Tagged: Tong Fuk
Tong Fuk prison guards arrested for smuggling porn, phones
Two guards at the Tong Fuk Correctional Institution have been arrested for allegedly smuggling contraband.
The two illegally brought into the prison mobile phones, cigarettes and USB sticks containing pornographic photos and videos, Oriental Daily reports.
ICAC and the Correctional Services Department carried out a joint investigation into the case and arrested the pair on October 23.
In another incident at the medium-security jail last week, a man imprisoned for his role in the 2016 Mongkok riot was attacked in a prison workshop.
The 34-year-old man victim, Lo Kinman, was taken to the hospital for assessment. He had been sentenced to seven-year term two years ago for rioting – one of the longest sentences handed out to demonstrators in Hong Kong’s spate of protests over the last six years.
The alleged assailant was a 32-year-old Vietnamese national serving time for immigration offences.
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Tong Fuk’s last calf dead as car hits two cattle on S. Lantau Rd
Two cattle from the Tong Fuk herd died this morning after being struck by a vehicle on South Lantau Road.
The female and its calf both suffered broken legs and abrasions in the accident, which occured near the old Tung Chung Road turn-off between 6am-7am.
Both were euthanised by AFCD vets at the scene.
The calf was the last born to the Tong Fuk herd prior to the neutering of all of the females.
Most females in other South Lantau herds have also been neutered in recent years as the AFCD, backed by local rural committees, try to aggressively limit and reduce cattle populations.
The driver of the car did not stop at the scene but later filed a report at South Lantau police station. No charges were laid.
Separately, a dog was killed on Tung Chung Rd last night. Altogether animals have died in four fatal accidents on Lantua since the start of summer.
Photos: Lantau Buffalo Association
Illegal land filling consuming Tong Fuk coastal greenbelt
Tong Fuk has become the latest Lantau village to suffer from unauthorised land clearance, a result of the vague planning laws and lack of enforcement that have plagued the rest of the island.
In the last three years, reclamation work has claimed hundreds of square metres of greenbelt between Tong Fuk village and the oceanfront, HK01 has reported.
The original work created a car park but has continued well into the adjacent green space, a cattle habitat and recreation area that also hosts the annual poon choi banquet.
The reclamation intrudes onto government land but the developers have ignored Lands Department warnings to halt work.
As with the rapidly-disappearing Pui O wetland, the entire zone between South Lantau Road and the beachfront is designated Coastal Protection Area (CPA) – but no planning or environmental laws exist to provide any actual protection.
Local conservation group Save Lantau Alliance wrote to the Sustainable Lantau Office and other departments about the unauthorised development, HK01 reported.
The Planning Department confirmed that the site is zoned CPA, which means any land filling or development work requires permission from the Town Planning Board (TPB). It said no development application for a car park or landfill had been received.
But planning agencies exercise their powers through the development approval process, which has never covered Tong Fuk or other villages on South Lantau Road, so they have no power to influence or stop any development.
As the Planning Dept said: “There is no regulatory authority there.”
The private-held portion of land belongs to a Mui Wo-registered company called Yuky Co. Ltd (耀崎有限公司), according to HK01.
A 1980s court case involving the late Heung Yee Kuk strongman Lau Wongfat found that the government cannot enforce planning laws on privately-held agricultural land.
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.
Police called after campaign worker alleges assault in Tong Fuk
Police were called to Tong Fuk this evening after a canvasser for candidate Fung Siu Yin alleged she was assaulted by an unknown man.
The woman, a Mui Wo resident who declined to give her name, said she was handing out leaflets for Sunday’s district council poll when a man tried to take her campaign sign.
When she resisted, she said he struck her in the stomach and ran off. She said the contact was not forceful and she did not require medical attention.
The woman’s screams attracted a crowd, and she said she was “shocked” to find herself suddenly surrounded by about 12 people. Some of them abused her and threatened to attack her.
Another campaign volunteer called the police, who attended the scene at around 9:45 and spoke to the campaign workers and villagers. No arrests were made.
There is no suggestion that the incident was premeditated or involved any other political groups.
Another porpoise washed ashore at Tong Fuk
A finless porpoise has washed up on the Tong Fuk beach yesterday, the latest in a spate of strandings.
It was the third found on Lantau and the eighth in Hong Kong this year, Apple Daily reports.
The porpoise, about 1.1 metres long, was severely decomposed, with its abdomen and tail cut open.
The Ocean Park Conservation Foundation said it was not possible to determine the cause of the wounds.
The foundation says members of the public who find a beached porpoise or dolphin should call the 1823 hotline.
Photo: Apple Daily
Brawls break out in Tong Fuk prison over ‘illicit activities’
Two brawls broke out in Tong Fuk Correctional Institution earlier this month, causing injuries to an inmate and a prison guard.
The fights were connected to “illicit activities” in the medium security jail, the Correctional Services Department said.
The brawls, involving 13 prisoners and an unspecified number of staff, took place first in the laundry workshop and later in a dining hall on February 5.
