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 Bank of China (Hong Kong) Limited on fraudulent website and phishing instant message, which has been reported to the HKMA. Hyperlink to the press release is available on the HKMA website for ease of reference by members of the public.
      
     Anyone who has provided his or her personal information to the website concerned or has conducted any financial transactions through the website should contact the bank concerned using the contact information provided in the press release, and report to the Police or contact the Cyber Security and Technology Crime Bureau of the Hong Kong Police Force at 2860 5012.

     Three red tides have been sighted over the past week, an inter-departmental red tide working group reported today (March 5).
 
     A mariculturist spotted the first red tide on February 26 at Cheung Sha Wan Fish Culture Zone. On February 28, Marine Police officers spotted the second red tide in Sha Tin Hoi. On March 1, staff of the Agriculture, Fisheries and Conservation Department (AFCD) spotted the third red tide at Inner Port Shelter, including Tai Tau Chau Fish Culture Zone.
 
     Apart from the third red tide, which still persists, the other two red tides have dissipated. No fish deaths associated with the three red tides have been reported as of today.
 
     A spokesman for the working group said, "The first and second red tides were formed by Noctiluca scintillans, while the third red tide was formed by Gonyaulax polygramma. Both algae are commonly found in Hong Kong waters and are non-toxic."
 
     The AFCD urged mariculturists at Cheung Sha Wan, Yim Tin Tsai, Yim Tin Tsai (East), Yung Shue Au, Lo Fu Wat, Ma Nam Wat, Kau Sai, Kai Lung Wan, Tai Tau Chau and Leung Shuen Wan fish culture zones to monitor the situation closely and increase aeration where necessary.
 
     Red tide is a natural phenomenon. The AFCD's proactive phytoplankton monitoring programme will continue to monitor red tide occurrences to minimise the impact on the mariculture industry and the public.
 

     Police today (March 5) appealed to the public for information on a man who went missing in Kwai Chung.

     Wong Cho-wah, aged 39, went missing after he left his residence in Shek Lei (II) Estate on March 3 afternoon. His family made a report to Police on the next day.
         
     He is about 1.65 metres tall, 60 kilograms in weight and of medium build. He has a long face with yellow complexion and short black hair. He was last seen wearing a grey jacket, khaki trousers and black and white sports shoes.

     Anyone who knows the whereabouts of the missing man or may have seen him is urged to contact the Regional Missing Person Unit of New Territories South on 3661 1176 or 5467 8695, or email to rmpu-nts-2@police.gov.hk, or contact any police station.

  

The following is issued on behalf of the Judiciary:
 
     Regarding enquiries on the arrangements for the hearing of a case involving 47 defendants at the West Kowloon Magistrates' Courts, the Judiciary issued the following response:
      
     The courts must adjudicate cases in accordance with the law and court procedures. To ensure efficient administration of justice, the courts have always sought to complete the hearing of each case as soon as practicable.

     Regarding the case concerned, all 47 defendants must be heard before the same magistrate according to court procedures as they were charged with the same offence under the same case. Besides, the case was first brought to the court for mention hearing on March 1. The many defendants involved in the case were all charged on the day before and arranged to appear in court the following day. Given the very short time available, the court had to urgently make the best use of the limited court facilities to put in place arrangements for the hearing of the case. These included those relating to operational arrangements for the hearing, broadcasting, allocation of seats for the public and media, crowd control, security, etc. The hearing lasted for four consecutive days, spanning more than 40 hours. In addition to handling the hearing process, the court at the same time had to deal with admission queuing, court security and anti-epidemic arrangements every day, involving hundreds of court users both inside and outside the court building from time to time. In the face of such unprecedented and huge challenges, there were inevitable shortcomings in some of the implementation details.
      
     The Judiciary has taken note of the views from various sectors of the community on the hearing and other arrangements for the case. The Chief Justice of the Court of Final Appeal, Mr Andrew Cheung Kui-nung, has instructed that subject to the safeguarding of the due administration of justice, the Judiciary should immediately review the overall arrangements of handling cases involving a large number of litigants and observers at all levels of courts, with a view to adopting improvement measures in a timely manner in respect of all relevant areas, including scheduling of hearings, allocation of seats for observers and broadcasting arrangements.

The following is issued on behalf of the Hospital Authority:

     As at 9am today (March 5), 11 COVID-19 confirmed patients were discharged from hospital in the last 24 hours. So far, a total of 10 604 patients with confirmed or probable infection have been discharged.
 
     At present, there are 661 negative pressure rooms in public hospitals with 1 191 negative pressure beds activated. A total of 220 confirmed patients are currently hospitalised in 22 public hospitals, a community treatment facility and the North Lantau Hospital Hong Kong Infection Control Centre, among which 13 patients are in critical condition, 12 are in serious condition and the remaining 195 patients are in stable condition.
 
     The Hospital Authority will maintain close contact with the Centre for Health Protection to monitor the latest developments and to inform the public and healthcare workers on the latest information in a timely manner.
 
     Details of the above-mentioned patients are as follows: