As the World Dream cruise ship is still undergoing port health inspection work and all passengers and crew members are required to stay on board during the inspection, the Home Affairs Department said today (February 6) that people staying on board may call the 24-hour hotline of the Kowloon City District Office (Tel: 2621 3400) or that of the Kwun Tong District Office (Tel: 2756 0665) for assistance if necessary.

     The District Office staff will render practicable assistance to the callers according to their needs.

     Since late January this year, there have been scammers making fraudulent claims through online shopping platforms that they have surgical masks for sale, taking advantage of the tight supply of surgical masks in the society. After making pre-payments, the victims would lose contact with the scammers. As at February 5, Police have received 109 relevant reports, totaling a monetary loss of about $580,000. Six men and two women were arrested for obtaining properties by deception.
      
     Police accord high priority to such online shopping scam. The Cyber Security and Technology Crime Bureau is co-ordinating various Police Districts in devising the strategies to tackle the situation, such as enhancing intelligence gathering and cyber patrol, etc. Police will timely take law enforcement action should the evidence warrant. Active investigations are underway and further arrests are likely. 
      
     Members of the public who believe they have fallen victim to such scam should make a report to Police as soon as possible. To facilitate Police investigation, they should also provide the following information when reporting their cases:
      

• Details of the online sales platform (including the URL);
• Details of the scammer’s social media account (including the UID and URL);
• Contact details provided by the scammer (including telephone number and email address);
• Details of the transaction tool provided by the scammer (including bank account, the stored value facilities used, the receipt and the QR Code used to collect payment);
• Details of any face-to-face interaction with the scammer, including date, time and location.

     Police remind the public to be vigilant when conducting online transactions and pay attention to the following points:
 

• Find out more about the other party’s credibility and verify their identity before conducting online transactions;
• Conduct transactions through an online trading system with identity authentication to reduce the chance of being swindled;
• Both sellers and buyers should check and consider the other party’s transaction history, credibility rating and transaction comments before proceeding with the transaction;
• Conduct transactions through trusted intermediary platforms;
• When shopping online, both parties should meet in person to conduct the transaction. Check the goods carefully before paying;
• If there is any doubt about the identity of the other party, stop the transaction at once, call the Anti-Scam Helpline 18222 or report to Police.

     â€‹Hong Kong Customs launched a large-scale territory-wide special operation codenamed "Guardian" on January 27 to conduct spot checks, test purchases and inspections in various districts on surgical masks available in the market. As at yesterday (February 5), over 6 000 inspections were conducted at retail spots selling surgical masks and more than 50 samples have been test-purchased. Safety tests on total fungal counts for 20 test-purchased samples have been conducted initially. All samples comply with safety requirements and no violations of the Consumer Goods Safety Ordinance (CGSO) have yet been found yet. The remaining samples are still undergoing safety tests and the results will be announced as soon as possible.

     The relevant samples were test-purchased from different retail spots in various districts, including chain stores, pharmacies, medicine stores and shops selling daily necessities. They were then sent to the Government Laboratory for tests. Of the 20 tested samples of surgical masks, 15 were in proper packaging and five were in loose packaging. Among those 15 samples of surgical masks, most were packed in 50-piece packages, while others were packed in packages of five, 10 and 20 pieces.

     As at today (February 6), the "Guardian" operation has been underway for 11 days. During the operation, Customs officers seized 68 000 surgical masks with suspected false manufacturing date from a pharmacy in Mong Kok on January 30. An investigation of the case, including the sources of the seizure, is ongoing.

     The "Guardian" operation will carry on. Customs will continue to inspect retail locations of surgical masks and conduct test-buy operations to ensure that the surgical masks being sold in the market comply with the Trade Descriptions Ordinance (TDO) and the CGSO. Customs stresses that the department will continue to promptly issue update announcements if any irregularities are spotted.

     Under the CGSO, it is an offence to import, manufacture or supply consumer goods unless the goods comply with the general safety requirements for consumer goods. The maximum penalty upon conviction is a fine of $100,000 and imprisonment for one year on first conviction, and $500,000 and imprisonment for two years on a subsequent conviction.

     Under the TDO, any person who supplies goods with a false trade description in the course of trade or business, or is in possession of any goods for sale with a false trade description, or sells or possesses for sale any goods with a forged trademark, commits an offence. The maximum penalty upon conviction is a fine of $500,000 and imprisonment for five years.

     Customs has all along attached great importance to public safety and consumer rights. Law enforcement action will be taken immediately if any violation of the TDO or the CGSO is detected.

     Customs reminds traders not to sell products with false origins or false trademarks, or unsafe consumer goods. Members of the public should also make purchases at reputable shops.

     Members of the public may report any suspected violation of the TDO or the CGSO to Customs' 24-hour hotline 2545 6182 or its dedicated crime-reporting email account (crimereport@customs.gov.hk).

The following is issued on behalf of the Hospital Authority:

     As at noon today (February 6), public hospitals had reported to the Department of Health the admission of 57 patients (26 male and 31 female, aged 18 months to 90) in the past 24 hours who met the reporting criteria of severe respiratory disease associated with a novel infectious agent. Specimens of the patients concerned have been sent for testing. There are still 88 patients under isolation.
 
     The Hospital Authority will maintain close contact with the Centre for Health Protection to monitor the latest developments and to inform the public and healthcare workers on the latest information in a timely manner.

     An operational event at Taishan Nuclear Power Station (TNPS) was reported on the website of Taishan Nuclear Power Joint Venture Co Ltd (TNPJVC), a Security Bureau spokesperson said today (February 6).

     On February 5, Unit 2 of TNPS was at normal operating condition. During the unit control process, certain sets of control rods went below the position required by the technical specification of operation. Thereafter, station staff immediately readjusted the relevant sets of control rods back to the required position. The unit remained in a safe operating condition all along. Timely actions were taken by TNPJVC to report the situation to the relevant national nuclear safety regulatory authority and to carry out an internal experience feedback.
 
     Upon investigation, the event was classified on February 5 as a Level 0 event (deviation) in accordance with the International Nuclear and Radiological Event Scale and the relevant nuclear safety regulations. It had no effect on the safe operation of the nuclear power station or on the health of the workers, nearby public or the environment.

​     TNPJVC has disclosed the details about this event on its website. The details can be viewed at www.tnpjvc.com.cn (Chinese only).