The following is issued on behalf of the Hospital Authority:

     The Hospital Authority (HA) spokesperson announced the following senior appointments today (June 18).

     Dr Cheung Ngai-tseung will be appointed as Head of Information Technology and Health Informatics with effect from July 2, 2020.

     Dr Cheung joined the Information Technology Division of the Hospital Authority Head Office as manager in 1993 and became Chief Medical Informatics Officer (CMIO) in 2007. Since 2014, he has served as the administrative head of Information Technology and Health Informatics Division in addition to his role as CMIO.

     Dr Cheung is a very seasoned senior executive specialised in health informatics. He has extensive experience in formulating healthcare information architecture and implementing various pilot projects to improve the efficiency and quality of medical care. He has led the development and implementation of a comprehensive electronic medical record system, the Clinical Management System, for sharing of patients' electronic health records in public hospitals and clinics. Being the consultant for eHealth for the Government, Dr Cheung also worked with the Government and other healthcare stakeholders to create a territory-wide Electronic Health Record Sharing System which was successfully launched in March 2016.

     In addition, the HA announced the appointment of Dr Kenny Yuen as the Hospital Chief Executive of Tseung Kwan O Hospital and Haven of Hope Hospital, succeeding Dr Lau Ip-tim upon his retirement, with effect from August 7, 2020.

     Dr Yuen is a specialist in general surgery. Since 2016, he has been the Chief of Service of the Surgery Department of Tseung Kwan O Hospital and is currently the Deputy Hospital Chief Executive of the hospital. He has provided leadership in various hospital improvement projects such as promoting an end-of-life care culture, setting up the Peri-operative Management Team and developing a new service model for enhancing the recovery after surgery. Dr Yuen is also the Deputy Chairman of the Coordinating Committee in Surgery of the HA and a member of the Cancer Coordinating Committee of the Food and Health Bureau.

     The HA Chairman, Mr Henry Fan, and the HA Chief Executive, Dr Tony Ko, congratulated Dr Cheung and Dr Yuen on the new appointments and wished them every success in taking up the new posts. Mr Fan and Dr Ko also expressed deep appreciation to Dr Lau for his dedicated service over the years and wished him a happy retirement.

    

     The effective exchange rate index for the Hong Kong dollar on Thursday, June 18, 2020 is 107.7 (down 0.2 against yesterday's index).

     A man was fined $3,000 at the Shatin Magistrates' Courts today (June 18) for contravening the Hotel and Guesthouse Accommodation Ordinance.

     The court heard that in September last year, officers of the Office of the Licensing Authority (OLA) from the Home Affairs Department, when searching the Internet for intelligence about unlicensed guesthouse activities, identified a suspected unlicensed guesthouse on Yuk Tai Street in Ma On Shan. The OLA officers posed as lodgers and successfully rented a room in the guesthouse on a daily basis through an Internet platform.

     According to the OLA's records, the guesthouse did not possess a licence under the Ordinance on the day of lodging. The man responsible for operating the premises was charged with contravening section 5(1) of the Ordinance.

     A department spokesman stressed that operating or managing an unlicensed guesthouse is a criminal offence and can lead to a criminal record. Upon conviction, the offender is liable to a maximum fine of $200,000 and two years' imprisonment. Guesthouse licensees may advertise or offer to provide sleeping accommodation on the Internet. To assist the public and tourists to identify licensed guesthouses, the licensees should indicate clearly "Licensed guesthouse" in all promotional advertisement materials or advertisements related to the guesthouse.

     The spokesman appealed to anyone with information about suspected unlicensed guesthouses to report it to the OLA by the hotline (Tel: 2881 7498), by email (hadlaenq@had.gov.hk), by fax (2504 5805) using the report form downloaded from the OLA website (www.hadla.gov.hk), or through the mobile application "Hong Kong Licensed Hotels and Guesthouses".

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 OCBC Wing Hang Bank Limited on fraudulent website, 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.

     Ninety-one convictions were recorded in May 2020 for breaches of legislation enforced by the Environmental Protection Department (EPD).

     Twelve of the convictions were under the Air Pollution Control Ordinance, three were under the Environmental Impact Assessment Ordinance, 13 were under the Noise Control Ordinance, one was under the Ozone Layer Protection Ordinance, 23 were under the Public Cleansing and Prevention of Nuisances Regulation, 37 were under the Waste Disposal Ordinance and two were under the Water Pollution Control Ordinance.

     A company was fined $35,000, which was the heaviest fine in May, for using powered mechanical equipment not in accordance with the conditions of a construction noise permit.