Hong Kong Customs seized about 500 kilograms of suspected smuggled sea cucumbers and 16 tonnes of suspected smuggled donkey skins with an estimated market value of about $1.45 million from a container at the Kwai Chung Customhouse Cargo Examination Compound on April 9.
 
     Through risk assessment, Customs officers selected and inspected a container declared to be carrying table salt that arrived in Hong Kong from Egypt. The suspected smuggled sea cucumbers and donkey skins were seized as a result.
 
     Investigation is ongoing.
 
     Smuggling is a serious offence. Under the Import and Export Ordinance, any person found guilty of importing or exporting unmanifested cargo is liable to a maximum fine of $2 million and imprisonment for seven years.
 
     Members of the public may report any suspected smuggling activities to Customs' 24-hour hotline 2545 6182 or its dedicated crime-reporting email account (crimereport@customs.gov.hk).

  

     Following is the transcript of remarks at a media session by the Secretary for Transport and Housing, Mr Frank Chan Fan, after attending a radio programme this morning (April 11):
 
Reporter: Could you explain how to help further the minibus operator? Because we know that two of the routes are already closing down. Could you also explain why the subsidy for public transport does not apply on buses but only on MTR?
 
Secretary for Transport and Housing: For the green minibus, for those employees under the green minibus operator, they are covered under the Employment Support Scheme. For green minibus operation, there is an employer and there are employees. Through the Employment Support Scheme, all these drivers will be covered. Of course, we all appreciate that there are drivers who are of age 65 or above, because they don’t have their MPF (Mandatory Provident Fund) account. I understand from the Secretary for Labour and Welfare that they will look into alternatives as to how to offer support to these green minibus drivers who are of age 65 or above.
 
Reporter: How about the subsidy that only applies to MTR, right?
 
Secretary for Transport and Housing: For the subsidy, I think if you would like to take note of the Public Transport Fare Subsidy Scheme, we have, in fact, lowered the threshold from $400 to $200 so as to enable more people to benefit. In fact, by lowering the threshold from $400 to $200, there would be 5 million Hong Kong people who benefit from the subsidy and the amount of subsidy, on average, would be increased from roughly about $75 to $99.9. The increase in subsidy is rather substantial in terms of percentage, roughly about one-third of the original.
 
(Please also refer to the Chinese portion of the transcript.)

     The Social Welfare Department (SWD) has been informed by Principal Chan Free Tutorial World Limited that the territory-wide flag-selling activity in public places scheduled to be held today (April 11) has been cancelled, a spokesman for the SWD said.
 
     For enquiries, please contact Mr Ma of the organisation at 2782 2700.

     A Government spokesman said today (April 10) that 27 Hong Kong residents who left Morocco on a chartered flight arranged by the Chinese Embassy in the Kingdom of Morocco arrived in Guangzhou this afternoon. Among them, 26 people subsequently took the coaches arranged by the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region Government to leave there and returned to Hong Kong via the Shenzhen Bay Port. They now arrived at AsiaWorld-Expo.

     The remaining one Hong Kong resident chose to stay in Guangzhou for a 14-day isolation period for medical surveillance in accordance with relevant requirements.

The following is issued on behalf of the Hospital Authority:

     As at noon today (April 10), public hospitals had reported to the Department of Health the admission of 91 patients (40 male and 51 female, aged 22 months to 79) in the past 24 hours who met the reporting criteria of COVID-19. Appropriate tests have been arranged for the patients.
      
     There are 708 patients under isolation currently. So far, 309 patients who had COVID-19 confirmed or probable infection have been discharged upon recovery.
      
     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.