Today (April 27) is the eighth day of phased arrangements for residents of seven blocks of Wang Fuk Court in Tai Po to return to their units. Five high-zone floors of Wang Cheong House and 10 middle-zone floors of Wang Tao House were opened. The access arrangements were carried out in an orderly manner and operated smoothly.

     A total of 116 households (403 people) registered to return to their units today through the “one social worker per household” service, while 119 households (443 people) actually turned up.

     The average time residents spent entering and leaving the building today was two hours and 32 minutes, with the shortest time being 17 minutes and the longest three hours and 45 minutes. About 65 per cent of the residents stayed in the building for less than three hours. About 23 per cent of the residents stayed in the building for less than two hours. About 5 per cent of the residents stayed in the building for less than one hour.

     A total of 60 households (124 people) went up and down the building more than once. Among them, 30 households (74 people) made one additional trip, 17 households (31 people) made two additional trips, 9 households (13 people) made three additional trips, 1 household (3 people) made four additional trips, and 3 households (3 people) made five additional trips.

     The integrated enquiry counter set up by relevant departments today received 10 cases requesting police assistance.

     The 10 cases requesting police assistance involved suspected loss of property, including watches, jewellery, cash and gold items. Officers were immediately deployed to assist in searches, and lost property was recovered in three cases. In two cases, the units concerned were severely damaged and residents believed after investigation that the property might have been destroyed by fire. In another three cases, there were no signs of ransacking in the units, and the residents could not provide details on the property concerned. For the remaining two cases, the Police will make further investigation.
     
     The Government spares no effort in supporting the residents returning to their units. Each day, the Government deploys over 1 000 personnel from various departments, including the Police, the Civil Aid Service, the Fire Services Department, the Auxiliary Medical Service, the Home Affairs Department, the Social Welfare Department (SWD), the Housing Department, and the Housing Bureau, as well as District Services and Community Care Teams members. The “Government-wide Mobilisation” mechanism has also been activated to bring together greater interdepartmental resources to support residents.

     Under the “Government-wide Mobilisation” mechanism, the Civil Service Bureau has co-ordinated nine government departments to mobilise civil servants to form the Government Quick Response Unit to support these access arrangements. These civil servants come from the Agriculture, Fisheries and Conservation Department (AFCD), the Architectural Services Department, the Electrical and Mechanical Services Department (EMSD), the Environmental Protection Department, the Food and Environmental Hygiene Department, the Lands Department (LandsD), the Leisure and Cultural Services Department (LCSD), the Post Office, and the Water Supplies Department (WSD). They will form dedicated teams with social workers and clinical psychologists from the SWD, stationed on different floors to provide support to residents returning to their units. The civil servants mobilised in the first three days were from the AFCD, those mobilised from the fourth day to the sixth day are from the EMSD and the LCSD, while those mobilised from the seventh day to the ninth day (including today) are from the LandsD and the WSD.