122 deaths reported as HK enters flu season

 

Get the flu shot now, health experts say

Hong Kong health authorities have renewed a call for residents to get flu shots after 122 deaths were recorded in the four weeks since the influenza season began early January.

According to the Centre for Health Protection (CHP), a total of 199 adults were put under intensive care on admission since the city entered the flu season, mostly elderly people.

More than 70 percent of the adult patients in these cases were unvaccinated, while 90 percent of those who died were aged 65 and above.

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Separately, nine cases of children contracting severe flu complications were reported, and seven of them were unvaccinated.

CHP controller Edwin Tsui warned flu cases are still on the rise, with the peak season lasting between three to four months.

“With reference to previous surveillance data, virus activity will continue to increase for a period of time after the start of the influenza season before peaking,” Tsui said. “Currently available data indicate that the influenza activity level is still on the rise.”

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Tsui warned Hong Kong people who are traveling to keep an eye on the flu situation at their destinations before departing. The places where the flu activity remains at a high level include mainland China, Japan, Korea, Europe and North America.

In addition, Tsui said they should take adequate protective measures, such as getting vaccinated as soon as possible and to wear masks when in crowded places.

 “All persons aged above six months… particularly the elderly and children who have a higher risk of becoming infected with influenza and developing complications, should act immediately to minimise the risk of serious complications and death after infection,” Tsui said.

The CHP statement was issued a few days after popular Taiwanese celebrity Barbie Hsu had reportedly died from flu-related pneumonia while on vacation in Japan.

Her death appeared to have sparked a rush for the flu jab among people in Hong Kong.

As of Sunday, more than 1.9 million doses of flu vaccine have been administered in Hong Kong, a 6.4 per cent increase compared with last year.

The number of schools taking part in CHP’s flu vaccination program has also risen this year, with 98 percent of kindergartens, child care centres, primary and secondary schools taking part.

Last year, only 80 percent of kindergartens and child care centers participated.

The vaccination rate among children aged six months to two years old remain comparatively low at around 21 percent.

 

Filipino fined $1,500 for assault on another

 

The bus stop where incident happened (Photo from Google Maps)

A Filipino was declared guilty of common assault on a fellow Filipino and fined $1,500, at the conclusion of his trial today at Eastern Court.

Deputy Magistrate Poon Chi-ming set aside the testimony of Mark Anthony Malunao, a 36-year-old bar tender, denying that he threw a punch at Agustin Paeste, at about 8pm on June 24, 2023 at the bus stop on Chater Road, near the Cenotaph.

Magistrate Poon instead gave more weight to the testimony of Paeste, who said he was walking away from a gathering of men that included Malunao, when he was punched from behind, hitting his left cheek. As a result, he stumbled to the ground, causing two wounds on his scalp.

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After being given first aid, he was taken by ambulance to the Queen Mary Hospital.

At first, he said, he did not know who hit him but a video of the incident surfaced on social media which identified Malunao as his assailant.

According to Paeste, the altercation started when Malunao arrived at a gathering at the sidewalk across from the Chater Road bus stop. Malunao told the group he peed on his pants.

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When Paeste agreed, Malunao pushed him on the chest. Paeste said he did not want to fight and walked away, after which he was punched from the back.

In his testimony, Malunao said Paeste pointed too close to his crotch while saying he peed on his pants, so he reacted by pushing him on the chest, resulting in the latter walking away.

He later heard a commotion across Chater Road, and walked over to find Paeste in the ground. He then walked away.

A police officer testified that he arrested Malunao after the incident.

Philippine House of Reps votes to impeach VP Sara

 

Duterte is the first Philippine Vice President to be impeached (Getty Photos)

The Philippine House of Representatives voted Wednesday to impeach Vice President Sara Duterte, and immediately sent the articles of impeachment to the Senate for trial.

A total of 215 lawmakers endorsed the fourth impeachment complaint against VP Duterte, a day before the current session of Congress is set to end.

