Police advise motorists that special traffic arrangements will be implemented in Sha Tin to facilitate the race meeting tomorrow (February 7).

     The arrangements will come into effect two hours before the start of the first race and will last until the crowds have dispersed after the race meeting.

     Appropriate traffic signs will be put up and police will be on hand to guide motorists.

     The Police also appeal to people going to Sha Tin Racecourse for the race meeting and to Happy Valley Racecourse for cross betting to make maximum use of public transport.

     Parking spaces at the two racecourses are available only to holders of appropriate permits issued by Hong Kong Jockey Club and any vehicles illegally parked will be towed away.

Attention duty announcers, radio and TV stations:

     Please broadcast the following as soon as possible and repeat it at suitable intervals:

     The Marine Department today (February 6) reminded masters, coxswains and persons-in-charge of vessels navigating in Hong Kong waters to proceed at a safe speed and exercise extreme caution because restricted visibility of less than 2 nautical miles has been reported.

     Appropriate sound signals shall be made when underway or at anchor. All vessels must comply with the International Regulations for Preventing Collision at Sea.

     Also, when radar is used without the benefit of adequate plotting facilities, the information obtained from the equipment is rather limited and should be construed accordingly.

     Visibility reports are broadcast by the Vessel Traffic Centre (VTC) on VHF channels 02, 12, 14, 63 and 67.

     In the event of an accident, a report shall be made immediately to the VTC at Tel: 2233 7801.

The following is issued on behalf of the Hospital Authority:

     During the winter surge, the Hospital Authority is closely monitoring the service demand of Accident and Emergency Departments and the occupancy rate in public hospitals. Key service statistics are being issued daily for public information. Details are in the appended table.

     Police are investigating a murder and suicide case in Ma On Shan last night (February 5) in which a 29-year-old man and his 25-year-old girlfriend died.

     At about 8.30pm yesterday, Police received a report from a woman that her brother was found hanging inside a unit on Ma Kam Street.

     Police officers sped to the scene. The 29-year-old man was found hanging with a rope. Officers later found the man’s 25-year-old girlfriend was found lying unconsciously on bed and sustained multiple stab wounds. The duo was certified dead at scene.

     Initial investigation revealed that the 29-year-old man committed suicide after attacking his girlfriend inside the unit.

     A knife, a cutter, a pair of scissors and two ropes in suspected connection with the case were found inside the unit.

     Post-mortem examinations will be conducted later to ascertain the causes of their deaths.

     Active investigation by the District Crime Squad of Sha Tin District is underway.   

     The Food and Environmental Hygiene Department (FEHD) today (February 5) collected an estimated total of 258 tonnes of refuse at 15 Lunar New Year (LNY) Fair sites throughout Hong Kong. The figure represented a decrease of roughly 72 tonnes compared with the amount last year.

     "Among the refuse cleared, some 58 tonnes were collected at the Victoria Park LNY Fair, around 38 tonnes less than the quantity last year," an FEHD spokesman said.

     The spokesman noted that the FEHD, as in the past years, continued its collaboration with the Environmental Campaign Committee and the Environmental Protection Department (EPD) to organise "Green LNY Fairs" this year. In addition to the collection of general recyclables including waste paper, plastics and metals in every LNY Fair site, collection of bamboo sticks, wooden pallets and unsold peach blossom trees was expanded to cover all 15 LNY Fair sites in Hong Kong. To enhance recycling of resources, additional recyclable items including polyfoam, glass bottles, and other wilted and unsold flowers in all LNY Fair sites, as well as food waste at nine LNY Fair sites with fast food stalls were also collected.

     About 82 tonnes of bamboo, 18 tonnes of wooden pallets, 28 tonnes of peach blossom trees, other wilted and unsold flowers as well as five tonnes of food waste were collected while the quantities of polyfoam and glass bottles collected are being verified. The EPD will make arrangement for putting all recyclables to their best use through upcycling, recycling or donation to other organisations and members of the public.

     The department deployed 266 staff members, 41 refuse collection vehicles and street cleaning vehicles to clean up the Victoria Park venue. The other 14 LNY Fair sites were cleaned up by the department's cleansing contractors.

     The spokesman added that 1 179 unsold pots of flowers and plants gathered in the fairs were delivered to 199 elderly homes/residential care homes for persons with disabilities and 10 public hospitals today by 22 volunteer teams made up of FEHD staff.

     All site clearance work was completed at about 5pm. After thorough cleansing, the venues were restored to their original state.