Prison officers had received intelligence in late January about planned illegal activities and were on alert for the violence, the CSD said.
One prison officer suffered injuries to his shoulder and wrist and a prisoner sustained head and hand injuries in the brawls.
Both were transferred to hospital for further treatment.
Twelves prisoners involved in the brawls and suspected of involvement in illegal activity were separated and put under investigation.
The prison atmosphere was “stable” following the incidents, which had been reported to the police for further inquiry, CSD said.
Photo: Creative Commons
Five Lantau beaches added to priority cleanup list
Five more South Lantau beaches to the government’s priority foreshore cleaning roster.
From now on Cheung Sha, Tong Fuk, Shap Long, Ham Tin and Tai Long Wan are among 29 beaches that will be serviced by Marine Department cleaners.
Pui O, Fan Lau and Tai O on Lantau’s south and western coast, and Sam Pak Wan and Nim Shue Wan near Discovery Bay, were already on the list.
The Environmental Protection Department updated the list of coastal sites based on “factors including cleanliness, the amount of refuse collected, cleaning frequency, geographical and hydrodynamic conditions, public accessibility, ecological value and concerns raised by the public,” a government statement said.
A dozen beaches were dropped list because of “sustained improvements in their cleanliness,” the statement said.
South Lantau residents organised multiple beach cleanup operations last year after two typhoons and a palm oil spill.
Cleanup operations on the priority beaches have increased 50% since the list was created two years ago, the government says.
It says Hong Kong is now working with 13 cities in the Pearl River catchment to monitor real-time rainfall data to help predict which beaches might be hit with heavy volumes of marine rubbish.
A notification system has been activated seven times.
The Marine Department’s contractor has been operating 80 scavenging vessels to clean up floating refuse in Hong Kong waters since October.
The contractor’s fleet includes six new quick response workboats and two scavenging catamarans equipped with mechanical devices to increase the efficiency of clean-up operation in narrow water channels and to enhance scavenging service in offshore waters. In addition, the number of foreshore cleaning teams has been increased from two to three in order to step up efforts in cleaning up the foreshore areas.
With burglaries up 20%, Lantau police push video surveillance
Burglaries in Lantau are up 20% in the first 11 months of the year, police say, as they promote a video surveillance scheme for local villages.
Lantau District Police Commander Josephine Mak-Lau Wai-mun said the number of criminal cases this year is similar to last year, but burglaries and criminal damage cases have increased from 30 to 49.
Police are now rolling out a scheme called ‘Lantau Eyes’ in which they make use of CCTV owned by villagers to build up an anti-crime network, Apple Daily reports.
Currently nine villages, including Tong Fuk, Lo Wai village in Pui O and Ma Wan San Tsuen in Tung Chung, are taking part in the trial.
CCTV increases the difficulty of making crimes, Lau said. In Sham Shui Po, where she was previously posted, the number of burglaries had fallen by a quarter after introduction of video surveillance.
She said many of Lantau’s 58 villages were in remote locations, while villagers often were not accustomed to locking up at night or when they left their houses.
Mak said the first phase of the scheme would be to make good use of camera already installed by villagers themselves, while police would work with village leaders and rural committees to invest in the equipment.
Said police would have access to the video data only with the consent of the villagers.
Police also would post notices where videos were operating so that member of the public would be aware they were being recorded.
Fan Chi-ping, chairman of the Tung Chung Rural Committee, said it plans to spend $60,000 to $70,000 on video surveillance for its 16 villages.
Across the border, China has deployed AI-equipped 20 million cameras on city streets in the world’s most aggressive video surveillance programme.
The Lantau fox is doing well but still hasn’t found a home
Three months after being found hungry and homeless, the Lantau red fox is doing well in quarantine at Ocean Park.
According to the park, right now “he is in good health, his appetite is good, and his weight is significantly higher,” according to HK Animal Post.
The baby fox was found in the Tong Fuk catchwater by snake-watcher Ivan Li in July. Li’s photos of the rescue went viral and were picked up by local media.
The animal, just a few months old when discovered, is not native to Hong Kong but is a popular pet in some countries. Most likely it was abandoned by its owner or those who smuggled it into the city.
The fox is half-way through its six-month quarantine period. However, Ocean Park has said it can’t look after it permanently because it is not compatible with its existing Arctic foxes and it lacks the expertise to care for it.
Eating well (Source: HK Animal Post)
In a letter to lawmaker Roy Kwong, the park said it is still in discussions over the fox’s long-term future, though it is committed to caring it it until the AFCD and the SPCA make final arrangements.
A spokesperson for the SPCA said some foreign animal care organisations had expressed interest in providing a permanent home, but each had different quarantine procedures and import regulations. The SPCA is still studying these.
However, the association doesn’t rule out the possibility of the fox being adopted in Hong Kong by experts with the right knowledge. It has submitted a proposal to the AFCD about the options for care of small foxes. The AFCD has not yet responded.
Roy Kwong said: “Bless him, I hope that the small red fox can be like a [Hong Kong] drugstore cat and be adopted in a good local home.”
Lantau Confidential 