Government begins to provide tokens of solidarity and living allowances to families of deceased and injured from fire at Wang Fuk Court in Tai Po
The Government today (December 1) begins to provide tokens of solidarity of $200,000 and funeral grants of $50,000 to the families of the deceased from the fire at Wang Fuk Court in Tai Po. The first batch involves 18 cases of the deceased. At the same time, the Government is gradually providing a living allowance of $50,000 to each of the 20 cases in the first batch.
A Government spokesman said that in addition to the aforementioned tokens of solidarity, funeral grants, living allowances, and the previously disbursed emergency cash subsidy of $10,000, the Government will provide the following special subsidies:
(1) Injury grant
An injury grant will be provided to all injured persons from the fire, since the injured may lose part of their income during hospitalisation and have immediate living needs after discharge. Calculated from the date of admission, $100,000 will be granted to those who stay in hospital for seven days or more, and $50,000 will be granted to those who stay in hospital for six days or less. It will be disbursed through the Social Welfare Department's "one social worker per household" mechanism.
(2) Student grant
A special subsidy of $20,000 will be granted to students living at Wang Fuk Court in Tai Po for them to repurchase textbooks, stationery, computers, and other learning tools, or for transportation expenses between temporary accommodations and schools. The subsidy covers those studying in day schools, including secondary schools, primary schools, special schools and kindergartens, as well as those studying full-time in locally accredited courses at post-secondary institutions. The subsidy will be distributed to the students through the day schools.
(3) Subsidy for workers
A special subsidy of $20,000 will be offered to construction workers, cleaning workers, and security guards working at Wang Fuk Court in Tai Po to cover their loss of income due to employment stoppage or their need to repurchase business equipment. It will be followed up by the Labour Department.
(4) Subsidy for foreign domestic helpers
A special subsidy of $20,000 will be provided to foreign domestic helpers employed at Wang Fuk Court in Tai Po. They may not have support from family or relatives in Hong Kong, and their personal belongings may already be completely destroyed by the blaze, or their employers may have tragically passed away. It will be followed up by the Labour Department.
For the Support Fund for Wang Fuk Court in Tai Po established by the Government, the donations received have reached $1.3 billion. In addition to the start-up capital of $300 million from the Government, the fund's total has reached around $1.6 billion. The fund will be used to assist the residents in rebuilding their homes and providing long-term and sustained support.
Hong Kong Customs detects two dangerous drugs cases and seizes suspected drugs worth about $7.95 million
Hong Kong Customs detected two dangerous drugs cases in Tseung Kwan O and Hong Kong International Airport respectively yesterday (May 21) and today (May 22), and seized a total of about 21.8 kilograms of assorted drugs with a total estimated market value of about $7.95 million. Two men and one woman, aged between 38 and 49, were arrested.
In the first case, Customs officers intercepted a 48-year-old man and a 49-year-old woman in Tseung Kwan O during an anti-narcotics operation yesterday afternoon. About 3.8kg of suspected drugs, including ketamine, methamphetamine, etomidate capsules, psilocybin mushrooms, MDMA and a batch of suspected drug packaging paraphernalia were found in their residence in the same district. They were then arrested.
In the second case, a 38-year-old male passenger arrived in Hong Kong from Amsterdam, the Netherlands, today. During customs clearance, Customs officers found about 18kg of suspected ketamine inside his check-in suitcase and 33 sticks of duty-not-paid cigarette inside his carry-on baggage. The man was subsequently arrested.
The arrested man and woman in the first case have been jointly charged with one count of trafficking in a dangerous drug and one count of possession of apparatus fit and intended for the inhalation of a dangerous drug. The case will be brought up at the Kwun Tong Magistrates' Courts tomorrow (May 23), while an investigation is ongoing for the second case.
Customs will continue to step up enforcement against drug trafficking activities through intelligence analysis. The department also reminds members of the public to stay alert and not participate in drug trafficking activities for monetary return. They must not accept hiring or delegation from another party to carry controlled items into and out of Hong Kong. They are also reminded not to carry unknown items for other people.
Customs will continue to apply a risk assessment approach and focus on selecting passengers from high-risk regions for clearance to combat transnational drug trafficking activities.
Under the Dangerous Drugs Ordinance, trafficking in a dangerous drug is a serious offence. The maximum penalty upon conviction is a fine of $5 million and life imprisonment.
Under the Dutiable Commodities Ordinance, cigarettes are dutiable goods to which the DCO applies. Any person who imports, deals with, possesses, sells or buys illicit cigarettes commits an offence. The maximum penalty upon conviction is a fine of $2 million and imprisonment for seven years.
Members of the public may report any suspected drug trafficking activities to Customs' 24-hour hotline 182 8080 or its dedicated crime-reporting email account (crimereport@customs.gov.hk) or online form (eform.cefs.gov.hk/form/ced002).
Hong Kong Customs detects two dangerous drugs cases and seizes suspected drugs worth about $7.95 million Source: HKSAR Government Press Releases
Hong Kong Customs detects two dangerous drugs cases and seizes suspected drugs worth about $7.95 million Source: HKSAR Government Press Releases
