New schedule set for HK ID replacement

Immigration Tower in Wanchai

The Immigration Department (ImmD) will resume from May 11 the operation of all nine Smart Identity Card Replacement Centres (SIDCCs) under the Territory-wide Identity Card Replacement Exercise (Replacement Exercise).

The SIDCCs had to be closed to avoid the risk of spread of Covid-19 due to crowding. With the suspension of operations, the schedule for people to replace their Hong Kong ID cards was also revised.

Pindutin pra sa detalye!

The new schedule:

·        Those born in 1957, 1958 or 1959: November 16, 2019 - July 27, 2020.Born in 1960 or 1961, and members of the sixth term of District Councils: February 18 - July 27, 2020.

·        Born in 1962 or 1963: July 28 - September 22, 2020.

·        Born in 1970, 1971 or 1972: September 23 - December 7, 2020.

·        Born in 1973 or 1974:December 8, 2020 - January 28, 2021.

·        Born in 1975 or 1976: January 29 - March 19, 2021.

PRESS FOR MORE INFO

In case the replacement of HKICs may need to be suspended again in the near future if the epidemic situation worsens, the Amendment Order also provides that if all SIDCCs are not in service for 21 working days or more from May 11 to July 27, 2020, for public health reasons, the schedule will again be adjusted. The Amendment Order will be tabled at the Legislative Council on May 13, 2020, for negative vetting.

An ImmD spokesman said, "If the call-up program has to be further adjusted for public health reasons, the ImmD will make announcement in advance as far as possible through various channels to inform the public of the latest arrangement.

Call now!

"To reduce crowd gatherings, applicants who have not made appointment bookings previously should do so via the Internet (www.gov.hk/newicbooking), the ImmD mobile application or the 24-hour telephone booking hotline 2121 1234. The ImmD also appeals to applicants to pre-fill the application form when making appointment bookings through the Internet or mobile application to save the waiting time," the ImmD spokesman said.

Tunghayan ang isa na namang kwentong Dream Love.

For details of the replacement exercise, please visit the website www.smartid.gov.hk or call the ImmD's hotline at 2824 6111.

Call Us!

CALL US NOW!

Call us now!

No new case again as bars, cinemas & other leisure venues reopen today

By The SUN

Lan Kwai Fong is back in business tonight, with many bars offering huge discounts on drinks

Lan Kwai Fong is about to come alive again, as the order shutting down bars lapsed yesterday, paving the way for customers to start having a drink or two from tonight in Hong Kong’s favorite night spot.

But for some, the night won’t be the same as live entertainment and dancing in the pubs are for now, off the menu. So is karaoke.

This means many of the city’s entertainers, including the hundreds of Filipino musicians who have been jobless for more than a month now, still face a bleak future ahead.

Pindutin pra sa detalye!

For now, however, the mood across the city remains upbeat, as no new case of Covid-19 was reported again today, leaving the total tally still at 1,044.

It’s the 19^th straight day that no local transmission has been reported. For 7 days in between, a small number of residents arriving from overseas were found infected on arrival at the airport, including 4 who flew in from Pakistan on Wednesday.

Apart from the bars, several other businesses that cater to large crowds were closed in two phases starting on Mar 28, when cinemas, gyms and four other establishments were shut. Bars and pubs followed on Apr 3, and karaokes and beauty and massage parlors a week later.

 

But live entertainment is still off the menu, causing worries for many Filipino musicians 

But even before the order to shut was issued, many bars were forced to close down after a big cluster of more than 100 cases were reported in LFK. Those affected included not just musicians, staff and customers, but also their families.

Speaking at a radio show on RTHK, the director of LKF Association, Anthea Cheung, said she doesn’t think the bars in the area will get busy soon as many people still avoid going to crowded places.

PRESS FOR MORE INFO

Cheung said many bar owners are taking a wait-and-see attitude as they open to customers again after a gap of more than a month.

They are also taking no chances, having had their staff undergo rapid test for Covid-19 to ensure everyone is safe when they reopen.

Call now!

The bars also have to conform to certain guidelines, like sitting only four people at each table, and taking in only half their regular capacity. Customers will also be required to wear a mask, except when eating or drinking.

Cheung said she hopes the bars will start getting a steady stream of customers soon so they can recover from the huge losses they incurred because of the pandemic.

Tunghayan ang isa na namang kwentong Dream Love.

She said at least four establishments in LKF had to close down after the outbreak became widespread.

To get business going, some bars are reportedly planning to offer drinks at half the price, or extend their happy hour at a much lower price.

Cinemas are offering the same deal, with half-price tickets costing as little as $33 in some districts.

Call Us!

CALL US NOW!

Call us now!

