Two deaths in four days from Lantau accidents

A 42-year-old man drowned while snorkeling at Lo Kei Wan near Shui Hau last night – the second accidental death on Lantau in four days.

Friends of the man, surnamed Tang, discovered him missing when they emerged from the water after diving near the popular campsite at about 9pm, Apple Daily reported.

After a search they found him still in the water but unconscious and called the Marine Police.

Tang was flown by helicopter from the Shek Pik wharf to the Chai Wan Eastern Hospital but he failed to recover. Police are investigating.

Lo Kei Wan (Photo: Lantau News)

Earlier in the week 64-year-old Lam Mo-yee, an experienced climber, died on the difficult Tsing Lung Stream near Sunset Peak.

Lam had gone to Sunset Peak with her husband on Tuesday morning. The two had become separated on the trail but that was not unusual, HK01 reported.

When she did not return home that evening her husband contacted police, who issued a missing person’s report.

A popular member of the local hiking and climbing community, Lam’s disappearance prompted a huge number of people to join the search from Pak Kung Au on Wednesday.

Lam Mo-yee (Photo: HK Police)

Firefighters found Lam unconscious near the Heavenly Lake, just below Sunset Peak, on Wednesday evening. Searchers said it appeared she had taken a path away from the main trail.

Lam had sustained multiple injuries and was pronounced dead at the Eastern Hospital.

Tsing Lung Stream is a steep canyon trail which rises from San Shek Wan to Sunset Peak.

It is popular among hiking groups but can be treacherous. In July 2017 a 66-year-old man was airlifted to hospital after an eight-metre fall.

NLB apologises over timetable fiasco but vows to pursue cuts

New Lantao Bus (NLB) has apologised over the chaos created by its misjudged attempt to cut services, but says it will continue to seek timetable changes.

The company angered local residents during several days of disarray this week when buses ran at irregular intervals after the new timetable was blocked.

The new schedule, due to take effect last Friday, was blocked by the Transport Department because it had not been approved.

NLB formally withdrew the changes but for the next four days buses ran at unpredictable times. Passengers were unable to get clear answers from NLB and the company’s website and mobile app contained little or no information.

In a statement on its website posted Wednesday the company said:

We apologize for any inconvenience caused by any discrepancies between the timetable and the actual departure times over recent days and would like to assure our passengers that such anomalies have now been rectified.

But it added that “it is essential that we effect reasonable bus service adjustments so as to allow the company to improve its current financial performance.”

It said the coronavirus outbreak had caused a 50% drop in passenger numbers and “a prolonged period of financial loss.”

The NLB’s proposed timetable eliminated the no.4 service between Tong Fuk and Mui Wo and slashed the no. 1 service between Tai O and Mui Wo and the no. 2 bus serving Ngong Ping. It made smaller changes to the 3M, 11 and 23 services.

NLB said it had applied to the Transport Department, but did not explain why it would not wait for approval before implementing the new schedule.

The bus company operates service under a licence from the Transport Department, which requires it to hold regular public consultations with passengers and to seek approval for any changes in schedules.

The company has not responded to Lantau News queries.

Local activists including Legco member Eddie Chu staged a protest at the Central government offices in Admiralty on Tuesday. They handed a petition to a Transport Department official.

They have called a public meeting for Friday evening at Mui Wo Ferry Pier to discuss the planned service cuts.

Eddie Tse, head of the Tai O Sustainable Development Education Workshop, said residents had been badly confused by the attempted timetable change.

“Even the station masters and drivers were not clear about the schedule,” he told Apple Daily.

Reprieve: Govt halts ‘unapproved’ Lantau bus timetable cuts

New Lantao Bus Co. (NLB) has backed down – for now at least – on planned cuts to Lantau bus services.

Last week it announced the elimination of nearly a third of no. 1 bus services, most of the no. 2 buses and the entire no. 4 service.

The company said the cuts were necessary because of the fall in passengers as a result of the coronavirus .

But in a confusing chain of events, the reduced timetable, due to start Friday, was halted by the Transport Department.

