The following is issued on behalf of the Hospital Authority:

     The Hospital Authority (HA) spokesperson today (April 29) said that 14 general out-patient clinics (see table below) will provide services during Labour Day (May 1). Members of the public are reminded to make advance bookings for appointments either through the telephone appointment system or the "Book GOPC" function in the "HA Go" mobile application.
 
     Given the unsteady COVID-19 epidemic situation locally, the HA spokesperson reminded the public to continue to stay vigilant during the holiday. They should reduce participating in mass gatherings and minimise meal gatherings; maintain personal and environmental hygiene; comply with epidemic prevention measures such as wearing masks, practising hand hygiene frequently and maintaining social distancing. Moreover, eligible members of the public should get vaccinated earlier.
 
     To choose a suitable family doctor and related clinic service, members of the public are welcome to browse the Primary Care Directory of the Food and Health Bureau at www.pcdirectory.gov.hk. In addition, members of the public can obtain specimen collection packs for COVID-19 tests during the holiday or submit specimens at nine GOPCs (see table below) at the designated time. The public can also obtain specimen collection packs at 20 MTR stations. For details, please visit the website: www.coronavirus.gov.hk/eng/early-testing.html.
 

Service Hours:
9am to 1pm
 
* General outpatient clinics to distribute specimen collection packs and collect specimens for COVID-19 tests
Specimen collection packs distribution time: 9am (while stocks last)
Specimen collection time: 9am to 11am

The following is issued on behalf of the Hong Kong Housing Authority:
 
     The Government announced earlier that it would launch the second round of the subsidy scheme for promotion of contactless payment in public markets under the Anti-epidemic Fund. Applications will start from tomorrow (April 30). Stall tenants of markets and cooked food stalls under the Hong Kong Housing Authority (HA), who did not receive the subsidy under the first round of the subsidy scheme are encouraged to apply.
 
     "Similar to the first round of the scheme, a one-off subsidy at a flat rate of $5,000 per stall will be provided to the stall tenants so as to encourage them to use contactless payment as an anti-epidemic measure to safeguard public health. It is expected that the second round of the subsidy scheme will benefit about 1 100 market and cooked food stall tenants under the HA," a spokesman for the HA said today (April 29).
 
     "The subsidy may be used to meet the initial set-up costs as well as service and other fees including transaction fees in relation to the provision of at least one contactless payment means, which is processed through a licensed bank or a stored value facility licensee regulated by the Hong Kong Monetary Authority, or a debit/credit card scheme, for patrons," the spokesman said.
 
     The applicant is required to produce a valid service contract of no less than a duration of two years signed by him/her, and confirm that the necessary installation has been completed to enable a designated means of contactless payment at his/her stall before the subsidy will be disbursed to him/her. He/she needs to submit an application and obtain an approval in principle from the HA before signing a designated service contract with a service provider.
 
     "Before disbursing the subsidy, staff of the Housing Department will inspect the stalls under application to check if the installations for contactless payment have been completed," the spokesman said.
 
      The HA will issue a letter to individual stall tenants of its markets and cooked food stalls inviting them to join the scheme. Interested stall tenants may submit the applications to the respective estate offices on or before June 30. For enquiries, they may contact their respective estate offices.

     A Vietnamese illegal worker holding a recognisance form was jailed by Shatin Magistrates' Courts yesterday (April 28).

     During operation "Twilight" conducted on October 27 last year, Immigration Department (ImmD) investigators raided a vegetable stall in Aberdeen. A male Vietnamese, aged 40, was arrested while working as an odd job worker. Upon identity checking, he produced for inspection a recognisance form issued by the ImmD, which prohibits him from taking employment. Further investigation revealed that he was a non-refoulement claimant. An employer suspected of employing the illegal worker was also arrested and the investigation is ongoing.

     The illegal worker was charged at Shatin Magistrates' Courts yesterday with taking employment after landing in Hong Kong unlawfully and remaining in Hong Kong without the authority of the Director of Immigration or while being a person in respect of whom a removal order or deportation order was in force. After trial, he was sentenced to 22 months' imprisonment.
 
     The ImmD spokesman warned that, as stipulated in section 38AA of the Immigration Ordinance, illegal immigrants or people who are the subject of a removal order or a deportation order are prohibited from taking any employment, whether paid or unpaid, or establishing or joining in any business. Offenders are liable upon conviction to a maximum fine of $50,000 and up to three years' imprisonment. The Court of Appeal has issued a guideline ruling that a sentence of 15 months' imprisonment should be applied in such cases.

