The Young Reporter
Former student leaders exempt from imprisonment over University council siege
- 2017-09-22
- Society & Politics
- The Young Reporter
- By: CHAN Yeuk Hang Erin、Michael ShumEdited by: Zhang Lingyu、Daisy Lee
- 2017-09-22
Former student leader Billy Fung Jing-en was sentenced to 240 hours of community service on Thursday over the siege of the University of Hong Kong governing council meeting last year. Fung, then president of the University of Hong Kong Student Union, was convicted of acting in a disorderly conduct by forcing his way into the meeting venue and damaging the front door. His then vice-president, Colman Li Fung-kei, 22, was sentenced to 200 hours of community service for obstruction of blocking paramedics from sending council member Leonie Ki Man-fung to hospital, who was injured during the protests. Both men were convicted in July, but only Fung pleaded guilty to the charges of criminal damage and attempted forcible entry. Magistrate Ko Wai-hung stated that even though both were meant to uphold the belief of social justice, using violence to achieve so is unacceptable. “Your identity as university student is not a halo but a spell. People would follow your every move. Your actions may receive mixed reactions. But if you are opinionated, you will wander from righteousness,” said Ko. Ko added that he hoped Fung and Li can use legal, non-violence means to give back to the society upon community sentence. Over hundred mitigation letters were presented to court in support of Fung and Li before the court hearing yesterday. Among the letter writers, there are HKU’s president Peter Matheison and HKU council member Leonie Ki Man-fung. Ki was blocked by Li on her way to hospital after being shoved and kicked during the tense protests by students demanding a conversation with chairman Arthur Li Kwok-cheung. Ki stated in the letter that she had forgiven Li after meeting him, who had made a sincere apology. Fung reflected on his jail exemption through facebook. “We may be upset or helpless over our …
41-year-old rape suspect refused to answer questions related to the victim
- 2017-09-21
- The Young Reporter
- By: Ma Difan、Li Yuquan、Zhang LingyuEdited by: Nicole Kwok
- 2017-09-21
Hung Ngam-Chung rape case in high courtA 41-year-old local man accused of raping a teenager refused to say whether he knows the victim, as a video showed by the prosecution today.The police officer who interrogated the defendant appeared in court as a witness.The video showed a trial by police in which the defendant said he did not know the blotted towel and refuse to talk about his whatsapp message sent to the victim.The blue towel was allegedly to be put under the 16-year-old teenager during the intercourse when she was in her periodHung Ngam-chung, the defendant, pleaded not guilty to the charge of rape. The next hearing is scheduled tomorrow. Posted by Jade Li on 2017年9月19日 Hung Ngam-Chung, an unemployed 41-year-old man, is accused of raping a 16 year-old woman, X, last year in Hong Kong. Hearing continues at High Court yesterday. In a police interrogation video played in court, the defendant refused to answer whether he knows X, as well as other questions related to the X. The policeman in the video appeared as witness today in court, said that the defendant moved to Hung Yu Mansion in Sham Shui Po two days after X was raped. The video also showed that when the defendant was asked about a found blood towel, he said he did not recognize it. He also refused to talk about his WhatsApp message sent to the victim. The blood towel was allegedly said to be put under X when she was forced to have sex with the defendant. X tried to tell the defendant she was in her period at that time, but the defendant ignored her, then place the towel under X. It is also known that X just gave birth. The defendant pleaded not guilty to the charge of rape. The next …
Decision was made out of “collective wisdom”, the DR Group founder said
- 2017-09-21
- Society & Politics
- The Young Reporter
- By: Wing Li、Elisa LukEdited by: Daniel Ma、Celia Lai、Fred LAI
- 2017-09-21
