Bus services to be enhanced amid ferry service adjustments on September 30 and October 3
The Transport Department (TD) today (September 26) reminded the public that, in view of special marine transport measures for the mornings of next Tuesday (September 30) and next Friday (October 3), ferry services will be adjusted. It has steered operators to enhance relevant bus services. Members of the public, especially residents of outlying islands, should plan their journeys early and allow sufficient time for commuting.
(1) Outlying island ferry service adjustments
From about 8.20am to 9.45am on September 30, and around 9.40am to 11.15am on October 3, a total of seven outlying island ferry service routes will be adjusted gradually. Service details during these periods are as follows:
Central – Cheung Chau
September 30 (Tuesday)
From Cheung Chau: Sailing at 8.10am to remain unchanged, sailing at 8.20am to be cancelled, scheduled sailing at 8.40am to be adjusted to depart at 8.50am, service to resume as normal at 9am
From Central: Sailing at 8.40am to remain unchanged, sailing at 9am to be cancelled, service to resume as normal at 9.45am
October 3 (Friday)
From Central: Sailing at 9.45am to remain unchanged, sailing at 10.15am to be cancelled, scheduled sailing at 10.45am to be adjusted to depart at 11am, service to resume as normal at 11.15am
Central – Mui Wo
September 30 (Tuesday)
From Mui Wo: Sailing at 8.05am to remain unchanged, sailing at 8.30am to be cancelled, scheduled sailing at 8.45am to be adjusted to depart at 9.05am and operated by fast ferry, service to resume as normal at 9.40am
From Central: Sailing at 8.30am to remain unchanged, sailing at 9am to be cancelled, service to resume as normal at 9.50am
October 3 (Friday)
From Mui Wo: Sailing at 8.45am to remain unchanged, scheduled sailing at 9.40am to be advanced to depart at 9.30am, scheduled sailing at 10am to be adjusted to depart at 10.20am, service to resume as normal at 10.40am
From Central: Sailing at 9.50am to remain unchanged, sailing at 10.30am to be cancelled, service to resume as normal at 11.10am
Central – Peng Chau
September 30 (Tuesday)
From Peng Chau: Sailing at 8.20am to remain unchanged, scheduled sailing at 8.35am to be advanced to depart at 8.25am, service to resume as normal at 9.15am
From Central: Sailing at 7.40am to remain unchanged, scheduled sailing at 8am to be advanced to depart at 7.55am, sailing at 8.30am to remain unchanged, scheduled sailing at 9.15am to be adjusted to depart at 9.30am, service to resume as normal at 10am
October 3 (Friday)
From Peng Chau: Sailing at 9.15am to remain unchanged, scheduled sailing at 10am to be adjusted to depart at 10.30am, service to resume as normal at 10.45am
From Central: Sailing at 10am to remain unchanged, scheduled sailing at 10.45am to be adjusted to depart at 11am, service to resume as normal at 11.30am
Peng Chau – Hei Ling Chau (special sailing)
September 30 (Tuesday)
From Peng Chau: Scheduled first sailing at 9.45am to be adjusted to depart at 10.05am, service to resume as normal at 11.15am
October 3 (Friday)
From Peng Chau: Sailing at 9.45am to remain unchanged, scheduled sailing at 11.15am to be adjusted to depart at 11.30am, service to resume as normal at 12.45pm
Central – Yung Shue Wan
September 30 (Tuesday)
From Yung Shue Wan: Sailing at 8.20am to remain unchanged, scheduled sailing at 8.40am to be advanced to depart at 8.30am, scheduled sailing at 9am to be adjusted to depart at 9.10am, service to resume as normal at 9.20am
From Central: Sailing at 8.30am to remain unchanged, scheduled sailing at 8.50am to be advanced to depart at 8.40am, sailing at 9.10am to be cancelled, service to resume as normal at 9.30am
October 3 (Friday)
From Central: Sailing at 9.30am to remain unchanged, scheduled sailing at 10.10am to be advanced to depart at 10am, service to resume as normal at 11am
Central – Sok Kwu Wan
October 3 (Friday)
From Central: Sailing at 8.35am to remain unchanged, scheduled sailing at 10.20am to be advanced to depart at 10am, service to resume as normal at 11.50am
Central – Ma Wan
September 30 (Tuesday)
From Ma Wan: Sailing at 8.20am to remain unchanged, scheduled sailing at 9am to be adjusted to depart at 9.15am, service to resume as normal at 9.30am
From Central: Sailing at 8.30am to remain unchanged, scheduled sailing at 8.50am to be advanced to depart at 8.45am, scheduled sailing at 9.30am to be adjusted to depart at 9.45am, service to resume as normal at 10am
October 3 (Friday)
From Ma Wan: Sailing at 9.30am to remain unchanged, sailing at 10am to be cancelled, service to resume as normal at noon
From Central: Sailing at 10am to remain unchanged, sailing at 10.30am to be cancelled, service to resume as normal at 12.30pm
Central – Discovery Bay
September 30 (Tuesday)
From Discovery Bay: Sailing at 8am to remain unchanged, scheduled sailings at 8.15am and 8.30am to be advanced to depart at 8.10am and 8.20am respectively, sailings at 8.50am and 9.10am to be cancelled, service to resume as normal at 9.40am
From Central: Sailing at 8.20am to remain unchanged, sailings at 8.40am and 9.10am to be cancelled, service to resume as normal at 9.40am
October 3 (Friday)
From Discovery Bay: Sailing at 9.40am to remain unchanged, sailing at 10.10am to be cancelled, service to resume as normal at 10.40am
From Central: Sailing at 9.40am to remain unchanged, sailings at 10.10am and 10.40am to be cancelled, service to resume as normal at 11.10am
(2) Bus services to be enhanced
During the affected periods, operators will enhance bus services in Mui Wo, Ma Wan and Discovery Bay to ease passenger flow:
Enhancing service between Mui Wo Pier and Tung Chung Station (New Lantao Bus route No. 3M);
Enhancing service between Ma Wan (Tung Wan Bus Terminus) and Central Ferry Pier No. 2 (Circular) (Residents' Service route No. NR338S) (on October 3 only);
Enhancing service between Discovery Bay and Sunny Bay (Residents' Service route No. DB03R); and
Operating free bus service from Discovery Bay to Central Ferry Pier No. 3.