     The spokesman reiterated that it is a serious offence to employ people who are not lawfully employable. The maximum penalty is imprisonment for three years and a fine of $350,000. The High Court has laid down sentencing guidelines that the employer of an illegal worker should be given an immediate custodial sentence. According to the court sentencing, employers must take all practicable steps to determine whether a person is lawfully employable prior to employment. Apart from inspecting a prospective employee's identity card, the employer has the explicit duty to make enquiries regarding the person and ensure that the answers would not cast any reasonable doubt concerning the lawful employability of the person. The court will not accept failure to do so as a defence in proceedings. It is also an offence if an employer fails to inspect the job seeker's valid travel document if the job seeker does not have a Hong Kong permanent identity card. The maximum penalty for failing to inspect such a document is imprisonment for one year and a fine of $150,000.

     Under the existing mechanism, the ImmD will, as a standard procedure, conduct initial screening on vulnerable persons, including illegal workers, illegal immigrants, sex workers and foreign domestic helpers who are arrested during any operation, with a view to ascertaining whether they are trafficking in persons (TIP) victims. When any TIP indicator is revealed in the initial screening, the officers will conduct a full debriefing and identification by using a standardised checklist to ascertain the presence of TIP elements, such as threats and coercion in the recruitment phase and the nature of exploitation. Identified TIP victims will be provided with various forms of support and assistance, including urgent intervention, medical services, counselling, shelter, temporary accommodation and other supporting services. The ImmD calls on TIP victims to report crimes to the relevant departments.

     The Government announced earlier that it will launch the second round of the subsidy scheme for promotion of contactless payment in public markets under the Anti-epidemic Fund, and extend the scope to cover licensed hawkers. Applications under the subsidy scheme will open tomorrow (April 30) to provide a one-off subsidy to tenants of public markets and licensed hawkers to promote contactless payment and protect public health.

     A spokesman for the Food and Environmental Hygiene Department (FEHD) said today (April 29), "To reduce the virus transmission risk in markets, a one-off subsidy will be provided to eligible tenants of FEHD market stalls (including cooked food stalls) and licensed hawkers at a flat rate of $5,000 for use to meet the initial set-up costs as well as service and other fees in relation to the provision of at least one contactless payment means, which would be processed through a licensed bank or a stored value facility licensee regulated by the Hong Kong Monetary Authority, or a debit/credit card scheme, for customers. The subsidy scheme is expected to benefit about 9 000 stall tenants in FEHD markets and 5 700 licensed hawkers."

     Tenants and licensed hawkers are required to submit an application to the FEHD and obtain approval in principle before signing a service contract with a service provider in relation to the provision of at least one contactless payment means, and the tenants and hawkers have to produce a valid service contract of no less than a duration of two years signed by them. The FEHD will conduct inspections to ensure completion of installation before disbursing the subsidy.

     â€‹Tenants of FEHD market stalls and licensed hawkers interested in the subsidy scheme can obtain application forms from District Environmental Hygiene Offices of the FEHD and submit their applications on or before June 30. 

The following is issued on behalf of the Law Reform Commission:
 
     The Law Reform Commission (LRC) today (April 29) announced that Mr Chan Chak-ming and Mrs Margaret Leung Ko May-yee have been appointed by the Chief Executive as new members of the LRC for three years with effect from May 1, 2021.
 
     Mr Chan has been the Vice-President of the Law Society of Hong Kong since 2018. He is also a current member of the LRC Sub-committee on Outcome Related Fee Structures for Arbitration. The LRC believes that his professional standing and experience in the legal field will further strengthen the LRC's role in proposing law reforms.
 
     Mrs Leung is the former Global Co-Head, Commercial Banking, HSBC Group, and the former Vice-Chairman and Chief Executive of Hang Seng Bank Limited. Her strong business acumen and abundant public service experience will surely provide valuable insights into the LRC's work.
 
     The Secretary for Justice, Ms Teresa Cheng, SC, who is also the Chairman of the LRC, expressed her heartfelt thanks to the outgoing members, namely Ms Alexandra Lo and Ms Melissa Wu, for their valuable contributions and advice to the LRC over the past few years.
 
     With these latest appointments, the LRC will comprise the following members:
 
The Secretary for Justice (Chairman)
The Chief Justice of the Court of Final Appeal (ex-officio member)
The Law Draftsman (ex-officio member)
Ms Winnie Tam, SC
Ms May Chan Suk-mei
Professor Tan Cheng-han
Professor Lutz-Christian Wolff
Professor Fu Hualing
Mr Stephen Hung Wan-shun
Mrs Janice Choi Kwan Wing-kum
Mr Chan Chak-ming
Mrs Margaret Leung Ko May-yee