Hong Kong Customs today (July 9) arrested a male director of a rehabilitation institution. A staff member of the institution is suspected of having applied a false trade description to the service supplied, and of engaging in unfair trade practices involving a misleading omission, in contravention of the Trade Descriptions Ordinance (TDO).

     Customs earlier received information alleging that a staff member of a rehabilitation institution falsely claimed to a customer that the prepaid book fees for a two-year training course could be refunded. However, the institution did not refund the fees to the customer in the end.

     In addition, the staff member claimed that the accommodation deposit paid by the customer would be refunded after his children completed the course. However, it was only after the institution ceased to provide the training course that the staff member informed the customer of a material information i.e. the deposit would not be refunded even the course was discontinued.

     Customs officers today arrested a 66-year-old male director of the rehabilitation institution. He has been released on bail pending further investigation.

     An investigation is ongoing, and the possibility of other persons involved in the case being arrested is not ruled out.

     Customs reminded traders to comply with the requirements of the TDO and consumers to purchase services from reputable shops.

     Under the TDO, any trader who applies a false trade description to a service supplied or offered to be supplied to a consumer commits an offence. Any trader who engages in a commercial practice that omits or hides material information or provides material information in a manner that is unclear, unintelligible, ambiguous or untimely, and as a result causes, or is likely to cause, an average consumer to make a transactional decision, commits an offence. The maximum penalty upon conviction is a fine of $500,000 and imprisonment for five years.

     Members of the public may report any suspected violations of the TDO to Customs' 24-hour hotline 2545 6182 or its dedicated crime-reporting email account (crimereport@customs.gov.hk) or online form (eform.cefs.gov.hk/form/ced002/).

     In response to media enquiries on the declaration of interests of Mega Arts and Cultural Events (ACE) Committee, a spokesman for the Culture, Sports and Tourism Bureau gave the following response today (July 9):
      
     Mega ACE Committee is an advisory body of the Government, responsible for advising the Government on the strategies to attract mega arts and cultural events to be held in Hong Kong, advising the Government on the operation of Mega Arts and Cultural Events Fund, and assessing applications under the Fund for the Government's approval. The Committee is fully committed to the principles of integrity, fairness and impartiality. All Members (including the Chairman and the Vice Chairman) are required to, and have strictly observed the requirement on declaration of interests when handling all the applications in the past in accordance with the established mechanism.

     A man who went missing in Kwun Tong has been located.

     Ng Ka-wing, aged 44, went missing after he was last seen at a hotel on Wai Yip Street on July 7 noon. His family made a report to Police yesterday (July 8).

     The man was located in a hotel on Castle Peak Road – Kwai Chung in Kwai Chung today (July 9) afternoon. He sustained no injuries and no suspicious circumstances were detected.

     The Chief Executive, Mr John Lee, continued his visit programme in Sichuan today (July 9), meeting local Hong Kong people and representatives of Hong Kong enterprises, and attending a working lunch hosted by the Mayor of Chengdu.
      
     In the morning, Mr Lee met and exchanged views with Hong Kong people and representatives of Hong Kong enterprises in Sichuan to learn more about their work, studies and daily life. Noting that economic, trade, and cultural exchanges between Sichuan and Hong Kong are frequent, Mr Lee said that Hong Kong people and enterprises in Sichuan have witnessed and helped to establish ties between Sichuan and Hong Kong, contributing to the economic and trade exchanges and people-to-people bonds between the two places. Mr Lee expressed his hope that they will continue to support the work of the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region (HKSAR) Government in Sichuan and deepen co-operation and exchanges in various areas between the two places.
      
     At noon, Mr Lee and the delegation attended a working lunch hosted by the Mayor of Chengdu, Mr Wang Fengchao. Mr Lee expressed his gratitude to Sichuan Province and Chengdu for their thoughtful arrangements for this visit, and for their continuous support to the Hong Kong Economic and Trade Office in Chengdu (CDETO) of the HKSAR Government.
      
     In the afternoon, the delegation led by Mr Lee visited the CDETO to understand the work of its staff. He encouraged them to continue to act as a bridge to enable exchanges and co-operation between the two places to reach new heights.
      
     Later, accompanied by member of the Standing Committee of the CPC Sichuan Provincial Committee and Vice Governor of Sichuan Province Mr Pubu Dunzhu, Mr Lee and the delegation visited the Chengdu People's Park to learn more about the unique local lifestyle and food culture.
      
     Concluding the visit, Mr Lee expressed his sincere gratitude to the Central Government for gifting another pair of giant pandas to the HKSAR, which fully demonstrates the Central Government's care and support for the city. He pointed out that this visit has produced three achievements: the pair of giant pandas to be gifted to Hong Kong have been selected; Ocean Park and the China Conservation and Research Centre for the Giant Panda are working at full steam to draft a co-operation agreement on the details to expedite the approval and implementation of the process; and the establishment of communication channels between Ocean Park, the National Forestry and Grassland Administration, and the China Conservation and Research Centre for the Giant Panda to collaborate with and assist one another in facilitating the smooth transfer of the giant pandas to Hong Kong.
      
     Mr Lee and the delegation will return to Hong Kong tonight.  

          

     The Lands Department announced today (July 9) that the tender for a site, Sha Tin Town Lot No. 646 at Shan Mei Street, Fo Tan, Sha Tin, New Territories, has been awarded to the highest tenderer, Sinopec (Hong Kong) Petrol Filling Station Company Limited, on a 12-year land grant at a premium of $20,883,000. The site has an area of about 370 square metres for electric vehicle charging station purposes.

     The tenderers, other than the successful tenderer, in alphabetical order, with the name of the parent company where provided by the tenderer in brackets, were:

(1) AX Xeco Limited (Atom Xquare Limited);
(2) DC Power Express Limited;
(3) Mercury E&E Services Limited (CCIAM Future Energy Limited);
(4) PetroChina International (Hong Kong) Corporation Limited; and
(5) Resources Shajiao C Investments Limited (China Resources Power Holdings Company Limited).