The Government announced today (July 17) the appointment of a new member, Mr Eugene Fung Ting-sek, and the re-appointment of four incumbent members, namely Mr Paul Lam Ting-kwok, Mr Peter Sit Kien-ping, Ms Miranda Kwok Pui-fong and Professor Leung Siu-fai, to the Air Transport Licensing Authority for two years from August 1, 2020.
      
     The Secretary for Transport and Housing, Mr Frank Chan Fan, said, "We are confident that the team of new and serving members, with their expertise and backgrounds in different sectors, will make valuable contributions to the work of the Authority in facilitating the development of air services in Hong Kong.
      
     "The Government is most grateful to the retiring member, Mr Andrew Mak Yip-shing, for his invaluable contribution during his six years with the Authority. His current term of service will expire on July 31, 2020."
      
     The Authority is an independent statutory body established under the Air Transport (Licensing of Air Services) Regulations, Cap. 448 sub. leg. A. It is responsible for considering applications from airlines of Hong Kong for licences to operate scheduled services to and from Hong Kong in accordance with the provisions of the said regulations.

     The appointments have been published in the Government Gazette today.

     The Government announced today (July 17) the following senior appointments:

(a) Mrs Ingrid Yeung Ho Poi-yan, Permanent Secretary for Education, will take up the post of Permanent Secretary for the Civil Service on August 7, 2020. She will succeed Mr Thomas Chow Tat-ming, who has commenced his pre-retirement leave;
 
(b) Ms Michelle Li Mei-sheung, Permanent Secretary for Financial Services and the Treasury (Financial Services), will take up the post of Permanent Secretary for Education on August 7, 2020;  
 
(c) Ms Salina Yan Mei-mei, Director-General of Trade and Industry, will take up the post of Permanent Secretary for Financial Services and the Treasury (Financial Services) on August 10, 2020; and
 
(d) Ms Mable Chan, Commissioner for Transport, will take up the post of Permanent Secretary for Transport and Housing (Transport) on August 1, 2020. She will succeed Mr Joseph Lai Yee-tak, who will commence his pre-retirement leave.
 
     The Secretary for the Civil Service, Mr Patrick Nip, said, "The four appointees are seasoned Administrative Officers with proven leadership and management skills. I have every confidence that they will serve the community with professionalism in their new capacities."
            
     On the retirement of the former Permanent Secretary for the Civil Service, Mr Thomas Chow Tat-ming, Mr Nip said, "Mr Chow has rendered 35 years of loyal and dedicated service to the community of Hong Kong. As Permanent Secretary for the Civil Service, he demonstrated the highest integrity and maintained the balance between catering for the well-being of civil servants and meeting the wider needs of the community. With a strong commitment to serve, he led by example in enhancing the professionalism of the civil service to provide efficient and quality services to the public. I wish him a fulfilling and happy retirement."
 
     Speaking on the retirement of Mr Lai, Mr Nip said, "Mr Lai has served with professionalism in the civil service over the past 36 years. As Permanent Secretary for Transport and Housing (Transport), he gave the Secretary for Transport and Housing staunch support on issues relating to aviation, maritime, railway, highway and infrastructure developments. Under his leadership, a number of mega transport infrastructure projects were commissioned, including the Hong Kong-Zhuhai-Macao Bridge, the Hong Kong Section of the Guangzhou-Shenzhen-Hong Kong Express Rail Link, and the Central-Wan Chai Bypass and Island Eastern Corridor Link. I wish him a fulfilling and happy retirement."
 
     Brief biographical notes of the six officers are set out below: 
          
Mr Thomas Chow Tat-ming
——————————
          
     Mr Chow joined the Administrative Service in December 1984 and rose to the rank of Administrative Officer Staff Grade A1 in April 2011. He has served in various bureaux and departments, including the former City and New Territories Administration, the Social Welfare Department, the former General Duties Branch, the former Monetary Affairs Branch, the former Government House, the Financial Secretary's Office, the former Transport Bureau, the former Environment and Food Bureau and the former Environment, Transport and Works Bureau. He was Director of Leisure and Cultural Services from August 2006 to August 2009, Permanent Secretary for Development (Planning and Lands) from August 2009 to August 2015 and Permanent Secretary for the Civil Service from September 2015 to June 2020.
 
