Police today (December 6) appealed to the public for information on a man who went missing in Aberdeen.

     Ho Tak-kuen, Jimmy, aged 59, went missing after he left a clinic on Tin Wan Street yesterday (December 5) afternoon. His family made a report to Police on the same day.

     He is about 1.7 metres tall, 69 kilograms in weight and of medium build. He has a pointed face with yellow complexion, short straight black hair and two moles on his nose. He was last seen wearing black-rimmed glasses, a dark blue sweater, dark blue sports trousers and sandals.

     Anyone who knows the whereabouts of the missing man or may have seen him is urged to contact the Regional Missing Person Unit of Hong Kong Island on 2860 1040 or 9886 0034, or email to rmpu-hki@police.gov.hk, or contact any police station.

  

     Hong Kong Customs today (December 6) conducted a test-buy operation to combat restaurants supplying short-weight seafood and found a restaurant in Yau Ma Tei suspected of supplying short-weight Alaskan crab.

     During the operation, Customs officers ordered an Alaskan crab. A staff member of the restaurant weighed a crab with a spring balance and declared the crab had a weight of 80 taels.

     Upon examination, Customs officers found that the crab was short of weight by about 9.65 taels. The spring balance was also found to be inaccurate.

     Investigation is ongoing.

     Under the Weights and Measures Ordinance (WMO), any person who in the course of trade supplies goods to another person by weight or measure should supply the goods in net weight or net measure. Any shortage of the quantity purporting to be supplied is an offence. The maximum penalty upon conviction is a fine of $10,000. In addition, any person who uses for trade, or has in his possession for use for trade, any weighing or measuring equipment which is false or defective commits an offence. The maximum penalty upon conviction is a fine of $20,000.

     Customs reminds traders to comply with the requirements of the WMO. Consumers are also reminded to make purchases from reputable shops and pay attention to the process of weighing by restaurants when ordering food supplied in weight.

     Customs will continue to take stringent enforcement action against short-weight activities at restaurants to protect consumers' interests and uphold a fair trading environment.

     Members of the public may report any suspected violations of the WMO 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 Law Reform Commission:
      
     The Access to Information Sub-committee of the Law Reform Commission (LRC) is inviting  public views on whether reform of the current regime of public access to information held by the Government is needed, and if so, what kind of reform is preferred.
      
     Releasing the consultation paper in a press conference today (December 6), the Chairman of the Access to Information Sub-committee, Mr Russell Coleman, SC, said that the Sub-committee’s provisional views are that although the existing Code on Access to Information (the Code) is effective and cost-efficient, legislation should be introduced to implement an access to information regime with statutory backing. 
                            
     At present, access to government-held information is based on an administrative regime set out in the Code, which has been in operation since 1995. 
      
     In deciding the key features of the proposed access to information regime, the Sub-committee has studied the law and practice of relevant common law jurisdictions, and found that the public's need to obtain more information about public bodies should be balanced with other types of rights including privacy and data-protection rights, and third-party rights.
                            
     "The proposed legislative regime would have exempt information categorised into absolute and qualified exemptions, like most common law jurisdictions," said Mr Coleman.
      
     The Access to Information Sub-committee tentatively recommends to adopt as absolute exemptions the following categories of information:
 

• Information accessible to applicants by other means
• Court records
• Legislative Council privilege
• Information provided in confidence
• Prohibitions on disclosure
• Defence and security
• Inter-governmental affairs
• Nationality, immigration and consular matters
• Law enforcement, legal and relevant proceedings
• Legal professional privilege
• Executive Council's proceedings
• Privacy of the individual

 
     As for qualified exemptions, a public body has to balance the public interest for and against disclosure. The Sub-committee tentatively recommends to adopt as qualified exemptions the following categories of information:
 

• Damage to the environment
• Management of the economy
• Management and operation of the public service, and audit functions
• Internal discussion and advice
• Public employment and public appointments
• Improper gain or improper advantage
• Research, statistics and analysis
• Business affairs
• Premature requests
• Conferring of honours
• Health and safety

 
     It is also the Sub-committee's tentative recommendation that the proposed regime should have certain review and appeal stages. The first stage is internal review of the decision by preferably another officer or officer of a higher rank. The second stage is review by the Office of the Ombudsman. If the applicant is not satisfied, he can proceed to the third stage of appeal to the Court.
      
     The recommendations include a proposed offence of altering or erasing records to prevent disclosure. "Where a request for information has been made to a public body, it should be an offence to alter, erase, destroy or conceal records with intent to prevent disclosure of records or information.  However, any failure on the part of a public body to comply with a duty should not confer any right of action in civil proceedings," said Mr Coleman.
      
     Mr Coleman added that the provisional views expressed in the consultation paper are intended to facilitate discussion and do not necessarily represent the Sub-committee’s final conclusions. The Sub-committee would welcome views, comments and suggestions on any issues discussed in the consultation paper.
      
     All views should be submitted on or before March 5, 2019 to: The Secretary, Access to Information Sub-committee, LRC (4/F, Justice Place, East Wing, 18 Lower Albert Road, Central, Hong Kong) by mail, by fax (3918 4096) or by e-mail (hklrc@hkreform.gov.hk).
      
     The consultation paper and the executive summary can be accessed on the website of the LRC at www.hkreform.gov.hk. Hard copies are also available on request from the Secretariat of the LRC at the above address.