The founder of DR Beauty Group should bear full responsibility for the whole incident, says the defence counsel of the group’s technician in the hearing on Tuesday morning. Three defendants face charges of manslaughter regarding the death of a 46-year-old woman in 2012. The clinic head Stephen Chow Heung-wing, Chan Kwun-chung, a technician, and Mak Wan-ling, the patient’s physician attended the hearing today. All of them pleaded not guilty. The defence counsel of Chan pointed out that Chow, who was also a doctor of the clinic, should be fully responsible since he was the one who made the decision of adopting CIK, a form of immunotherapy believed to be able to whiten and refine the skin. Chan’s defence added that Chow made most of the decisions at the clinic, even the locations of the promotion posters. Chow denied the accusation and said most decisions were made by the whole central managerial team, claiming it was a common practice to make decisions with "collective wisdom”. Meanwhile, Chow said he had appointed Chan to be in charge of the CIK treatment program. Chan’s defence said Chan’s Putonghua is “horrible” so he could not further enquire the supervisor at Guangzhou Military Hospital with the actual amount of cells needed for the treatment when they were learning about the CIK technology at the hospital . However, Chow responded that Li was able to communicate in Cantonese. Chow also could not answer the proper dosage and the frequency of injection when questioned by the judge. The trial continues on 16 Oct. [HCCC437/2015]
Conspiracy to make explosives hearing resumes as defence suspects insufficient evidence from police
- 2017-09-21
- Society & Politics
- The Young Reporter
- By: Erica Chin、Michael ShumEdited by: Isabella Lo、Cecilia Wong、Daisy Lee
- 2017-09-21
The defence council of the five males, accused of secretly making explosives in the abandoned ATV studio suspected the prosecution has brought insufficient evidence to court, heard in High Court on Wednesday. He questioned the sufficiency of evidence provided by the prosecution after cross-examining a CIB police officer who is the second witness. The officer told the court that he has not kept any records in words about their operations, only with his memory and audio reports. The prosecution refused to disclose how the oral report was recorded due to the risk of exposing confidential operation details in a public hearing when enquired by the defence. The defence suspected the police for providing insufficient evidence to the court after the prosecution suggested that a cousin document of the audio reports is available. The defence council doubted if the two CIB police officers could make a mistake on recognising the defendants. Defendants Chan Yiu-shing, 34, Cheng Wai-shing, 29, Pennelli Rizzy, 21, Wu Kai-fu, 21, Man Ting-lock, 23, was arrested after finding chemicals capable of producing explosives in former ATV premises in Sai Kung as police officers saw “yellowish white flashes” and smoke coming out from the building. The second CIB police officer told the court that they have been briefed by their superior Sgt. Lo Ka-shing of four male and two female as their targets, through the fourth defendant Wu Kai-fu was not one of their targets. “His [Wu’s] name was not even known to the police before he was arrested,” said the defence council of Wu, who also said it was a “chance encounter” for the police to have Wu arrested. Previous hearings revealed that Man Ting-lock, the fifth defendant, pleaded guilty and admitted that he has joined an anti-government organisation, “National Independence Party”. They were experimenting with smoke bombs …
Barrister of Occupy Central founders: charges are over-complicated and overloaded
- 2017-09-20
- The Young Reporter
- 2017-09-20
The counsel for the three founders of the Occupy Central movement has criticised the prosecution for slapping “over-complicated” charges on them, saying they would have pleaded guilty had they been charged with “unauthorised assembly”. Senior Counsel Gerard McCoy said Benny Tai Yiu-ting, Chan Kin-man and Reverend Chu Yiu-ming remained inclined to admit their responsibility had they been charged with the proper offence of unauthorised assembly. Instead, Tai, associate professor of law at the University of Hong Kong, Chan, associate professor of sociology at the Chinese University, and Chu are charged with the three charges : ‘Conspiracy to cause public nuisance’, ‘inciting others to cause public nuisance’ and ‘inciting people to incite others to cause public nuisance’. McCoy also questioned the court’s decision to put them in a bound trial, as the alleged crimes might have happened in different locations. The defence then challenged the case’s justifiability, stating ‘inciting people to incite others to commit public nuisance’ was “‘curious and downright strange”’. He also raised that double incitement was unconstitutional by quoting a recent similar Australian case. He urges the court to reconsider if the charges are “lawful and proper”. Before the hearing, ousted Legislative Councillor Leung Kwok-hung and other supporters chanted for jailed defendant Wong Ho-ming: “We miss you! Shame on political prosecution!” Prosecution Senior Counsel Leung Cheuk-yin condemned such acts as freedom of expression had its limits and warned that the conduct might be recognised as a criminal contempt. McCoy said such an act was ‘outrageous’ and ‘intolerable’. The pre-trial review is scheduled for January 9 to 12 next year. (DCCC480/2017) Reported by Ezra Cheung Edited by Daniel Ma, Isabella Lo, Cecilia Wong and James Ho