House Speaker Martin Romualdez announced the approval of the impeachment complaint, saying the vote it garnered was more than the required one-third of all members of the lower chamber.

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The impeachment complaint was received by the Senate Secretary just before 6pm. A date for the trial has yet to be set.

The articles of impeachment against Duterte is based on the grounds of betrayal of public trust, culpable violation of the Constitution, bribery, graft and corruption, and other high crimes.

Last month, three groups filed separate impeachment complaints against the Vice President, accusing her of various crimes ranging from the misuse of hundreds of millions of pesos in govenment funds to plotting against the life of President Ferdinand Marcos, Jr.

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The Philippines’ 24 senators must now set a trial date for the impeachment complaint. It needs the vote of at least two-thirds of all senators to pass muster.

The impeachment vote comes days before the start of campaigning for mid-term elections in the Philippines, seen to set the tone for the 2028 presidential race.

Duterte, who was expected to succeed his father Rodrigo R. Duterte as president in 2022, took a back seat to President Marcos instead, and ran as his vice-president. She is now seen as the frontrunner for the top post in the 2028 elections.

The relationship between the country's two top officials soured after Duterte was asked to appear before the House for her alleged misuse of hundreds of millions of pesos in confidential funds alloted to her both as vice president and former secretary of education.

In retaliation, Duterte said in a live social media broadcast that she had asked someone to kill Marcos if she was herself assassinated.

The Vice President has yet to respond to the impeachment move, but her elder brother, Davao Rep. Paolo Duterte slammed it as political persecution.

Rep. Duterte said he was “appalled and enraged” by what he called as desperate and politically motivated efforts to railroad the vice president’s impeachment.

 

Finance chief hints at changes to $2 fare for seniors

 

One of the proposals is to put a monthly cap to the fare subsidy to the elderly

Finance Secretary Paul Chan has told a radio program that most people are for changing Hong Kong’s $2 public transport subsidy for residents aged 60 and above, but are not clear as to how to do it.

"I think there's a public consensus that the current scheme isn't financially sustainable over the long run, if no changes are made to it. So how should we change it?" Chan said in a Commercial Radio program.

"There are so many different views. We're collecting them and then officials will assess them and discuss them internally. We're all looking at different proposals in detail."

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Chan said the intentions behind the $2 scheme were very good, but expenses have mounted since the eligible age was lowered to 60 from the original 65 in 2022. 

The subsidy applies to eligible commuters who take public transportation, including cross-harbor buses and the MTR, regardless of their destination or residency status.

Legislators are among those calling for a rethink of the transport subsidy in light of the government’s budget shortfall of more than $100 billion for the past fiscal year.

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Among the proposals suggested is to put a monthly cap of $1,000 per eligible user. 

With his budget speech coming up on Feb 26, Chan hinted subsidies could also be introduced in areas like education and healthcare to tackle the government’s budget deficit.

For instance, he said universities have relatively large amounts of reserves, indicating that they could withstand a cut in subdisy.

However, he assured the government will minimize the effects of expenditure cuts on the public.

Public urged to adopt healthy lifestyle as World Cancer Day 2025 is marked

 

The Hong Kong Health Department has urged people to adopt a healthy lifestyle and undergo screening for early detection of cancer.

The statement was issued today as World Cancer Day 2025 was marked.

The International Cancer Control has, since 2020, designated February 4 each year as World Cancer Day to increase worldwide awareness of cancer and to combat the disease together.

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According to the DH, cancer is the number one killer in Hong Kong, causing nearly 15,000 deaths in 2023.

In 2022, more than 35,000 new cancer cases were diagnosed in Hong Kong, where the five most common cancers were lung, breast, colorectal, prostate and liver cancers.

“Given the ageing population, the number of new cases and healthcare demands are expected to further increase,” said the DH in its statement.

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This year's theme, "United by Unique", focuses of placing people at the centre of cancer care. Every patient is unique, and it takes a united effort to help patients receive comprehensive care and lead better lives.