  

     Two new special exhibitions entitled "Treasures of Time" and "Landscape Map of the Silk Road" will be held at the Hong Kong Science Museum from tomorrow (December 7). The former exhibition will showcase a number of magnificent clocks and watches from the 18th and 19th centuries to highlight their historical significance and technological achievements, while the latter exhibition will display the 30-metre-long "Landscape Map of the Silk Road", which is an important historical painting with significant cultural value.
 
     The "Treasures of Time" exhibition will display about 120 mechanical clocks and watches from the collection of the Palace Museum. Most of the items in the collection were tributes from Europe presented by Western missionaries to the Qing court, while others were manufactured by local craftsmen in the Imperial Workshops of the Qing court and Guangzhou. A workshop setting from the 18th century in Europe will also be recreated with tools and equipment provided by the Science Museum, London, which is part of the Science Museum Group, to show how craftsmen worked in the past.
 
     Alongside the treasures, special features with the latest technology, animations, models and interactive exhibits have been created for visitors to learn about the principles of different time measuring tools, from ancient Chinese instruments and mechanical timepieces to the latest atomic clocks. In addition, the Science Museum has specially created a series of WhatsApp emoji stickers (Android version only) for the exhibition. Members of the public are welcome to download the stickers through the signage at the exhibition hall or Google Play free of charge.
 
     The "Landscape Map of the Silk Road" exhibition will display "Landscape Map of the Silk Road", which is about 30 metres long and 60 centimetres wide. The map was created as an imperial painting for the Jiajing Emperor in the Ming dynasty. With over 200 cities marked on the map, ranging from the Jiayu Pass in Gansu Province in the east to Mecca in Saudi Arabia in the west, it implies that the Chinese had grasped a clear understanding of the Silk Road as early as the 16th century.
 
     Various interactive exhibits, models and maps of China and Hong Kong drawn in the 16th to 20th centuries will also be featured at the exhibition, enabling visitors to know more about the Chinese and Western perceptions of the geography of China in ancient times, as well as different cartographic techniques and functions of maps.
 
     The opening ceremony of the exhibitions was held today (December 6). The officiating guests included the Chief Executive, Mrs Carrie Lam; the Deputy Director of the Palace Museum, Mr Ji Tianbin; the Director of the Science Museum Group, Mr Ian Blatchford; the Secretary for Home Affairs, Mr Lau Kong-wah; the Chairman of the Hong Kong Jockey Club, Mr Anthony Chow; member of the Standing Committee of the National Committee of the Chinese People's Political Consultative Conference and Chairman of Shimao Group Mr Hui Wing-mau; the Chairperson of the Science Sub-committee, the Museum Advisory Committee, Professor Ching Pak-chung; the Director of Leisure and Cultural Services, Ms Michelle Li; and the Museum Director of the Hong Kong Science Museum, Ms Paulina Chan.
 
     The exhibitions are jointly presented by the Leisure and Cultural Services Department and the Palace Museum. The "Treasures of Time" exhibition is jointly organised by the Hong Kong Science Museum, the Palace Museum and the Science Museum, London, while the "Landscape Map of the Silk Road" exhibition is jointly organised by the Hong Kong Science Museum, the Palace Museum and the Hong Kong Museum of History. The "Treasures of Time" exhibition is solely sponsored by the Hong Kong Jockey Club Charities Trust as one of the exhibitions in the Hong Kong Jockey Club Series and will run until April 10 next year. The "Landscape Map of the Silk Road" exhibition will run until February 20, 2019.
 
     The Hong Kong Science Museum is located at 2 Science Museum Road, Tsim Sha Tsui East. For details of the exhibitions, please visit the Science Museum's website at hk.science.museum or call 2732 3232 for enquiries.

     The Secretary for the Civil Service, Mr Joshua Law, today (December 6) visited Central and Western District, where he exchanged views with District Council (DC) members and young people, followed by a tour of a signature project to understand the efforts made by colleagues from different departments using innovative thinking to overcome technical difficulties.

     Accompanied by the Chairman of the Central and Western District Council, Mr Yip Wing-shing, and the District Officer (Central and Western), Mrs Susanne Wong, Mr Law met with DC members and exchanged views on issues that concern them.

     Mr Law then visited a co-working space in Sai Wan to meet with some members of the Central and Western District Youth Development Network, consisting of university students and young people who work in different fields such as design, training, education and administrative work. Mr Law told them that the Government has attached great importance to addressing the concerns of young people on education, careers and home ownership, as well as encouraging their participation in politics and public policy discussion, so as to provide them with hope and opportunities for upward mobility.

     Mr Law later proceeded to view the Central and Western District Promenade – Western Wholesale Food Market Section under the Signature Project Scheme launched in April this year, where he received a briefing on its construction and management by colleagues of the Architectural Services Department and the Leisure and Cultural Services Department. He said he was pleased to learn that with the concerted efforts of various government departments and different local stakeholders including the DC, market retailers, non-government organisations and resident representatives, the project not only provided a platform for local organisations to host diverse activities and services at the promenade such as music, parent-child and art workshops, but also quality open space for the public.

     Mr Law said, "This signature project shows how colleagues of different departments managed to think out of the box by introducing new designs and overcoming technical difficulties, making use of the promenade area to support an innovative project in the community. The Government will continue to enhance training in innovation for civil servants, so that they can better address the needs of the community when implementing projects."