Attention TV/radio announcers:

Please broadcast the following as soon as possible and repeat it at regular intervals:

     Here is an item of interest to swimmers.

     The Leisure and Cultural Services Department announced today (May 11) that Ping Shan Tin Shui Wai Swimming Pool in Yuen Long District has been temporarily closed for cleaning and superchlorination following the discovery of a small amount of vomit in the pool.

     It will be reopened at 8.10pm today.

     The department appeals to swimmers to be considerate and to keep the swimming pools clean. They are advised not to swim after a full meal and should use the toilet facilities if necessary before swimming.

     The Department of Health (DH) and the Customs and Excise Department (C&ED) yesterday (May 10) conducted a joint operation and raided two premises of AMH Medical Diagnostic Group located in Yau Ma Tei and Kwun Tong respectively.

     During the operation, the DH and the C&ED seized relevant evidence, including a small quantity of suspected unregistered pharmaceutical product, for further investigation. So far, no one was arrested. Investigation is ongoing.

     According to the Pharmacy and Poisons Ordinance (Cap 138), all pharmaceutical products must be registered with the Pharmacy and Poisons Board of Hong Kong before they can be legally supplied in the market. Illegal sale or possession of unregistered pharmaceutical products and Part 1 poisons are criminal offences. The maximum penalty for each offence is a fine of $100,000 and two years' imprisonment.

     "All registered pharmaceutical products should carry a Hong Kong registration number on the package in the format of "HK-XXXXX". The DH strongly urges members of the public not to buy or use unregistered pharmaceutical products as their safety, efficacy and quality are not guaranteed. People who have received the vaccines at the above premises should consult healthcare professionals if they are in doubt or feeling unwell after vaccination," a DH spokesman said.

     According to the C&ED, under the Import and Export Ordinance (Cap 60), import and export of pharmaceutical products not under and in accordance with a licence is an offence. The maximum penalty upon conviction is a fine of $500,000 and imprisonment for two years.

     Besides, no contravention of the Trade Descriptions Ordinance has been discovered by now after preliminary investigation.

     The DH and the C&ED are continuing with their investigations, and appropriate action will be taken if there is sufficient evidence proving violation of the laws.

     In relation to the recent complaints about human papillomavirus vaccines, the DH is actively following up the cases, and may conduct joint operation with relevant law enforcement agencies if needed.

     The Chief Executive, Mrs Carrie Lam, chaired the Commission on Poverty Summit 2019 (Summit) today (May 11). The theme for the Summit this year was "Building Coalition to Tackle Poverty Through Innovative Means". Representatives from the business and social welfare sectors who have participated in poverty alleviation projects involving cross-sector collaboration were invited to share their views and experience at a panel discussion.

      Over 400 guests attended the Summit. In addition to members of the Commission on Poverty (CoP) and its Task Forces, stakeholders from political, business and academic sectors as well as think tanks, non-governmental organisations and concern groups were present. Relevant Principal Officials and Heads of Departments also attended the Summit.

      In her opening remarks, Mrs Lam said that broad participation is needed to address social issues effectively by making good use of the resources from corporations and the market.  Through collaboration in the community in using new ideas and new service models, sustainable solutions could be identified. In terms of poverty alleviation, the Government will actively promote cross-sector collaboration to pool adequate resources to address various livelihood issues, thereby building a harmonious society. She hoped that the Summit could help raise the awareness and concerns about poverty alleviation work, and to inspire more new ideas to take the poverty alleviation work to a new stage. 

     At the ensuing panel discussion moderated by the Chief Executive of the Hong Kong Council of Social Service, Mr Chua Hoi-wai, representatives from the business and social welfare sectors participating in cross-sector poverty alleviation projects exchanged views and experience on how to implement and promote innovative poverty alleviation initiatives through cross-sector collaboration. The speakers were the Convenor of the Our Hong Kong Foundation's Business for Social Good platform, Mr Bernard Chan; the President of the Lee Hysan Foundation, Ms Cecilia Ho; the Managing Director of Hip Shing Hong (Holdings) Company Limited, Mr David Fong; and the Chief Executive Officer of St James' Settlement, Ms Josephine Lee, together with the Secretary for Labour and Welfare, Dr Law Chi-kwong. There were lively exchanges amongst the speakers and Summit participants and many useful comments were raised on how to further promote and expand the cross-sector collaboration among the community, business and the Government in poverty alleviation. 

     After the panel discussion session, the Chief Secretary for Administration and Chairperson of the CoP, Mr Matthew Cheung Kin-chung, together with the Chairperson of the Community Care Fund Task Force, Dr Law Chi-kwong, and the Chairperson of the Social Innovation and Entrepreneurship Development Fund Task Force, Dr Jane Lee, gave an account of the achievements of the CoP and the Task Forces in the past year. These included the key poverty alleviation measures, the implementation of youth societal engagement programmes such as the "Be a Government Official for a Day" Programme and the "Future Stars" Programme, filling the gaps of existing assistance programmes through the Community Care Fund and promoting social innovation through the Social Innovation and Entrepreneurship Development Fund.

     In the second half of the Summit, Mrs Lam and Mr Cheung, together with Dr Law; the Secretary for Food and Health, Professor Sophia Chan; the Secretary for Education, Mr Kevin Yeung; and the Secretary for Home Affairs, Mr Lau Kong-wah, exchanged views with the participants on the policies, measures and directions of poverty alleviation. Participants from various sectors were enthusiastic on giving views on the CoP's work and the way forward on alleviating poverty in Hong Kong.

     The "Commission on Poverty Progress Report 2019" and  publications on the "Future Stars" Programme, the "Life Buddies" Mentoring Scheme, the Social Innovation and Entrepreneurship Development Fund and the Community Care Fund distributed at the Summit have been uploaded to the CoP's dedicated website (www.povertyrelief.gov.hk).

      

The following is issued on behalf of the Legislative Council Secretariat:
  
     The Legislative Council (LegCo) Bills Committee on Fugitive Offenders and Mutual Legal Assistance in Criminal Matters Legislation (Amendment) Bill 2019 will hold a meeting next Tuesday (May 14) at 8:30am in Conference Room 1 of the LegCo Complex. During the meeting, members of the Bills Committee will elect a Chairman and meet with the Government.
 

     The Centre for Food Safety (CFS) of the Food and Environmental Hygiene Department today (May 11) announced that a soft ice-cream sample was found to contain coliform bacteria exceeding the legal limit. Follow-up is in progress.

     "The Centre collected the above-mentioned soft ice-cream sample from a retail outlet with a frozen confection factory licence in Mong Kok for testing under its routine Food Surveillance Programme. The test result showed that the sample contained 280 coliform bacteria per gram, exceeding the legal limit," a spokesman for the CFS said.

     Under the Frozen Confections Regulation (Cap 132AC), frozen confection for sale should not contain more than 100 coliform bacteria per gram. The maximum penalty for offenders is a fine of $10,000 and three months' imprisonment upon conviction. The fact that the coliform bacteria exceeded the legal limit indicated that the hygienic conditions were unsatisfactory, but did not mean that consumption would lead to food poisoning.

     "The CFS has informed the vendor concerned of the irregularity and instructed it to stop selling the affected soft ice-cream immediately. The CFS has also provided health education on food safety and hygiene to the person-in-charge and staff of the vendor concerned, and has requested them to carry out thorough cleaning and disinfection. Should there be sufficient evidence, prosecution will be initiated," the spokesman said.

     The CFS will continue to follow up on the case and take appropriate action to safeguard food safety and public health.