The following is issued on behalf of the Hong Kong Monetary Authority: The Hong Kong Monetary Authority (HKMA) wishes to alert members of the public to a press release issued by China CITIC Bank International Limited on fra… read more
A sick 43-year-old female remand person in custody at Tai Lam Centre for Women died in a public hospital today (December 13).
On December 6, she was remanded for the offence of trafficking in dangerous drug. Afterwards she was admitted into the institutional hospital for treatment due to her drug abuse history and physical discomfort. The remand person in custody was referred to a public hospital for examination and treatment due to shortness of breath yesterday (December 12). During hospitalisation, her condition suddenly deteriorated and she was certified dead at 8.46am today.
The case has been reported to the Police. A death inquest will be held by the Coroner’s Court. read more
In response to media enquiries on the non-payment of employees’ wages by Hsin Chong Group, a spokesman for the Labour Department (LD) today (December 13) replied as follows:
The LD is very concerned about the non-payment of employees’ wages by Hsin Chong Group and has taken follow-up actions actively. The LD has repeatedly warned the related employers that they have to, without further delay, pay wages due to the affected employees in accordance with the Employment Ordinance and relevant terms in their employment contracts, and appropriate termination compensation to employees who have left employment.
The LD calls for affected employees to go to the Labour Relations Division’s branch offices nearby to enquire on their rights and ask for assistance as soon as possible. They may also call the LD’s dedicated enquiry hotline on employees’ rights at 2927 7008.
The LD will continue to provide appropriate assistance to affected employees. In case of employers’ inability to settle any outstanding employment-related payment, the department will assist the employees to apply for ex gratia payment from the Protection of Wages on Insolvency Fund (PWIF) on the wages and other statutory entitlements owed.
According to the Protection of Wages on Insolvency Ordinance, the affected employees have to submit their applications within six months after the date of termination of contract. The ex gratia payment that may be made by the PWIF covers:
A woman was fined $7,000 at the Eastern Magistrates’ Courts today (December 13) for contravening the Hotel and Guesthouse Accommodation Ordinance.
The courts heard that in February this year, officers of the Office of the Licensing Authority (OLA), Home Affairs Department, inspected a suspected unlicensed guesthouse on Jaffe Road in Wan Chai. The OLA officers posed as lodgers and successfully rented a room in the guesthouse on a daily basis.
According to the OLA’s records, the guesthouse did not possess a licence under the Ordinance on the day of inspection. The woman responsible for operating the premises was charged with contravening section 5(1) of the Ordinance.
A department spokesman stressed that operating or managing an unlicensed guesthouse is a criminal offence and will lead to a criminal record. Upon conviction, the offender is liable to a maximum fine of $200,000 and two years’ imprisonment.
The spokesman appealed to anyone with information about suspected unlicensed guesthouses to report it to the OLA through the hotline (Tel: 2881 7498), by email (hadlaenq@had.gov.hk), by fax (2504 5805) using the report form downloaded from the OLA website (www.hadla.gov.hk), or through the mobile application “Hong Kong Licensed Hotels and Guesthouses”. read more
​The ventilation system of Harbour Café, a restaurant on Yen Chow Street in Sham Shui Po, caused noise nuisance in early morning which affected nearby residents. The responsible person of the restaurant was fined $7,500 at Kwun Tong Magistrates’ Courts today (December 13) for contravening the Noise Control Ordinance (NCO).
A spokesman for the Environmental Protection Department (EPD) said that the department received a complaint in March this year from a resident against the excessive noise emanating from Harbour Café. The investigation and assessment conducted by EPD enforcement officers confirmed that the noise generated by the restaurant’s ventilation system at night-time exceeded the statutory limit and a noise abatement notice (NAN) was issued to the restaurant requesting that mitigation measures to be taken. EPD staff made a follow up inspection at the restaurant in July and found that the noise generated from its ventilation system in early morning (before 7am) still reached 63 decibels (dB) and exceeded the statutory limit by 8dB. The department subsequently prosecuted the responsible person of the restaurant in accordance with the law.
The spokesman reminded all operators of food premises to carry out regular inspection and maintenance of ventilation systems installed at their premises. They should hire a professional contractor to replace the parts and install noise abatement equipment for their ventilation systems to ensure their normal operation and avoid generating excessive noise which caused noise nuisance to nearby residents.
According to the NCO, anyone failing to comply with any requirement of a NAN commits an offence. First-time offenders are liable to a maximum fine of $100,000. A maximum fine of $200,000 may be imposed on second or subsequent convictions. read more