Mr Joseph Lai Yee-tak
————————-
 
     Mr Lai joined the Administrative Service in August 1983 and rose to the rank of Administrative Officer Staff Grade A1 in April 2014. He has served in various bureaux and departments, including the former Home Affairs Branch, the former Trade and Industry Branch, the Lands Department, the former Finance Branch, the former City and New Territories Administration, the former Economic Services Branch, the former Constitutional Affairs Branch, the former Education and Manpower Bureau, the Trade and Industry Department and the former Constitutional Affairs Bureau. He was Director-General of Trade and Industry from January 2007 to August 2009, Commissioner for Transport from August 2009 to May 2012 and has been serving as Permanent Secretary for Transport and Housing (Transport) since May 2012.
 
Mrs Ingrid Yeung Ho Poi-yan
——————————–

     Mrs Yeung joined the Government in June 1986 as an Executive Officer. She later joined the Administrative Service in June 1988 and rose to the rank of Administrative Officer Staff Grade A1 in April 2019. She has served in various bureaux and departments, including the former City and New Territories Administration, the former Constitutional Affairs Branch, the Department of Health, the former Security Branch, the Home Affairs Department, the former Environment and Food Bureau and the former Health, Welfare and Food Bureau. She was Deputy Secretary for the Civil Service from October 2008 to October 2012, Commissioner for Transport from October 2012 to July 2017 and has been serving as Permanent Secretary for Education since July 2017.
 
Ms Michelle Li Mei-sheung
——————————

     Ms Li joined the Administrative Service in September 1988 and rose to the rank of Administrative Officer Staff Grade A in April 2016. She has served in various bureaux and departments, including the Transport Department, the former City and New Territories Administration, the former Finance Branch, the former Central Policy Unit, the former Education and Manpower Branch, the Chief Secretary for Administration's Office, the Home Affairs Department, the Home Affairs Bureau and the Joint Secretariat for the Advisory Bodies on Civil Service and Judicial Salaries and Conditions of Service. She served as Deputy Secretary for Education from September 2009 to July 2014, Director of Leisure and Cultural Services from July 2014 to September 2019 and has been serving as Permanent Secretary for Financial Services and the Treasury (Financial Services) since September 2019.
 
Ms Salina Yan Mei-mei
————————–
 
     Ms Yan joined the Administrative Service in July 1988 and rose to the rank of Administrative Officer Staff Grade A in April 2018. She has served in various bureaux and departments, including the former City and New Territories Administration, the former Transport Branch, the former Trade Department, the former Chief Secretary's Office, the former Trade and Industry Branch, the former Financial Services Bureau, the former Economic Development and Labour Bureau, the former Health, Welfare and Food Bureau and the Hong Kong Economic and Trade Office in Geneva. She was Deputy Secretary for Home Affairs from October 2009 to September 2011, Deputy Secretary for Financial Services and the Treasury (Financial Services) from October 2011 to August 2016 and has been serving as Director-General of Trade and Industry since August 2016.
 
Ms Mable Chan
—————–
 
     Ms Chan joined the Administrative Service in July 1989 and rose to the rank of Administrative Officer Staff Grade A in April 2019. She has served in various bureaux and departments, including the former City and New Territories Administration, the former Planning, Environment and Lands Branch, the former New Airport Projects Co-ordination Office, the former Chief Secretary's Office, the Chief Secretary for Administration's Office, the former Constitutional Affairs Bureau, the former Housing, Planning and Lands Bureau, the former Education and Manpower Bureau and the Education Bureau. She was Deputy Secretary for Financial Services and the Treasury (Treasury) from July 2012 to July 2016, Deputy Secretary for Financial Services and the Treasury (Financial Services) from August 2016 to October 2017 and has been serving as Commissioner for Transport since October 2017.

            

     A 63-year-old man was sentenced to immediate imprisonment for three weeks by the Kwun Tong Magistrates' Courts today (July 17) for violating the Compulsory Quarantine of Certain Persons Arriving at Hong Kong Regulation (Cap 599C).

    The man was earlier issued a compulsory quarantine order stating that he must conduct quarantine at home for 14 days.  Before the expiry of the quarantine order, he left the place of quarantine without reasonable excuse nor permission given by an authorised officer and was stopped by staff of the Immigration Department at the Hong Kong-Zhuhai-Macao Bridge Control Point on June 3. He was charged with contravening sections 8(4) and 8(5) of the Regulation and was sentenced by the Kwun Tong Magistrates' Courts today to immediate imprisonment for three weeks.
 
     Pursuant to the Regulation, save for exempted persons, all persons who have stayed in the Mainland, Macao or Taiwan in the 14 days preceding arrival in Hong Kong, regardless of their nationality or travel documents, will be subject to compulsory quarantine for 14 days. Moreover, pursuant to the Compulsory Quarantine of Persons Arriving at Hong Kong from Foreign Places Regulation (Cap 599E), starting from March 19, all persons arriving from countries or territories outside China would also be subject to compulsory quarantine for 14 days. Breaching a quarantine order is a criminal offence and offenders are subject to a maximum fine of $25,000 and imprisonment for six months. The Department of Health (DH) solemnly reminds persons under quarantine to comply with the statutory requirements and conduct quarantine for 14 days.