"The Government has long upheld the principle of putting people at the centre of cancer prevention and control,” said the DH.

According to the DH, about 40 per cent of all cancers can be prevented through the adoption of a healthy lifestyle and the reduction of exposure to major risk factors, such as refraining from smoking or alcohol consumption, being physically active, having a balanced diet, and maintaining a healthy body weight and waist circumference.

The DH has launched a series of health promotion programs targeting various age groups to raise public awareness of health issues through education and publicity.

To shift the emphasis and mindset of the healthcare system from treatment to prevention, the government has established District Health Centres (DHCs) in all 18 districts of the territory to provide health promotion, health risk factors assessment, disease screening and chronic disease management.

Steered by the Primary Healthcare Commission (PHCC), the DHCs actively promote the "Life Course Preventive Care plan" based on the core principles of prevention and whole-person care.

Through this approach, a personalised preventive care plan will be formulated to address the health needs of residents across different life stages based on the most updated evidence.

Family doctors and primary healthcare professionals collaborate to promote healthy lifestyles and disease prevention, including providing education and vaccination for cancer prevention, and advising on cancer screening services according to personal risk factors.

On cancer screening, the government adopts an evidence-based approach to achieve early cancer detection. So far, the government has implemented screening programs for the early detection of cervical, colorectal and breast cancers.

By the end of this year, a pilot program will be launched to subsidise hepatitis B screening by the end of this year, aiming for early detection and treatment of chronic hepatitis B to reduce the risk of complications from chronic hepatitis B, such as cirrhosis and liver cancer.

At the same time, the DH reminds residents to talk to their doctors to understand the benefits and limitations of screening tests before making an informed decision to undergo cancer screening. Relevant health advice is available on the website of the Centre for Health Protection or via the "@DH mobile application".

Filipina accused of littering misses court date, ordered arrested

 

Junction where offense was committed

A Filipina who missed a Kowloon City Court hearing today on a case of littering, has been ordered arrested with a bail set at $7,000 to get her freed until her next court date.

The bail required of E. Cabunag is more than the total amount of penalties she would have to pay if convicted of violating the Public Cleansing and Prevention of Nuisances Regulation made under the Public Health and Municipal Services Ordinance.

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Magistrate Tsang Hing-tung broke down the bail amount into components -- $3,000 fixed penalty, $3,000 additional penalty, $500 costs and an additional $500 -- to ensure that she shows up when issued another summons.

The information laid by the Food, Environmental and Health Department on April 9, 2024, accused Cabunag of depositing “litter or waste, namely cardboard box, on public place at pavement at junction of  Fuk Lo Tsun Road and Nga Tsin Wai Road, Kowloon City” on Jan. 22, 2024.

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For this type of offense, the regulations prescribe a maximum penalty of a fine at level 4 ($25,000) and imprisonment of up to six months.

However, this can be dispensed by paying a fine of $3,000 under the Fixed Penalty (Public Cleanliness & Obstruction) Ordinance enforced since October last year. 

This was not the first summons issued to Cabunag. She was originally told to appear before the court on Oct. 8, 2024.

DH detained for theft, misleading police

 

Estate where theft allegedly took place

A Filipina domestic helper has been placed under detention after she appeared at Kowloon City Court, charged with two counts of stealing watches worth more than $800,000 from her employer and then falsely reporting to the police that their flat had been burglarized.

Magistrate Kestrel Lam adjourned the case against Vanessa Vallespin, 39 years old, to March 17.

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The case against her was based on a police complaint filed on Dec. 7 last year at the Kowloon City Court.

In the first charge, Vallespin was accused of stealing a Rolex Daytona watch worth $222,000 from her employer at their flat in Sunderland Estate in Kowloon Tong on Dec. 2 last year.

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The second charge was for the theft two days later at the same place, of a Rolex Explorer II, a Rolex Sea-Dweller, a Tudor Black Date GMT, a Cartier Ballon Bleu, a Zenith El Primero Stratos, a Panerai Luminor, a Franck Muller Vanguard, an Omega Seamaster 300, and a Temporis watch with a total value of $580,230.

