A sick 64-year-old male remand person in custody at Lai Chi Kok Reception Centre died in a public hospital yesterday (February 15).

      The remand person in custody suffered from heart disease. He required continuous medical care and follow-ups at the institution hospital and public hospitals. On February 1, he was sent to a public hospital for treatment due to physical discomfort. During hospitalization, his condition deteriorated and he was certified dead at 11.57pm yesterday.

     The case has been reported to the Police. A death inquest will be held by the Coroner's Court.
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     The person in custody was remanded for the offence of obtaining property by deception in November 2024.

     The Environmental Protection Department (EPD) and the Drainage Services Department (DSD) are following up on the incident that the water of Tuen Mun River was found red.

     The EPD received a report at around 5pm today (February 15), stating that some water of Tuen Mun River had turned red. The EPD and the DSD immediately arranged staff to the scene for investigation.

     Investigating officers found that the river water had resumed normal and was no longer red. No fish deaths were found at the scene. On-site tests also showed that the water quality indicators (including pH levels, dissolved oxygen, etc) remained normal. The EPD staff have collected water samples for further investigations.

     Initial investigation revealed that there was draining pipe testing with red dye powder. The DSD had confirmed that it did not conduct any dye testing there. The EPD and the DSD will continue to follow up on the incident.

     The Hong Kong Economic and Trade Office, London (London ETO) and the Denmark-Hong Kong Trade Association co-hosted a Year of the Snake reception in Copenhagen, Denmark, on February 13 (Copenhagen time).

     In his welcome speech, the Director-General of the London ETO, Mr Gilford Law, highlighted Hong Kong's remarkable achievements in the past year in terms of business and trade development. He said, "The Fraser Institute ranked Hong Kong as the world's freest economy among 165 economies in the Economic Freedom of the World 2024 Annual Report. Also, in the World Competitiveness Yearbook 2024 published by the International Institute for Management Development, Hong Kong's ranking improved by two places to fifth globally."

     Mr Law stressed that with the city's free and open investment environment, Hong Kong remains an unparalleled destination for businesses and investors. "We are pleased to have hosted a record of 9 960 non-local companies last year, representing a 10 per cent increase year-on-year. These figures demonstrate that Hong Kong's business environment has fully regained its strong growth momentum after the COVID-19 pandemic," he said. Looking ahead, Mr Law expressed his confidence that Hong Kong and Denmark will continue to strengthen collaboration across all fronts, from business and investment to cultural exchange, unlocking new opportunities and fostering greater success for both regions.

     The reception was well attended by around 100 guests, including representatives from the diplomatic envoys, the local business, academic and cultural sectors.

          

     The Secretary for Justice, Mr Paul Lam, SC, will depart for Malaysia tomorrow (February 16) to attend the China Conference: Southeast Asia and relevant activities to be held in Kuala Lumpur the next day.
 
     At a fireside chat session of the conference, Mr Lam will share views on how Hong Kong, leveraging its unique advantages under "one country, two systems", plays its role as a "super connector" in fostering ties between the Mainland and various regions, including Southeast Asia, through its top-quality legal services.
 
     ​Mr Lam will return to Hong Kong on February 17. During his absence, the Deputy Secretary for Justice, Dr Cheung Kwok-kwan, will be the Acting Secretary for Justice.

     The Chief Executive, Mr John Lee, and his wife, Mrs Janet Lee, today (February 15) visited Hong Kong Ocean Park to attend the Giant Panda Twin Cubs Greeting Ceremony.

     Other officiating guests include the Director of the Liaison Office of the Central People's Government in the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region (HKSAR), Mr Zheng Yanxiong; Deputy Commissioner of the Office of the Commissioner of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs in HKSAR Mr Pan Yundong; Deputy Commander-in-chief of the Chinese People's Liberation Army Hong Kong Garrison Mr Tan Zhiwei; the Secretary for Culture, Sports and Tourism, Miss Rosanna Law; and the Chairman of the Board of the Ocean Park Corporation (OPC), Mr Paulo Pong. Before the ceremony, the officiating guests visited the giant panda twins cubs which will soon make their public debut as well as their mother Ying Ying at the Giant Panda Adventure, and celebrated the sixth-month birthday of the cubs.

     Mr Lee expressed heartfelt gratitude to the experts of the China Conservation and Research Centre for the Giant Panda and the animal care team of Ocean Park for taking excellent care of the giant panda twin cubs round the clock and provide professional postnatal care to Ying Ying after her giving birth to the cubs. He said, "Ying Ying, the mother of the twin cubs is on record the world's oldest giant panda to give birth for the first time. The birth of the twin cubs not only solidifies the outstanding achievements of our country in giant panda conservation, but also demonstrates the OPC's leading position as an important conservation and education base in Hong Kong. With our country's efforts over the years, giant pandas have been downgraded from 'Endangered' to 'Vulnerable' on the global list of species at risk of extinction. This represents the success of our country's conservation work in this area. Together with our country, the HKSAR Government will continue to advance and promote conservation of giant pandas and thereby tell the good stories of our country, Hong Kong and the giant pandas."

     Besides, Mr Lee announced at the ceremony the launch of the Giant Panda Twin Cubs Naming Competition organised by the Culture, Sports and Tourism Bureau and co-organised by the OPC begins today. At present, members of the public are calling the twin cubs "Elder Sister" and "Little Brother". These affectionate names will be retained as their nicknames. Hong Kong residents are encouraged to suggest a pair of names for the twin cubs through observing their physical features and characteristics, as well as the interaction between the cubs and their daily lives. The competition is open for entries from noon today to March 7. Results will be announced in the first half of this year and winners will be notified individually by correspondence. For details of the competition, including terms and conditions, means for submission of entries, judging criteria, etc., please visit Ocean Park's dedicated website at www.oceanpark.com.hk/en/park-experience/giant-panda-twin-cubs-naming-competition.

     The pigeon pair of giant panda cubs was born on August 15 of last year and their parents are Ying Ying and Le Le, the giant pandas gifted by the Central People's Government to the HKSAR in 2007. They are also the first pair of giant pandas born in Hong Kong. Over the past six months, the cubs have grown healthily from around 120g at birth to more than 12kg now. They are also adapting well at the Giant Panda Adventure, their habitat at Ocean Park.

     Starting from tomorrow (February 16), the public can visit the lovely twin cubs at Ocean Park in person and at the same time drop by the other four members of the Hong Kong giant panda family, namely, Ying Ying, Le Le, An An and Ke Ke.