     A spokesman for the DH said the sentence sends a clear message to the community that breaching the Regulation is a criminal offence and that the Government will not tolerate such actions. As of today, a total of 34 persons have been convicted by the courts with imprisonment sentences of up to three months or a fine of $10,000. The spokesman reiterated that resolute actions will be taken against anyone who has breached the Regulation.
 

     A man was fined $30,000 at the Tuen Mun Magistrates' Courts today (July 17) for contravening the Hotel and Guesthouse Accommodation Ordinance.
           
     The courts heard that in October last year, officers of the Office of the Licensing Authority (OLA), the Home Affairs Department, inspected a suspected unlicensed guesthouse on Castle Peak Road – Yuen Long Section. During the inspection, the OLA officers posed as lodgers and successfully rented a room in the guesthouse on an hourly basis.
           
     According to the OLA's records, the guesthouse did not possess a licence under the Ordinance on the day of inspection. The man responsible for managing the premises was charged with contravening section 5(1) of the Ordinance.
           
     A department spokesman stressed that operating or managing an unlicensed guesthouse is a criminal offence and can lead to a criminal record. Upon conviction, the offender is liable to a maximum fine of $200,000 and two years' imprisonment.
                
     The spokesman appealed to anyone with information about suspected unlicensed guesthouses to report it to the OLA through the hotline (Tel: 2881 7498), by email (hadlaenq@had.gov.hk), by fax (2504 5805) using the report form downloaded from the OLA website (www.hadla.gov.hk), or through the mobile application "Hong Kong Licensed Hotels and Guesthouses".

     The Centre for Food Safety (CFS) of the Food and Environmental Hygiene Department today (July 17) announced the results of a recently completed targeted food surveillance project on Bacillus cereus and Clostridium perfringens in ready-to-eat food. None of the samples taken were found to be unsatisfactory, according to the Microbiological Guidelines for Food.
 
     "A total of 300 samples of ready-to-eat food were collected from different retail outlets including online retailers and food factories for testing of Bacillus cereus and Clostridium perfringens this year. The samples included dim sum, rice, noodles, pastries, soya products, stewed meat and meat sauce," a spokesman for the CFS said.
 
     Bacillus cereus is commonly found in the environment. It can form spores which are able to resist heat and survive cooking temperatures. Bacillus cereus can produce different toxins causing two types of food poisoning, with emetic intoxication (causing vomiting) being caused by heat-stable toxins in food, and diarrhoeal being caused by ingestion of a large amount of Bacillus cereus that can produce toxins in the intestine. As the production of preserved bean curd requires fermentation, Bacillus cereus will multiply when production is not hygienic or storage is not proper.
 
     Cooking heat can activate the germination of Clostridium perfringens spores, which survive in anaerobic conditions like inside internal cavities, rolls of meat, stuffed poultry, or gravies. The organism can then multiply in the area where the oxygen level is low. Cooling of food at ambient temperature for a long period also allows rapid multiplication of the bacterium. Hence, foods prepared in bulk, especially cooked meat, poultry dishes and juices, which are stored at ambient temperatures with a long cooling period after cooking are at high risk. In food poisoning caused by Clostridium perfringens, common symptoms include sudden abdominal pain, nausea and diarrhoea.
 
     The spokesman reminded the trade and the public not to take the risk lightly. They should always maintain good personal and food hygiene to ensure food safety. When handling food that is not to be consumed immediately, keep it at a safe temperature (above 60 degrees Celsius or at 4 degrees C or below). Consume perishable prepackaged food and beverages promptly after opening or reheating and avoid prolonged storage at ambient temperatures. Reheat food thoroughly with the core temperature at 75 degrees C or above. If cooked foods are to be cooled, the trade should adopt measures to shorten the required cooling time to restrict the growth of Bacillus cereus and Clostridium perfringens in heat treated food. For example, install specific rapid chilling equipment, divide food into smaller portions and place it in shallow containers and in an ice bath. They should also closely monitor the refrigerator temperature and maintain a temperature log. Cross-contamination of food during cooling and storage should be prevented. The trade should also observe the Good Hygienic Practices in each stage of production to ensure safe and proper processing of the food and to comply with the limits stipulated in the Microbiological Guidelines for Food.