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The third charge -- knowingly misleading a police officer -- arose from her allegedly giving a false statement to an officer that their flat was broken into.

The Police Force Ordinance penalizes any person who “misleads any police officer by giving false information or by making false statements or accusations” with a maximum fine at level 1 ($2,000) and imprisonment of up to six months.

Filipina in 8-year-old overstaying case jailed 14 weeks

 

The cases were heard at Shatin Court

It took almost eight years to resolve a case of overstaying against a Filipina, and it culminated with her being jailed for 14 weeks, minus the 31 days she had spent under administrative detention by the Immigration Department.

The case ended after Julie Leoncio, 49 years old, pleaded guilty today, Feb. 3,  before Magistrate David Chum at Shatin Court to violating section 49 of the Immigration Ordinance.

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The case, filed by the Immigration department on May 24, 2017, accused her of violating her condition of stay for staying beyond the two-week grace period given her after the terminaton of her domestic helper contract.

According to the Immigration complaint, she was given by an Immigration officer until Jan. 10, 2011 to leave Hong Kong, but she remained until she was arrested on June 4, 2014.

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In the ensuing years, she had applied for non-refoulement, or protection from being forcibly sent back to the Philippines, and was issued a recognizance form which served as her identity document.

 

$193.7M bonanza to one lucky Mark Six winner

 

This betting station on Stanley Street in Central is a favorite of Mark Six punters

Only one ticket won the biggest-ever first prize of nearly $194M in Hong Kong’s Mark Six lottery this Sunday night.

The lucky punter will receive a whopping $193,762,620,  following a record turnover of over $380 million for this year's Chinese New Year Snowball.

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Bettors packed Hong Kong Jockey Club betting stations throughout the city earlier, all hoping to hit the biggest ever jackpot in the lottery’s history.

According to reports, the lone winner placed the bet over the counter with cash. No other details were given as to where the instant mega millionaire had placed the winning bet.

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The winning numbers were 14, 18, 30, 36, 40 and 42. The extra number was 1.

Twelve tickets will split the second prize of $1.2 million. For the third prize pot, 530 winning tickets will each receive $72,500.

Immigration reports 24% rise in removal of unsubstantiated asylum seekers

 

Some of those removed since the new policy took effect in 2022

The Immigration Department has informed the Legislative Council that it removed 2,219 unsubstantiated non-refoulement claimants from Hong Kong in 2024. This represents a 24% increase compared with that in 2023.

The “unsubstantiated non-refoulement claimant” term refers to non-Chinese people who were unable to present credible evidence to support their application against being sent back, or refouled, to their home countries.  

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According to the Immigration report, this is in line with the updated removal policy that took effect on Dec. 7, 2022. Under this policy, Immigration may generally proceed with the removal of an unsubstantiated claimant whose judicial review case has been dismissed by the Court of First Instance.

Since the implementation of the policy, a total of 4,070 failed asylum seekers have been removed from Hong Kong, said Immigration.

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At the same time, it has speeded up the screening of non-refoulement claims, with over 2,700 such claims being determined last year. However, over 95% of the claimants rejected by Immigration have appealed against the decisions.

As of the end of 2024, there were about 750 such appeals pending decision.

A new system rolled out by Hong Kong on Sept 3 last year is expected to lessen the number of non-refoulement claimants entering Hong Kong.

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Under the Advance Passenger Information (API) System, airlines are required to transmit advance information to Immigration about flights and passengers heading to Hong Kong when checking in travellers. The system then gives the airline staff directions on whether to allow or disallow specific travellers to board the Hong Kong-bound aircraft.

However, the new mechanism is being rolled out in phases, given that there more than 100 airlines that need to be connected to the system.

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A transitional period of 12 months is provided for the new system, which means it will be fully implemented  on Sept 1 this year.