Pregnant overstayer borrowed $26k using expired contract, court told

By Vir B. Lumicao

The defendant is 8 months pregnant, and could give birth in jail (file photo)

A heavily pregnant Filipina appeared in Eastern Court today, May 8, charged with fraudulently taking out a $26,000 loan last year and overstaying her domestic helper’s visa.

Mary Joyce Aquino, who is eight months pregnant, faces a charge of obtaining money by deception and breach of condition of stay.

No plea was taken and Magistrate Bina Chainrai remanded the defendant in jail until the next hearing on Jun 4.

Pindutin pra sa detalye!

The prosecution accused Aquino of obtaining the loan fraudulently from Prime Credit in June 2019 by presenting her old employment contract as proof of her capability to pay.

Aquino, who came to Hong Kong to work as a domestic helper, did not tell the lending company at the time that her contract had been terminated prematurely.

The prosecutor said she applied for an extension of stay, but was unable to find an employer. When the visa extension expired on Sept 20, 2018, she overstayed.

PRESS FOR MORE INFO

The date when Aquino was arrested was not mentioned.

The defense lawyer said Aquino, 28, married, has a clear record and was now eight months pregnant.

Chainrai asked where she got married and the lawyer replied it was in Hong Kong, but made no mention of her husband.

Call now!

The magistrate also chided the lawyer for saying his client had a clear record. “She’s an overstayer, isn’t she?”, said Chainrai.

The counsel applied for bail, saying Aquino could offer $2,000 bail money. But the magistrate rejected the application and ordered her remanded in custody.

Tunghayan ang isa na namang kwentong Dream Love.

Chainrai cited the prosecution in ruling out bail, saying the defendant had no permanent abode, lacked local ties, used deception to obtain a loan, and overstayed her visa.

Pregnant domestic workers may call up PathFinders, an NGO that provides help to mothers and their babies, for assistance. Their hotline is 5500 5486, and their website is: ww.pathfinders.org.hk.

Call Us!

CALL US NOW!

Call us now!

Staff of 2 employment agencies deny overcharging FDWs

By Vir B. Lumicao

The staff were charged in Eastern court in Sai Wan Ho

Three Filipina employment agency staff pleaded not guilty today, May 8, at Eastern court, to separate counts of charging two domestic workers more than what is allowed by law.

The amount involved in the two cases was between $500 and almost $2,000, whereas the legal charge should have been $452, or 10% of the then prevailing minimum wage of $4,520.

In the first case, defendant Glenda Beranda, an associate at Bandung Enterprises, pleaded not guilty to a charge of “excessive commission” before Magistrate Poon Siu-bunn.

Pindutin pra sa detalye!

The prosecution said that between Jan 15 and Feb 15 last year, Beranda received from job applicant Rosita Javier the sum of $1,998 as placement fee.

Under Hong Kong laws, an employment agency can only charge 10% of a domestic worker’s first monthly salary as commission. This means the fee is payable only after the worker has received her first salary.

PRESS FOR MORE INFO

The worker complained to the Labour Department, which investigated and charged Beranda. The prosecutor said he would present two witnesses.

The prosecutor asked for a six-week break, but the defense lawyer said the earliest date that he would be available is Aug 10. Magistrate Poon said the case had been delayed too long, and set the trial for May 25.

Call now!

Two similar charges of “excessive commission” against defendants Juliet Balicao and Melanie Fisher, associates of Millennium Employment Services, were consolidated by the prosecutor as they involved only one job applicant, Maribel Madeja.

But in this case, the amount allegedly collected by the two was only for a total of $500, a difference of just $48 compared with the $452 that they should have charged. Madeja was placed by the two between January and February last year,

Tunghayan ang isa na namang kwentong Dream Love.

Both defendants pleaded not guilty.

The prosecutor said he would call two witnesses including the domestic helper. The defendants said they would not present any witness.

Magistrate Poon scheduled the trial for Jun 12.

   

Call us!

CALL US NOW!

Call us now!

Four returning residents from Pakistan test positive for Covid-19

By The SUN

Chuang allays fears of new local infections, saying all new cases for the past 18 days were imported

Four new coronavirus cases were reported yesterday, May 7, all involving residents who flew in from Pakistan the night before.

The new infections brought the city’s total to 1,044, and marred plans to further ease social distancing restrictions from tomorrow.

The new patients, aged 11 to 47, ended two days of zero infection in Hong Kong, but also marked the 18^th day of no local outbreak.

Pindutin pra sa detalye!

Cinemas, bars, amusement centers, beauty, massage and mahjong parlors are among the business establishments set to reopen from tomorrow, but with some safety measures in place.