NLB had announced the new timetable on its website last week and also advised South Lantau district councillor Randy Yu, who reported it on his Facebook page.

The company updated its timetables and mobile app on Friday to reflect the changes.

Yet the buses continued to follow the old timetable after the Transport Department warned NLB that it could not make changes without approval, according to Apple Daily

The department sent inspectors to Tung Chung, Mui Wo and Tong Fuk on Friday morning to ensure services were keeping to the established timetable.

(At time of writing, both the NLB online timetable and the mobile app show the no. 4 Mui Wo-Tong Fuk service as restored, but all other buses running under the unapproved timetable.)

Eddie Tse, head of the Tai O Sustainable Development Education Workshop, said NLB could be in breach of its licence by changing schedules without Transport Department permission.

He said on Facebook the coronavirus outbreak was actually bringing more tourists to South Lantau on weekdays, “so why not increase rather than reduce [service]?”

While Lantau commuters might breathe a sight of relief, the Transport Department said it is still reviewing NLB’s proposal to cut services.

Randy Yu, who initially expressed no opinion on the cuts, said on his Facebook page today he was “extremely dissatisfied” over NLB’s “chaotic” handling of timetable changes.

“We have expressed our strong opposition to the Transport Department and to NLB,” he said.

Lantau bus services slashed as virus takes toll

Lantau bus services have been cut as a result of the coronavirus – and the changes may be permanent.

New Lantao Bus Co. has curtailed services across all routes, effective Friday March 13, the company has announced.

The biggest reductions are on South Lantau routes. The weekday no. 1 Tai O to Mui Wo bus has been slashed from 30 to 22 daily services, the no. 2 from Mui Wo to Ngong Ping has gone from 11 to four trips and the no. 4 bus from Tong Fuk has been shut down altogether.

In other changes, the Mon-Sat 3M service from Mui Wo to Tung Chung has been reduced from 50 daily trips to 45, while the 11 Tai O to Tung Chung bus has been trimmed from 58 to 56 services.

NLB said the changes were due to the “drop in patronage” during the virus outbreak.

While it said it would “closely monitor” passenger numbers it made no commitment to restoring the cut services after the contagion is contained.

The company, owned by Kwoon Chung Bus, has said it makes a small profit or a loss on most of its South Lantau routes.

The new timetables:

Try again: Govt re-issues contract for fast broadband to islands

The Hong Kong government has re-issued the tender for rural broadband network construction in the outlying islands.

The original tender, issued last June, attracted no bidders.

Ofca is seeking a local fixed-line telecom company to build optical fibre links to the edge of rural villages in the four outlying islands – Lantau, Lamma, Cheung Chau and Peng Chau.

It also requires construction of three undersea fibre links – from Lamma to Hong Kong Island, Cheung Chau to Lantau, and Peng Chau to Lantau.

Currently, only Lantau has a fibre connection to Hong Kong island.

Ofca said the successful bidder would be required to make available up “at least half of the capacity” of the new infrastructure to other operators for free.

The tender is part of a HK$774 million government scheme to deliver high-speed broadband to 235 rural Hong Kong villages.

Woman detained after new-born baby allegedly thrown out of window

A 21-year-old Filipino woman has been detained by police after the corpse of a newly-born baby was discovered in an alley in Tong Fuk this morning.

The body of a baby girl with an umbilical cord attached was found around 10:30 by a neighbour letting his dog outside, Apple Daily reported.

A woman admitted to giving birth in the bathroom of her second floor apartment last night. She reportedly told police the baby was stillborn and had thrown it out of the window.

According to Apple Daily, the size of the foetus indicated it was 28 to 32 weeks old, but it had bruises and bleeding that may have been caused by falling from a height.

The woman’s mother, 53, who also lived in apartment, said she did not know her daughter was pregnant.

Lantau police blocked off the scene while they investigated. The later took a Filipina with Hong Kong ID to the station for further inquiries.

