Suspected use of fraudulent life-saving attendants certificates at swimming pool of San Francisco Towers, Happy Valley
The Food and Environmental Hygiene Department (FEHD) said today (June 6) that a life-saving attendant at the swimming pool of San Francisco Towers, located at 29-35 Ventris Road, Happy Valley, is suspected of using a fraudulent life-saving attendant certificate. As the qualification of the life-saving attendant is in doubt and the swimming pool has allegedly failed to provide a sufficient number of qualified life-saving attendants as required by law, the department has ordered the immediate closure of the pool and is considering prosecuting its licensee. The incident has been reported to the Police, and the FEHD has also notified the Property Management Services Authority to take parallel follow-up action.
Officers from the FEHD today verified a batch of lifeguard records with the Hong Kong China Life Saving Society, and discovered that the credentials of a life-saving attendant on duty at the aforementioned swimming pool on June 4 did not match the records of the Hong Kong China Life Saving Society. The FEHD immediately took action regarding the pool.
The FEHD has implemented a series of enhancement measures from May 19 to further prevent the employment of unqualified life-saving attendants at private swimming pools. During May, the FEHD officers conducted inspections at 713 licensed swimming pools and verified the qualifications of 1 041 life-saving attendants with the Hong Kong China Life Saving Society. Apart from the suspected case of fraudulent certification discovered today, no other irregularities regarding suspected employment of unqualified life-saving attendants have been identified by the FEHD.
The FEHD will continue to implement the relevant measures straightly to enhance the safety standards of licensed swimming pools and safeguard the safety of swimming pool users. Members of the public are called on to take part in the monitoring and report suspected cases of irregularities to the department.
Disciplined and auxiliary services to hold open days to promote National Security Education Day
To echo the National Security Education Day on April 15, the Security Bureau's eight disciplined services and auxiliary services will hold open days in such places as their training schools, a museum, headquarters, divisional premises or relevant venue on different weekends from late March to mid-April to deepen the public's understanding of the services as well as their work and achievements in safeguarding national security. Starting from tomorrow (March 17), members of the public can register for free admission tickets via the relevant disciplined services' websites. Admission tickets are not required for the open days of the Hong Kong Police Force, the Civil Aid Service and the Auxiliary Medical Service.
The Kai Tak Division of the Government Flying Service will be opened on March 29; the Hong Kong Correctional Services Museum and Community Education Experience Centre, and the Civil Aid Service Headquarters will be opened to the public on April 11; the "Little Grape"-themed park, located at Harcourt Garden in Admiralty adjacent to the Police Headquarters in Wan Chai and the Fire and Ambulance Services Academy, April 12; the Immigration Service Institute of Training and Development and the Hong Kong Customs College, April 18; while the Auxiliary Medical Service Headquarters, April 19.
Various activities will be organised by the services on the open days, including flag raising ceremonies, Chinese-style foot drills, rescue demonstrations, virtual reality training system demonstrations, flight simulator experiences, displays of firearms and equipment, working dogs' demonstrations and game booths. These activities will help members of the public to learn more about the services' responsibilities in preventing and defending against national security risks and raise public awareness of national security, and create a favourable atmosphere in safeguarding national security and law-abidingness of their own accord.
Members of the public are welcome to visit the websites of the relevant services for more information on the open days, and register to obtain tickets. Successful applicants will receive notifications from the organisers.
Open day venue on March 29 (Sunday):
Government Flying Service Kai Tak Division |
Ticket registration |
March 17 and 18 |
Registration links will be available on the platforms listed on the right upon commencement of registration |
Government Flying Service's website |
Open day venues on April 11 (Saturday):
Hong Kong Correctional Services Museum and Community Education Experience Centre |
Civil Aid Service Headquarters |
Ticket registration |
March 23 to 30 |
No tickets required |
Registration links will be available on the platforms listed on the right upon commencement of registration |
Correctional Services Department's website |
Open day venues on April 12 (Sunday):
"Little Grape"-themed park at Harcourt Garden |
Fire and Ambulance Services Academy |
Ticket registration |
No tickets required |
March 26 to 29 |
Registration links will be available on the platforms listed on the right upon commencement of registration |
Fire Services Department's website |
Open day venues on April 18 (Saturday):
Immigration Service Institute of Training and Development |
Hong Kong Customs College |
Ticket registration |
March 23 to 30 |
March 30 to April 1 |
Registration links will be available on the platforms listed on the right upon commencement of registration |
Immigration Department's website |
Customs and Excise Department's website |
Open day venue on April 19 (Sunday):
Auxiliary Medical Service Headquarters |
Ticket registration |
No tickets required |
Registration links will be available on the platforms listed on the right upon commencement of registration |
Source: AI-found images
