Hong Kong Customs on October 25 detected a dangerous drugs internal concealment case involving a passenger at Hong Kong International Airport and seized about 570 grams of suspected cocaine with an estimated market value of about $600,000. 
      
     A female passenger, aged 53, arrived in Hong Kong from Bogata, Colombia via Paris, France, on that day. During customs clearance, Customs officers found her to be suspicious and suspected that she had dangerous drugs concealed inside her body cavity. She was then escorted to the hospital for examination.
      
     Upon examination, the woman was confirmed by a doctor to have a foreign object concealed inside her body cavity. She was arrested immediately. The arrested woman has excreted a pellet of suspected cocaine weighing about 570g.
      
     A holding charge with one count of trafficking in a dangerous drug has been laid against the arrested woman. The case will be brought up at the West Kowloon Magistrates' Courts tomorrow (October 28).
      
     Following the resumption of normal travel and exchanges with the Mainland and other parts of the world, the number of visitors to Hong Kong has also been increasing steadily. Customs will continue to apply a risk assessment approach and focus on selecting passengers from high-risk regions for clearance to combat transnational drug trafficking activities.
      
     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) or online form (eform.cefs.gov.hk/form/ced002).

  

     In response to the Japanese Government's plan to discharge nuclear-contaminated water at the Fukushima Nuclear Power Station, the Director of Food and Environmental Hygiene issued a Food Safety Order which prohibits all aquatic products, sea salt and seaweeds originating from the 10 metropolis/prefectures, namely Tokyo, Fukushima, Ibaraki, Miyagi, Chiba, Gunma, Tochigi, Niigata, Nagano and Saitama, from being imported into and supplied in Hong Kong.
 
     For other Japanese aquatic products, sea salt, and seaweeds that are not prohibited from being imported into Hong Kong, the Centre for Food Safety (CFS) of the Food and Environmental Hygiene Department will conduct comprehensive radiological tests to verify that the radiation levels of these products do not exceed the guideline levels before they are allowed to be supplied in the market.
 
     As the discharge of nuclear-contaminated water is unprecedented and will continue for 30 years or more, the Government will closely monitor and step up the testing arrangements. Should anomalies be detected, the Government does not preclude further tightening the scope of the import ban.
 
     From noon on October 26 to noon today (October 27), the CFS conducted tests on the radiological levels of 147 food samples imported from Japan, which were of the "aquatic and related products, seaweeds and sea salt" category. No sample was found to have exceeded the safety limit. Details can be found on the CFS's thematic website titled "Control Measures on Foods Imported from Japan" (www.cfs.gov.hk/english/programme/programme_rafs/programme_rafs_fc_01_30_Nuclear_Event_and_Food_Safety.html).
 
     In parallel, the Agriculture, Fisheries and Conservation Department (AFCD) has also tested 50 samples of local catch for radiological levels. All the samples passed the tests. Details can be found on the AFCD's website (www.afcd.gov.hk/english/fisheries/Radiological_testing/Radiological_Test.html).
 
     The Hong Kong Observatory (HKO) has also enhanced the environmental monitoring of the local waters. No anomaly has been detected so far. For details, please refer to the HKO's website (www.hko.gov.hk/en/radiation/monitoring/seawater.html).
 
     From August 24 to noon today, the CFS and the AFCD have conducted tests on the radiological levels of 10 701 samples of food imported from Japan (including 7 068 samples of aquatic and related products, seaweeds and sea salt) and 3 158 samples of local catch respectively. All the samples passed the tests.

Police will implement special traffic arrangements at Lan Kwai Fong, Central from October 31 (Tuesday) to November 1 (Wednesday) to facilitate the public celebrating Halloween.

Road closure
——————-
 
     The following roads will be closed from 2pm on October 31 to 5am on November 1:

– D’Aguilar Street between Wyndham Street and Wellington Street;
– Lan Kwai Fong;
– Wing Wah Lane;
– Wo On Lane;
– Wellington Street between Wyndham Street and D’Aguilar Street; and
– On Lan Street.

     Depending on the crowd situation, the following roads may be closed:

– Stanley Street between D’Aguilar Street and Cochrane Street;
– Wyndham Street between Glenealy and Queen’s Road Central;
– D’Aguilar Street between Queen’s Road Central and Wellington Street;
– Wellington Street between D’Aguilar Street and Cochrane Street;
– Cochrane Street between Wellington Street and Stanley Street;
– Lyndhurst Terrace; and
– Queen’s Road Central between Pedder Street and Pottinger Street.

     After completion of traffic diversion, crowds will be directed to queue up along Queen’s Road Central, D’Aguilar Street, Stanley Street, Cochrane Street and Wellington Street. The whole section of D’Aguilar Street will be closed.

Suspension of parking spaces
——————————————-

     All on-street parking spaces on the following streets will be suspended from 1pm on October 31 to 5am on November 1:

– Stanley Street near D’Aguilar Street;
– On Lan Street; and
– Wyndham Street between Arbuthnot Road and D’Aguilar Street.

     All vehicles found illegally parked within the precinct will be towed away without prior notice, and may subject to multiple ticketing.

     Actual implementation of the traffic arrangements will be made depending on traffic and crowd conditions in the area. Motorists are advised to exercise tolerance and patience and take heed of instructions of the Police on site.

     The Secretary for Culture, Sports and Tourism, Mr Kevin Yeung, today (October 27) congratulated Chu Man-kai on winning a gold medal in Badminton Men's Singles – SH6 for the Hong Kong, China Delegation at the 4th Asian Para Games Hangzhou. Chu and Wong Chun-yim also won a silver medal in Badminton Men's Doubles – SH6.

     Mr Yeung said, "The Hong Kong, China Delegation kept up their momentum and claimed another gold medal. With their all-out effort, Chu and Wong displayed their strength and passion for the sport on the court, demonstrating the demeanour of great athletes. We are so proud of them."
 

     The Hong Kong Visual Arts Centre of the Art Promotion Office is staging the "Art Specialist Course 2022-23 Graduation Exhibition", which started yesterday (October 26) to November 6, to showcase creative achievements by 20 graduates this year.
      
     The theme of the graduation exhibition this year is "Infinity", where students were required to explore how to present and extend the concept of infinity through visual arts. All the students made use of the skills they had acquired in their courses, "Ink Art" and "Pictorial Art" over the past year and unleashed their creativity. They used flowing brushstrokes and colour combinations to outline their unique visual realms.
      
     The Hong Kong Visual Arts Centre has organised the Art Specialist Course since 2001 with the objective of raising the public's interest in art creation and appreciation. The new round of the Art Specialist Course and Art Advanced Course (2023-24) are now open for application. The course content includes "Ceramics", "Landscapes, Flowers and Birds", "Ink Art" and "Pictorial Art". The application will be closed on November 24. For details about course application and the exhibition, please call 2521 3008 or visit the Hong Kong Visual Arts Centre website www.apo.hk/en/web/apo/va_cademy_2023_24.html.
      
     The Hong Kong Visual Arts Centre is located at 7A Kennedy Road, Central. Admission to the exhibition is free.