Celebrating Chinese New Year on Lantau

Coming up: Lantau events over Chinese New Year

Jan 18: Silvermine Bay School Open Day. 1F Silver Centre Building, 10 Mui Wo Ferry Pier Rd. 11am-2pm. Details: office@silverminebayschool.edu.hk

Jan 18: Eddie Chu, local Legco member and founder of the Land Justice League, will be outside McDonald’s, Mui Wo, 10:30am-12:30pm. He will hand out voting registration forms, write Fai Chun and meet local residents. Waste-Free Mui Wo will also be there for freecycling.

Jan 18:  New Year Quest. New Year’s celebration at Little Field Restaurant (小隱於野) with house specials, chill music, board games and more. 3pm till late, 50 Cheung Sha Lower Village. Tickets $280-$350. Bookings and details here.

Jan 19: CNY Market at Cheung Sha Beach. Featuring food, drink and diverse local stalls. 11am: Dumplings Workshop. 1pm: Fai Chun Workshop. Little Field Restaurant (小隱於野), 50 Cheung Sha Lower Village. Click here for more details or to book a stall.

Jan 19: Dinner Theatre: Jam Every Other Day. Starring local actress Erika Marais. 6pm The Stoep at Hightide, Mui Wo. HK$300. Bookings/information: http://www.lymarialberts.com

Jan 26: Garden Genies. Permaculture workshop at Ark Eden. Cost: $750. 9:40am-5:30pm. Meet at Mui Wo ferry pier. Bookings/details: info@lantaugreenjewel.org.

Jan 27: A Walk to Remember II. Hike from Mui Wo to Pui O. With swimming, soccer & music at Pui O Beach. Starts at 10am from Mui Wo. Donation $100. Organised by One Love Community. Bookings/information here.

Woman dies after 15m Lantau Peak fall

A 42-year-old woman has died after a 15-metre fall on Lantau Peak on Saturday afternoon.

The woman, surnmed Sze, sustained multiple injuries after losing her footing while climbing the hazardous North Heaven’s Gate section at around 2pm.

She was evacuated out by the Government Flying Service to Eastern Hospital in Chai Wan, but medical staff were unable to revive her.

She was one of a party of 16, including her boyfriend and ten children, Apple Daily reported.

Police to hold autopsy into Lantau camper death

Police will hold an autopsy into the death of a 31-year-old camper at Nei Lak Shan near Ngong Ping on Monday.

The man, surnamed Lau, was found unconscious in his tent by a hiker late Tuesday afternoon, HK Headline News reports.

Paramedics attended the site but found the man was deceased.

He was reportedly suffering from a medical condition but police are uncertain of the cause of death.

Pan-dems to reshape Islands council after stunning poll result

Pro-democratic candidates have dominated the Islands District Council poll to take seven of the ten elected seats.

In the most high-profile victory the memorably-named Sheep Wong Chun Yeung swept aside DAB vice-chairman Holden Chow, a vocal supporter of the extradition bill, in Tung Chung South.

Wong won attention across Hong Kong by leading a campaign against unaccompanied mainland tours in the chaotic wake of the opening of the Macau bridge.

Pan-dems won all seats in Tung Chung, with Lee Ka Ho ousting the other sitting non-democrat Sammi Fu in Tung Chung Central, Fong Lung Fei winning Yat Tung North and Sammy Tsui triumphing in Tung Chung North.

In Cheung Chau Leung Kwok-ho, who ran on the Islands Connection ticket, won easily against Kwok Wai Man.

The two incumbent pan-democrats, Amy Yung and Eric Kwok, were both comfortably returned, Yung in Discovery Bay and Kwok, whose old seat was abolished, in the new constituency of Man Tung.

Despite the huge democrat wins, they are still an effective minority in the council, where eight of the 18 members are ex officio rural committee chairs.

It is only due to these appointees that Islands remains the only district council not controlled by democrats.

But the massive increase in pan-dem numbers will mean issues such as Lantau Tomorrow Vision and the need for a additional council seat will soon return to the agenda.

Full voting details here.