Speaking at today’s health press briefing, Dr Chuang Shuk-kwan from the Centre for Health Protection played down the risk of new local outbreaks with the impending opening of leisure facilities, such as Ocean Park.

“As some of the restrictions on group gatherings are to be relaxed this midnight, the authorities will be closely monitoring any local cases,” Chuang said.

PRESS FOR MORE INFO

“The recent cases have been directly picked up at the airport and they have not stayed in the community. So, I think the risk for local transmission is now very low,” she said.

Chuang said the four patients returned from Pakistan via Doha on Qatar Airways flight 818. They left Hong Kong between February and April and were all asymptomatic upon arrival, she said.

But they were found positive when saliva samples they submitted at AsiaWorld-Expo were tested. They were first taken to an isolation facility at the Chun Yueng Estate quarantine site in Fotan, Shatin.

Call now!

The 11-year-old boy as well as two men aged 29 and 40 were moved later today to the Princess Margaret Hospital in Kwai Chung, while a 47-year-old man was taken to Queen Elizabeth Hospital in Kowloon.

 

More people are going out of their homes, but still mindful that local infections could reemerge

A new case of re-infection was also reported, that of a 36-year-old male who tested positive again after being discharged from hospital.

Dr Lau Ka-hin from the Hospital Authority said the patient was first admitted to Queen Mary Hospital on Mar 24 after running a fever for a week. He was discharged on Apr 16.

But on May 5 the man developed a cough and diarrhea and was sent back to Queen Mary. Lau said the patient was not thought to be infectious.

He is the 10th patient to be hospitalized for Covid-19 relapse after being discharged.

Chuang said medical studies suggest such re-infections are possible.

“Yesterday, our Committee on Emerging Symptomatic Diseases revealed the latest scientific data on Covid and the virus,” she said.

“Scientific evidence suggests that some people may have prolonged virus shedding,” Chuang said. In the case of patient 410^th, the residue from the virus was not detected for 10 days, she said. 

Lau also said 12 more patients were discharged in the past 24 hours, making the total number of recovered patients to 945. Only 120 others are still in hospital. The death toll remains at 4.

Call us!

CALL US NOW!

Call us now!

Michael Buble gives grandfather’s Vancouver house to Pinay nurse

By The SUN

Michael and his late grandpa

Canadian singer Michael Buble has won praise from all over the world for his generous act of donating his late grandfather’s house in Vancouver to a Filipina caregiver.

Not only that, Buble even had the house renovated before handing over the keys to Minette, who the singer said took such good care of his grandfather that it became the elderly man’s dying wish to give her a house of her own.

Buble’s rare act of generosity was featured in an episode of the HGTV show, “Celebity IOU,” where Hollywood’s A-listers are asked to express their gratitude to individuals who have had a major impact on their lives by surprising them with home renovations.

Pindutin pra sa detalye!

Buble went beyond that by giving away the house as well to Minette, whom he described as “a really special, beautiful woman.”

(Watch the show here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CyKt7aFSrSo&fbclid=IwAR0jz_xrpvZaFeaZdZV3nWTqIrTSAzX6BAa1WhmOblsN2xJIBHz6Tie6z8k)

“Minette doesn’t keep any of the money she makes, she’s got a lot of family in the Philippines and she takes that money and sends it all back,” the singer said of the Filipina.

Inside the  house that Minette now owns

Buble also said it was he who hired Minette, but by the end, she became his grandfather’s best friend.

"I think my grandpa would be thrilled knowing that maybe we could lessen the burden a little bit, allowing Minnette to continue helping her family without it being so hard on her," he also said.

PRESS FOR MORE INFO

To surprise Minette, Buble conspired with the show’s hosts and former neighbors Jonathan and Drew Scott to do the renovation while the Filipina was on vacation in the Philippines.

Buble got so involved in the task that he helped demolish walls by swinging a sledgehammer, putting him in some pain afterwards that he had to undergo tests.

“I don't know what I did. It was so bad that I went and got an MRI after," he told Entertainment Tonight. "It turns out that I'm just out of shape and I'm a wimp and the sledgehammer was too much for me — but O got in there. I refused to not be in there with them."

 

Minette and Michael after the 'reveal'

To complete the surprise, he told Minette that they were shooting a documentary about him and his grandpa, and she needed to accompany him back to the late man’s house.

Call now!

But when it was time to reveal the surprise, Michael told Minette, "My grandfather, his greatest wish was not just that I kept this house in the family, but it was that this would be your home cause he loved you so much and so there is no documentary this is all for you.”

As expected, Minette was overwhelmed by the Buble’s generosity and could only say afterwards: “I guess I’m part of the family.”

Call us!

CALL US NOW!

Call us now!