 

HK ushers in Year of Snake

 

Fireworks light up Victoria Harbor

Hong Kong is returning to normal after it ushered in the year of the Snake with the International Chinese New Year Night Parade in Tsim Sha Tsui, a spectacular fireworks display on Victoria Harbor, and Lunar New Year Fairs in 15 districts.

“There's no better way, anywhere on earth, to welcome in the New Year than by following - and revelling in - Hong Kong's magnificent Chinese New Year Night Parade,” said Chief Executive John Lee at the opening of the New Year Parade on Jan. 29.

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“This year's celebration is led by 55 performing groups and floats from 14 countries and regions. Here in the world city of Hong Kong, to dance, sing and perform, skip, juggle, cheerlead and otherwise amaze and delight you, on this most auspicious of days,” he said.

“The Night Parade floats you see tonight, together with some of our performers, will find their way to Lam Tsuen, from tomorrow night, for the Hong Kong Well-wishing Festival. This year, the floats are on display there until February 13,” he added.

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The next night, a 23-minute fireworks display lit up Victoria Harbor.

The fireworks drew auspicious symbols in the sky, “as well as adorable pandas - showcasing Hong Kong's giant panda family, now counting six and readying for their first full public appearance at the same time in mid-February,” Lee said.

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Meanwhile, the Lunar New Year (LNY) fairs held at 15 locations for seven days from January 23, attracted about 2.3 million visitors.

The number of visitors peaked on Jan. 28, with more than 215 000 visitors in the LNY Fair at Victoria Park in Causeway Bay, according to the Food and Environmental Hygiene Department (FEHD) said that it was pleased with the public support.

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The department’s waste reduction and recycling measures resulted in 107 tons of materials with reusable value such as waste paper, plastics and metals were collected from the 15 LNY fair sites during the one-week period.

The FEHD also gathered some 1 600 unsold pots of flowers and plants donated by licensees at the fairs. These were delivered to 242 elderly homes/residential care homes for persons with disabilities and five public hospitals by 21 volunteer teams comprising FEHD staff members.

Despite the conclusion of LNY fairs, the Che Kung Festival Fair and the Fong Ma Po New Year Fair at Lam Tsuen in Tai Po will be held until February 12, the FEHD said.

Power bank warning after HK-bound Air Busan jet catches fire

 

Investigations are underway into the fire that gutted an Air Busan aircraft (Yonhap photo)

Air passengers are being advised to ensure their power banks are of good quality and in good condition before bringing them along for travel, after a Hong Kong-bound Air Busan flight caught fire Tuesday, and initial investigations pointed to a charging device as the cause.

Investigations have begun into what caused the fire aboard the aircraft that remains on the tarmac at Korea’s Gimhae International Airport in the southern city of Busan.

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A total of 169 passengers and seven airline staff were evacuated from the Airbus A231 using inflatable slides. Seven minor injuries were reported.

The fire broke out at 10:15pm on Tuesday, Jan. 28, as the single-jet was preparing to leave for Hong Kong after being delayed for about 20 minutes.

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It was first detected by a flight attendant in an overhead luggage bin in the rear left-hand side of the plane.

Witnesses  quoted by local media said they heard a crackling sound, like an electronic device burning, before smoke coming from the overhead compartment began to fill the cabin.

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This prompted suspicions that a portable battery may have caused the fire.

A local news report said that just seven weeks ago, another Air Busan aircraft had a similar problem, when a fire, triggered by a portable battery problem, was detected. Flight attendants had to use fire extinguishers to put it out.

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At least two other battery-related incidents were also reported in Korea last year, one involving an Eastar Jet plane in July and another aboard an Asiana Airlines flight in April.

Authorities conducted a risk assessment of the plane on Friday, and ruled out a terrorist attack. They determined that the plane still had a large amount of fuel and oxygen onboard but was safe for a full-scale investigation.

Tuesday's incident came about a month after a Jeju Air plane crashed at Muan International Airport in South Jeolla Province, which killed all but two of the 181 people on board.