To align with the Government's announcement on the latest arrangements for provision of public services, the Transport Department (TD) announced today (January 27) that some of its services will be adjusted with effect from February 1.

Licensing and related services
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     The TD will resume the processing of applications for the direct issue of a full Hong Kong driving licence submitted by drop-in box or by post with effect from February 1. However, the Licensing Offices at Admiralty, Cheung Sha Wan, Kwun Tong and Sha Tin will continue to suspend walk-in counter services. The TD will continue to provide counter services for applications submitted by applicants with online appointments and deploy additional manpower to process applications submitted via drop-in boxes, by post, or online. 

     The TD appeals to members of the public in need to use the online appointment services as far as possible. Those who cannot make a prior appointment may submit applications by post or online, or via the drop-in boxes placed at the Licensing Offices from 9am to 5pm from Monday to Friday. To avoid unnecessary delays, the public should submit applications three to four weeks before the expiry dates as far as practicable.

Driving test services
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     After having considered the ways of conducting driving tests for different classes of motor vehicles, the TD will first resume the motorcycle driving test, including Part B (competence test) and Part C (road test), from February 1.

     Candidates who have been scheduled to take a motorcycle driving test on or after February 1 should attend the test according to the test date, time and driving test centre specified in the driving test appointment letter. Motorcycle driving test candidates affected by the suspension of the driving test services during the period from December 2, 2020, to January 29, 2021, will be notified individually of their rescheduled test dates.

     Other driving test services (including road tests of private cars, light goods vehicles and commercial vehicles, the written test (Part A) and the taxi written test) and driving test appointment services (including walk-in counter services of the Driving Test Appointment Office, the online booking service for driving test appointments and the telephone booking service for repeater early test appointments) will continue to be suspended until further notice. The TD will notify the affected candidates individually of the rescheduled test dates after the resumption of the relevant driving test services.

     All candidates participating in the motorcycle driving test must wear surgical masks inside the test centres and throughout the test, clean their hands with alcohol sanitiser before entering the centre office, and undergo body temperature screening arranged by the TD. If a candidate does not wear a surgical mask or refuses to undergo body temperature screening, or has a body temperature higher than 37.5 degrees Celsius, the candidate will not be allowed to enter the test venue and the test will be rescheduled.
     
     The TD urges candidates not to attend a motorcycle driving test if they are feeling unwell, and advises that they should consult a doctor promptly. Applicants who are absent from a motorcycle driving test on medical grounds may submit their postponement applications with the original sick leave certificate/medical certificate to the Driving Test Appointment Office of the TD within one month from the test date for rescheduling of the test date.

     In addition, candidates who would like to submit applications for test postponement/temporary cancellation of a driving test appointment or change of driving test region can submit the applications within two weeks after resumption of the services of the Driving Test Appointment Office.

Vehicle examination services
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     Regarding the vehicle examination services, the TD's Vehicle Examination Centres will continue to provide vehicle examination services for vehicles with an appointment from Monday to Friday. Since the vehicle concerned has to pass the examination before the vehicle licence can be renewed, members of the public should make a vehicle examination appointment as early as possible.
 
     For enquiries, members of the public can contact the relevant offices at the following numbers:

The following is issued on behalf of the Legislative Council Secretariat:

     In view of the latest situation of COVID-19 epidemic, the Legislative Council (LegCo) Secretariat announced today (January 27) that, starting from next Monday (February 1), the LegCo Public Complaints Office will resume its counter services from 10am to 4.30pm on Wednesday and Friday.
      
     The Secretariat will continue to arrange staff to work from home, except those who are responsible for servicing Council meetings or committee meetings and maintaining basic operation of the Secretariat, and those performing on-site duties.
      
     Meanwhile, the Secretariat will maintain all the existing epidemic prevention measures and special arrangements. For details, please refer to the announcement on the LegCo Website (www.legco.gov.hk/general/english/sec/corg_ser/whats_on_20210127-e.pdf).
      
     The Secretariat will closely monitor the development of the epidemic and review the measures to make further announcements in due course.

     To align with the announcement by the Government to resume the provision of some basic public services in a safe and orderly manner to meet the needs of the public and enterprises, the Companies Registry announced today (January 27) the latest arrangements for its public services.
 
     Starting from tomorrow (January 28), the Companies Registry will reopen the Public Search Centre while maintaining the counter services for receiving documents delivered in hard copy and collection of certificates for company incorporations currently provided.  
 
     The opening hours of the Registry are as follows:
 
13/F Public Search Centre and 14/F Public Service Hall at Queensway Government Offices and 12/F, One Kowloon, Kowloon Bay
 
Monday to Friday
9.30am to 4pm
                   
     To achieve social distancing with a view to reducing the risk of the spread of the COVID-19 virus in the community, the Registry appeals to its customers to continue to deliver documents electronically or by post. Customers should avoid visiting the Registry's office premises unless they require urgent service. The Registry's services on registration of documents and public search services will continue to be provided electronically through the e-Registry (www.eregistry.gov.hk), the Cyber Search Centre (www.icris.cr.gov.hk) and the website of the Registry for Trust and Company Service Providers (www.tcsp.cr.gov.hk).
 
     The waiting time for public services provided at the Registry's offices may be longer as the provision of services has not completely returned to full scale. The Registry may also take a longer time to process the documents submitted in hard copy form.
 
     Please check the latest announcements on the Registry's website at www.cr.gov.hk for any updates.
 
     For enquiries, please call 2867 2600 or contact the Registry by email at crenq@cr.gov.hk.

The following is issued on behalf of the Hospital Authority:

     The Hospital Authority (HA) today (January 27) reminded its staff and the general public on suspected fraudulent messages claiming to be from HA staff.
 
     The HA Information Technology and Health Informatics Division received reports from staff members on having received fraudulent messages via public instant messaging apps from unknown mobile numbers carrying profile pictures of HA staff.  The HA believes that the profile pictures had been downloaded from the Internet.
 
     Given the vigilance of and timely reporting by the staff concerned, no data leakage nor financial loss has been reported so far. The HA is very concerned about the incident and has reported the cases to the Police for further action.
 
     The HA has reminded its staff to remain vigilant when using public instant messaging apps so as to avoid Internet scams. Staff are reminded not to click hyperlinks from unknown sources and to verify the identity of the sender if a message from an unknown source is received. The HA also appeals to the general public to remain vigilant on fraudulent messages which claim to be from HA staff. The HA Information Technology and Health Informatics Division will closely monitor the situation and provide assistance to staff in need.

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, phishing email and suspicious mobile application (App), 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, email or App concerned or has conducted any financial transactions through the website or App 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.