60 anti-Japanese groups commemorate 86th anniversary of Mukden Incident
- 2017-09-18
- The Young Reporter
- By: Michael Shum、CHAN Yeuk Hang ErinEdited by: Zhang Lingyu、Daisy Lee
- 2017-09-18
60 anti-Japanese groups showed up in Central on Monday to commemorate the 86th anniversary of Mukden Incident which marks Japan's invasion in China. Organised by Hong Kong Federation of Trade Unions, groups including Association of Chiang Kai-shek - gathered outside the Exchange Square in response to Japan's development in military power. Social committee member of the Hong Kong Federation of Trade Unions, Kan Ming-tung urged Japan to face the history regarding the invasion of China on September 18, 1931. Kan said he felt regret that they were not allowed to enter the Consulate-General of Japan in Hong Kong and no representative from the office had accepted their letter.
Alleged drug found at venue of Road to Ultra Music Festival
- 2017-09-18
- The Young Reporter
- By: CHAN Yeuk Hang Erin、Michael ShumEdited by: Angela Cheung、Daisy Lee
- 2017-09-18
One man died, two other men and a woman still hospitalised at Queen Elizabeth Hospital after collapsing at Hong Kong’s Road to Ultra Electronic Music festival held last Saturday. Police found alleged drug during the investigation today at the Nursery Park in West Kowloon Culture District. Police said they found a small amount of substance- including one red and part of a light blue pill at the scene. However, they added that autopsy will be conducted later to confirm cause of death of the man. In response to the accident, West Kowloon Cultural District authority said they would discuss on how they can improve security checkups and relevant monitoring procedures at similar, large-scale events in the future. The authority stated that the four people had suffered from heatstroke. Some attendees were dissatisfied with the insufficient of water supply at the venue. The temperature was 32 degree Celsius on Saturday, while Hong Kong Observatory has raised ‘Very hot weather warning’ to remind citizens the greater risk of heatstroke. Road to Ultra is an one-day electronic music festival held at Nursery Park, West Central Kowloon District last Saturday. According to the host, there were around 8,000 attendees on the event. Attendees had their bags checked at the security control of the festival. The organiser has set 15 house rules including strict prohibition of drugs. Spokesperson for Road to Ultra also added that there were around 100 security guards at the site to monitor the flow of the audience. There were three first aid booths to provide medical assistance. Four participants, aged between 21 and 29 collapsed at Hong Kong’s Road to Ultra Electronic Music festival held last Saturday. They were all sent to Queen Elizabeth Hospital after the staff at the venue were alerted. One of the men, 27-year-old surnamed …
A huge obstacle to Hong Kong recycling industry
- 2017-09-14
- The Young Reporter
- By: Elisa Luk、Erica Chin、Li Wing Kiu、Li Suet WaEdited by: Celia Lai、Richelia Yeung、Tiffany Lui
- 2017-09-14
Hong Kong recycling operations can no longer export local scrap paper to the mainland due to a national ban on importing foreign solid waste. Issued in July, the policy notice stated that China will no longer import 24 types of waste including unsorted scrap paper and waste plastic by the end of this year. Despite being a special administration region, Hong Kong cannot export any waste paper to the mainland for recycling. A local recycling shop operator, Ng Siu-po, said the price of paper has already dropped by half due to the release of the policy. Ng said the price level of waste paper is now $500 per metric ton, which was a thousand per metric ton, and expected the price to drop further after it is put into practice. The profit his business gained has dropped a third. He is pessimistic towards the recycling industry in Hong Kong. “Selling waste paper is the main source of income of my business. If the mainland stops importing waste paper, there is no other places for us to sell the waste paper and I may need to close down my recycling shop,” Ng said. Wendell Chan, the project officer of Friends of the Earth, added that China is the biggest importer of Hong Kong’s recyclable waste, which constitutes about 98%. Chan predicted the recyclable will be sent to the landfills instead without the normal exit channels. Ms Au, who collects waste paper for a living, said that her income has fallen by half due to lowered price of scrap paper. She added that her monthly income was about $3000 to $4000 in the past but now her income is only about $2000. “I hope that the Hong Kong Recycle Materials & Re-Production Business General Association Limited can bargain with the …
