The Government announced today (June 5) that the Working Family and Student Financial Assistance Agency (WFSFAA) will start disbursing a one-off special allowance under the Anti-epidemic Fund (AEF) to eligible Working Family Allowance (WFA) households and Student Financial Assistance (SFA) households from June 9 to support low-income households under the deteriorating economic and employment conditions as a result of the coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) epidemic. Applications are not required.

     This arrangement is to relax the proposal of providing time-limited cash allowance to the unemployed and the under-employed as announced by the Chief Executive in January. Compared with the original proposal, each eligible WFA and SFA household will receive a one-off special allowance, regardless of whether these low-income households are unemployed or under-employed.

     For WFA households, a household which has submitted an application (and eventually approved) from April 1, 2019, to February 21, 2020, (i.e. the day on which the AEF funding proposal was approved by the Finance Committee of Legislative Council) will receive a special allowance equivalent to two months of WFA payment based on the highest monthly amount it received in its most recently submitted and approved application during the above period. Households receiving means-tested SFA for pre-primary, primary and secondary students in the 2019/20 academic year will receive a special allowance of $4,640. For households eligible for the special allowance under both the WFA and the SFA, the amount payable will be the higher amount of the above two cases.

     The WFSFAA estimated that about 58 000 WFA households and about 145 000 SFA households would benefit from this special allowance.

     The WFSFAA will disburse the special allowance based on the existing payment methods for the WFA or the SFA. Households are not required to make separate applications. After disbursement, the WFSFAA will inform the households concerned by short message service (SMS) or letters.

     For enquiries, WFA households may call the hotline (2558 3000) or visit the website (www.wfsfaa.gov.hk/wfao) of the Working Family Allowance Office under the WFSFAA. SFA households may call the hotline (2802 2345) or visit the website (www.wfsfaa.gov.hk/sfo) of the Student Finance Office under the WFSFAA.

The following is issued on behalf of the Environment and Conservation Fund:

     The Environment and Conservation Fund (ECF) launched ECFriends Facebook and Instagram fanpages on World Environment Day today (June 5) in order to strengthen communication with the community and beneficiaries through social media platforms.

     The ECF has been providing funding to local non-profit-making organisations, including universities, schools, community bodies and green groups to support green projects and initiatives, which are categorised by nature, namely the Environmental Education and Community Action Projects, Community Waste Reduction Projects, Environmental Research, Technology Demonstration and Conference Projects and Nature Conservation Management Agreement Projects. Since its establishment, the ECF has provided funding support to more than 5 500 projects and activities in relation to environmental and conservation matters. 

     The ECFriends fanpages aim at promoting ECF-funded projects, offering a platform for ECF beneficiaries to publicise and disseminate information about their projects and enable knowledge exchanges and collaboration among beneficiaries. Members of the public are also welcome to interact with the ECF as well as its beneficiaries through following the fanpages and joining exclusive activities for ECFriends. The fanpages will also share green messages and successful stories of funded projects to enable members of the public to have a better understanding about the work of the ECF and its beneficiaries, and enhance their environmental awareness.

     A concerted effort is required to fight the virus and support a green recovery. Through sharing among ECFriends, it is hoped that the rehabilitation process of Hong Kong could be bolstered by combining the essence of environment and conservation with an aim of achieving a sustainable future.

     The ECF would like to invite members of the public to browse, like, follow and share information on the fanpages through the links (www.facebook.com/ECF1994 and www.instagram.com/ECF1994) or scan the QR codes in the Annex. Come and help contribute to the environment and conservation of Hong Kong.

     The Electrical and Mechanical Services Department (EMSD) today (June 5) announced that the department tested 88 water samples collected from cooling towers in 46 buildings in its routine inspections in May this year. One sample was detected to have a total legionella count at or above the upper threshold, which is 1 000 colony-forming units per millilitre. The latest statistics are set out in Annex 1.

     The cooling tower in which the one sample was collected in May is located at Tung Tak Centre, 25-27 Lam Tin Street, Kwai Chung. The EMSD has issued nuisance notice under the Public Health and Municipal Services Ordinance to the owner of the cooling tower requiring appropriate disinfection work to be done. Disinfection of the cooling tower in the case has already been completed by the owner. Details of the case can be found in Annex 2. The EMSD publishes the latest statistics of the above information on a half-monthly basis on its website (www.emsd.gov.hk/en/other_regulatory_services/cooling_towers/water_sampling/index.html).

     The EMSD reminds the owners of fresh water cooling towers that they have the responsibility to design, operate and maintain cooling towers properly. They should arrange regular inspections, timely maintenance and periodic testing of the water quality in their cooling towers in accordance with the Code of Practice for Fresh Water Cooling Towers issued by the department to prevent the proliferation of legionella.

     Hong Kong Police arrested 380 people and seized dangerous drugs and illicit goods worth about HK$68.5 million during the first phase of a tripartite anti-crime joint operation, codenamed "THUNDERBOLT 2020", mounted by Hong Kong, Guangdong and Macau Police authorities between May 18 and May 29 this year.

     The police authorities of Hong Kong, Guangdong, and Macau have spared no effort to combat triad activities and organised crimes, especially cross-boundary syndicates. The intelligence-led enforcement operation "THUNDERBOLT 2020" was aimed at curbing the illegal activities of triad societies and organised crime syndicates, neutralising cross-boundary crimes, and interdicting the criminals' source of income.

     During the operation, Hong Kong Police conducted searches of 527 locations including bars, amusement game centres, cyber cafe and residential units. A total of 380 persons were arrested for various offences, including triad-related offences, drug offences, robbery, illegal immigration, illegal gambling, criminal damage, wounding and possession of offensive weapons. A total of 251 men and 129 women, aged between 14 and 80, were arrested. Among them, eight were Mainlanders and 32 were non-ethnic Chinese. Hong Kong Police seized dangerous drugs and psychotropic drugs worth about $1.4 million, including cannabis, ketamine, cocaine, methamphetamine, heroin and midazolam. Police also seized over 53,000 obscene and pirated DVDs valued at about $1.1 million.

     Despite being at the forefront of fighting COVID-19, Hong Kong Police remain committed to combating triads, syndicated and organised crime.  

     Hong Kong Police would continue to maintain close liaison and exchange intelligence with the Mainland and Macau police authorities with a view to interdicting cross-boundary triad activities to uphold the public confidence in law and order.

Attention TV/radio announcers:

Please broadcast the following as soon as possible:

     Here is an item of interest to swimmers.

     The Leisure and Cultural Services Department said today (June 5) that because of an oil spill, the red flag has been hoisted at Hung Shing Yeh Beach in Islands District. The beach has been closed until further notice. Beach-goers are advised not to swim at the beach. The red flag was hoisted earlier due to big waves.