers to use the Designated Hotline for Carer Support 182 183 and the Information Gateway for Carers (carers.hk), Care Teams will also enhance communications with the Designated Hotline for Carer Support to arrange visits or contacts for the carers in need.

​     At the ceremony, Mr Cheuk presented certificates of appointment to the Care Teams of 18 districts. Accompanied by the Secretary for Labour and Welfare, Mr Chris Sun; the Permanent Secretary for Labour and Welfare, Ms Alice Lau; and the Director of Social Welfare, Mr Edward To, he also presided at a pledging ceremony to start the extension of the Scheme.

​     Immediately after the ceremony, the Care Teams of Yau Tsim Mong and Sham Shui Po Districts conducted home visits in the two Districts with the respective District Officers and District Social Welfare Officers to introduce welfare services to households and encourage them to seek help whenever necessary.

​     The SWD will arrange trainings for the Care Teams, covering communication skills, information on local social welfare services and referral procedures. The SWD will also maintain close communication with the Care Teams in various subdistricts and provide assistance to ensure a smooth implementation of the Scheme.

​     Piloted in Tsuen Wan and Southern Districts in the first quarter of 2024 to identify singleton/doubleton elderly persons and carers of elders persons/persons with disabilities in need through visits or contacts by the Care Teams, the Scheme has made great achievements. By the end of February this year, 36 Care Teams in the two Districts had visited or contacted over 7 200 singleton/doubleton elderly persons and carers of elderly persons/persons with disabilities, making over 1 200 referrals for welfare services, including elderly services, services for persons with disabilities, mental health services, family services and financial assistance. Moreover, more than 300 elderly persons and persons with disabilities received subsidies for the installation of emergency alarm systems through referrals made by the Care Teams.

            

     â€‹To implement the measures on sports promotion in the community as announced in the 2024 Policy Address and further support new sports, the Leisure and Cultural Services Department (LCSD) will conduct a series of new sports programmes this year to encourage wider public participation.

     Starting from May, the LCSD will organise fun days for new sports, covering dodgeball, kin-ball, pickleball and tchoukball. Qualified instructors from sports organisations will provide sports demonstrations and teach participants the basic skills of the new sports. Participants can also enjoy various fun-filled activities. Interested members of the public are welcome to join.

     The fun days will be open for application from tomorrow (April 1), free of charge. Details are available at the LCSD's dedicated website (www.lcsd.gov.hk/en/nsp/index.html).