Hong Kong tops the Japanese Pearl Export Market
- 2017-09-13
- Business
- The Young Reporter
- 2017-09-13
By: Tracy Zhang, Jade Li, Dorothy Ma Edited by: Winnie Ngai and Emily Xu Hong Kong has become a most sought-after and promising Japanese jewellery market as the city’s growing appetite for pearl. The 35th Hong Kong Jewellery Fair opened on September 13th at AsiaWorld Expo. Organized by UBM Asia, the seven-day fair has attracted over 3,690 exhibitors from 56 countries and regions. As the largest Asian jewellery fair, it is expected to draw more than 56,000 visitors. Hong Kong has been the top market for Japanese pearl, accounting for 80 per cent of the country’s pearl exports last year, according to the annual report of Japan's agriculture, forestry and fisheries exports. In 2016, the amount of exported Japanese pearl to the city was valued at 24,222 million yen (about HK$ 1,719 million)– about eight times of the value exported to the US, which ranks second. According to Hong Kong Merchandise Trade Statistics Import from January to July 2017, Japan takes the lead in the quantity and value of pearl trade in Hong Kong. Project Manager of Japanese Pearl trading company Hinata Trading Corporation Limited, Alexander Muller said this was his sixth time attending the fair. "Hong Kong is the centre of the Japanese pearl trade," he said, "Japanese pearl market is the most booming trading market in Hong Kong so I hope [this good situation] would keep on going.” Muller believes that the high credibility of pearl quality and the reputable tradition of Japanese pearl make the business successful in Hong Kong. His company is expert in refining irregular shapes of pearl to meet the demand of its key customers from Europe and America. “People from mainland China and Hong Kong only account for a small part of our business sales since they are more interested in the perfectly round pearls,” …
Banning EdU students from taking up jobs would potentially be "not fair"
- 2017-09-13
- Society & Politics
- The Young Reporter
- By: Zoya Zhao、Raphael Blet、Xu Mingyan、Li YuquanEdited by: Lam Ka Sing
- 2017-09-13
Timeline of Education University's democracy wall saga Banning The Education University of Hong Kong's (EdU) students from taking up jobs would potentially be unfair, said a spokesperson of the Equal Opportunities Commission (EOC), referring to the university's recent democracy wall saga. Employers should avoid applying non-essential requirements, conditions or making groundless assumptions, EOC said. Some school principals sent emails to EdU saying they would never hire the university's graduates, said the university’s student union. "If these claims happened to be true, it would be unfair", said EOC. However, EOC also pointed out that due to the lack of details, there was no evidence to show that these possible actions would be against the Discrimination Ordinance. “To prevent discrimination in the workplace, the EOC encourages employers to make all employment decisions based on merit, job experiences and education qualifications regardless of a person’s gender, marital status or other irrelevant criteria.” Student unions of some other universities have been criticized for not openly denouncing the incident. However, some students also studying education did not approve of what was posted on the university's democracy wall. "I feel a bit ashamed actually. Cursing and mocking the deceased son of a person is never appropriate" said Joanna Wong, a student of English Language Education in a local university. Nevertheless, she does not think that the claims of internship cancellation will be true. " I don't think the principals who joined the petition really meant that they are not hiring those from EdU" About 10 internships at the university have been cancelled, said Lala Lai Hiu-ching, the president of the university’s student union. "Some institutions claimed that they were "cancelling" internships and would "never" hire EdU students," Lai said. If these claims are true, this would affect all students in this university. "This is …