Details of the above outlying island ferry service adjustments and special bus service arrangements are set out in the Annex.
(3) In-harbour ferries' temporary service adjustments
Of note, from around 8.30am to 9.30am on September 30, and about 10.45am to 11.45am on October 3, subject to the actual situation, there may be temporary service adjustments up to around 30 minutes in nine in-harbour ferry routes, namely Wan Chai – Tsim Sha Tsui, Central – Tsim Sha Tsui, North Point – Hung Hom, North Point – Kowloon City, Central – Hung Hom, North Point – Kwun Tong, Water Taxi, Sai Wan Ho – Kwun Tong and Sai Wan Ho – Sam Ka Tsuen.
Members of the public are urged to pay heed to the latest traffic news and announcements through radio and television broadcasts, the TD's website (www.td.gov.hk), the HKeMobility mobile application and the ferry operators. The TD and operators will closely monitor the actual traffic situation at sea and, if practicable, resume normal services as soon as possible. Public transport services will be enhanced as needed to ease passenger flow.
The TD will work with the Islands District Office as well as ferry and road-based public transport operators to enhance information dissemination through websites, mobile applications, notices at piers and onboard as well as district networks to inform passengers of the above arrangements.
The TD's Emergency Transport Co-ordination Centre will operate round the clock to closely monitor the traffic conditions and public transport services across the territory, including in the districts concerned.
Source: AI-found images
Seven persons arrested during anti-illegal worker operation
The Immigration Department (ImmD) mounted an anti-illegal worker operation codenamed "Contribute" today (January 15).During the operation, ImmD Task Force officers raided premises under renovation in a newly built public housing estate in Sheung Shui district.A total of six suspected illegal workers and one suspected employer were arrested. Thearrested suspected illegal workers comprise six men, aged 22 to 41. Furthermore, one man, aged 45, suspected of employing the illegal workers, was also arrested. An investigation into the suspected employers is ongoing, and the possibility of further arrests is not ruled out.
Apart from mounting the enforcement operation, ImmD officers and a promotional vehicle have been deployed to distribute "Don't Employ Illegal Workers" leaflets and convey the message in the estate.
An ImmD spokesman said, "Any person who contravenes a condition of stay in force in respect of him or her shall be guilty of an offence. Also, visitors are not allowed to take employment in Hong Kong, whether paid or unpaid, without the permission of the Director of Immigration. Offenders are liable to prosecution and upon conviction face a maximum fine of $50,000 and up to two years' imprisonment. Aiders and abettors are also liable to prosecution and penalties."
The spokesman stressed that it is a serious offence to employ people who are not lawfully employable. Under the Immigration Ordinance, the maximum penalty for an employer employing a person who is not lawfully employable, i.e. an illegal immigrant, a person who is the subject of a removal order or a deportation order, an overstayer or a person who was refused permission to land, has been significantly increased from a fine of $350,000 and three years' imprisonment to a fine of $500,000 and 10 years' imprisonment to reflect the gravity of such offences. The director, manager, secretary, partner, etc, of the company concerned may also bear criminal liability. The High Court has laid down sentencing guidelines that the employer of an illegal worker should be given an immediate custodial sentence.
According to the court sentencing, employers must take all practicable steps to determine whether a person is lawfully employable prior to employment. Apart from inspecting a prospective employee's identity card, the employer has the explicit duty to make enquiries regarding the person and ensure that the answers would not cast any reasonable doubt concerning the lawful employability of the person. The court will not accept failure to do so as a defence in proceedings. It is also an offence if an employer fails to inspect the job seeker's valid travel document if the job seeker does not have a Hong Kong permanent identity card. Offenders are liable upon conviction to a maximum fine of $150,000 and to imprisonment for one year. In that connection, the spokesman would like to remind all employers not to defy the law by employing illegal workers. The ImmD will continue to take resolute enforcement action to combat such offences.
Under the existing mechanism, the ImmD will, as a standard procedure, conduct an initial screening of vulnerable persons, including illegal workers, illegal immigrants, sex workers and foreign domestic helpers, who are arrested during any operation with a view to ascertaining whether they are trafficking in persons (TIP) and/or forced labour victims. When any TIP and/or forced labour indicator is revealed in the initial screening, the ImmD officers will conduct a full debriefing and identification by using a standardised checklist to ascertain the presence of TIP and/or forced labour elements. Identified TIP and/or forced labour victims will be provided with various forms of support and assistance, including urgent intervention, medical services, counselling, shelter or temporary accommodation and other supporting services. The ImmD calls on TIP and/or forced labour victims to report crimes to the relevant departments immediately.
For reporting illegal employment activities, please call the dedicated hotline 3861 5000, by fax at 2824 1166, email to anti_crime@immd.gov.hk, or submit "Online Reporting of Immigration Offences" form at www.immd.gov.hk.
Seven persons arrested during anti-illegal worker operation Source: HKSAR Government Press Releases
Seven persons arrested during anti-illegal worker operation Source: HKSAR Government Press Releases
