The Centre for Food Safety (CFS) of the Food and Environmental Hygiene Department today (November 22) said that while following upon the incident that a kind of bottled tea beverage imported from Japan was suspected to be not properly sealed and might pose a risk to consumers, the CFS found that three more importers had imported the affected batches of the product. The CFS is following up on the incident.

Product details are as follows:

Product name: Not available in English
Place of origin: Japan
Manufacturer: Kirin Beverage Company, Limited
Volume: 430 millilitres per bottle
Lot Codes: 2020.4.30�S and 2020.6.20�S

     A CFS spokesman said, "CFS' further investigations found that three more importers, KITI COMPANY LIMITED, Matsuzaka Limited, and Ever Gain & Omori Forwarding Ltd, had also imported and sold the abovementioned affected batches of the product. The importers concerned removed from shelves and stopped sale of the affected batches of the product and initiated a recall according to CFS' instructions. Enquiries about the recall can be made to the hotlines of the importers concerned during office hours: KITI COMPANY LIMITED at 3162 0042, Matsuzaka Limited at 9839 0982, and Ever Gain & Omori Forwarding Ltd at 2311 7986."

     The CFS will alert the trade to the incident, continue to follow up and take appropriate action. Investigation is ongoing.

     The Registration and Electoral Office (REO) today (November 22) announced that, after a risk assessment, the polling station at Simon and Eleanor Kwok Building, Lingnan University, at the Tuen Mun District Council Fu Tai Constituency needs to be replaced by Hing Tak School (covered playground), 1 Hing Ping Road, Tuen Mun, New Territories.
      
     SMS messages and/or emails will be sent to the electors of the Fu Tai Constituency who have provided mobile numbers and/or email addresses to REO when they registered as electors. Notices will also be posted at Fu Tai Estate to notify the electors the relevant changes.
      
     The electors of the District Council Ordinary Election Sha Tin District Council Chun Ma Constituency are also reminded that, because of the closure of some of the facilities in the Constituency, some 200 electors of the Constituency may not be able to receive the letter and poll card sent by the REO indicating that the polling station at John Fulton Centre, the Chinese University of Hong Kong, Sha Tin, has been replaced by Yan Oi Tong HK Toi Shan Association Elderly Centre at G/F, 1 Tsun King Road, Royal Ascot, Fo Tan, Sha Tin, New Territories.
      
     "Electors can log in to the Online Voter Information Enquiry System (OVIES) (www.voterinfo.gov.hk) if they have not yet received their poll card to check their designated polling station. They can also call the election hotline (2891 1001) for enquiries," said the spokesman for the REO.
      
     "In addition to checking the name and address of the designated polling station, its location on the map, information on voter registration, electors can also find other polling information such as the polling date and polling hours on OVIES."
      
Announcements on relocation of five polling stations have been made so far:

1. Sassoon Road Assembly Hall at Pok Fu Lam, Hong Kong, which has been replaced by Yue Kwong Road Sports Centre at 43 Yue Kwong Road, Aberdeen;
2. Hong Kong Community College at Hung Hom, which has been replaced by Yaumati Kaifong Association School at 80 Public Square Street, Yau Ma Tei, Kowloon;
3. Education University of Hong Kong Jockey Club Primary School at Tai Po, which has been replaced by SKH Yuen Chen Maun Chen Primary School at Kwong Fuk Estate, Tai Po, New Territories
4. John Fulton Centre, the Chinese University of Hong Kong, Sha Tin, which has been replaced by Yan Oi Tong HK Toi Shan Association Elderly Centre at G/F, 1 Tsun King Road, Royal Ascot, Fo Tan, Sha Tin, New Territories
5. Simon and Eleanor Kwok Building, Lingnan University, which is replaced by Hing Tak School (covered playground), 1 Hing Ping Road, Tuen Mun, New Territories.

 
     The change may bring inconvenience to the electors concerned, but the REO appealed for their understanding and encouraged them to exercise their civic rights and fulfil their civil responsibilities by casting their votes on the polling day so as to elect their District Council members.

     The Registration and Electoral Office (REO) today (November 22) stressed that the REO will not calculate election results based on the votes cast during the first three hours on the District Council Ordinary Election(DCOE) polling day if the polling station concerned cannot operate after the poll has been conducted for three hours. The REO made the following statement to clarify online rumours:

     November 24 (Sunday) is the polling day of the DCOE. The polling hours for the ordinary polling stations will be from 7.30am to 10.30pm, 15 hours in total. The REO stresses that the calculation of the election result of a constituency will not be conducted before the poll of the Constituency is completed.

     On the polling day of the DCOE, if a polling station stops operating due to unexpected incidents and the service of the polling station can resume as normal in one and a half hours, the opening hours of the polling station will be extended accordingly on the same day. If the service of the polling station cannot resume in one and a half hours, the poll of the polling station will be postponed to the reserved polling day on December 1 (Sunday).

     If the poll is postponed to December 1, the Presiding Officer, witnessed by candidates or their agents, will lock and seal the ballot boxes and all related documents. The materials will be used again on December 1. On the reserved polling day, the opening hours of the polling station concerned will commence from the time the postponement announcement was made and run until 10.30pm. For example, if a polling station stops operating at 10.30am on November 24, the polling hours of the polling station on December 1 will be from 10.30am to 10.30pm, so that the polling hours will remain 15 in total.

     When an elector collects the ballot paper on November 24, his or her entry in the Final Register of Electors will be marked accordingly in the polling station. Therefore, the elector cannot vote again on the reserved polling day.

     The spokesman for the REO said, "Queues may be formed if a large number of electors cast their votes at approximately the same time. Polling staff will serve the electors as fast as they can. Electors are urged to wait patiently."

The following is issued on behalf of the Judiciary:

Attention duty announcers, radio and TV stations:

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

     The Judiciary has announced that having regard to the situation in the vicinity of Jordan and other practical considerations, subject to any directions of the presiding Judge or Judicial Officer concerned and until further announcement, all hearings of the Lands Tribunal and the Labour Tribunal originally scheduled from November 18 to next Monday (November 25) and thereafter are refixed to a date and time to be notified by the court in due course. All relevant parties to the proceedings affected should keep in view any further notification by the court or public announcements by the Judiciary.

     For enquiries, please call the following hotlines during office hours (8.45am-1pm and 2pm-5.30pm, from Monday to Friday):

Lands Tribunal: Hotlines: (852) 2771 3034  or (852) 3916 6147

Labour Tribunal: Hotlines: (852) 2625 0020 or (852) 3916 6148

     The registries and offices of the two Tribunals remain closed next Monday until further announcement.

     The Centre for Health Protection of the Department of Health today (November 22) reported that the suspected case of Middle East Respiratory Syndrome (MERS) pending results on November 21 upon preliminary testing tested negative for MERS Coronavirus.