10 linked to murder

Ten people, aged from 13 to 21, appeared in Kwun Tong Magistrates' Court yesterday afternoon over the murder of an 18-year-old woman in Kwun Tong.

The case was adjourned until Friday to enable further police investigation.

The victim, identified as Lau, was found by a cleaning worker on the staircase beside a stream at the bottom of a slope on Kai Tin Road last Thursday.

An autopsy could not ascertain the cause of death, pending further toxicological examinations.

Police later arrested a total of ten suspects in connection with the case.

Lau's father said the girl left home earlier this month to join in a fitness programme.

Restaurant closed

The Food and Environmental Hygiene Department (FEHD) yesterday ordered the temporary closure of a restaurant in Yat Ming Road, Fanling, after Vibrio cholerae was discovered in a water sample collected from its fish tank.

The water sample was taken by the department from the restaurant last Tuesday as part of the routine surveillance programme on fish tank water during the summer season.

Yesterday's results confirmed the presence of Vibrio cholerae O1 El Tor serotype Ogawa.

FEHD officers carried out a thorough disinfection and cleaning at the restaurant yesterday afternoon.

Book fair record

More than 500,000 visited the six-day Hong Kong Book Fair that closed in Hong Kong Conference and Exhibition Centre yesterday.

The number of visitors was a record high since the annual book fair was launched 15 years ago.

The Trade Development Council attributed the book fair's popularity to increased interest in reading, the Individual Travel Scheme and a better economy.

Cancer depression

A survey of the Chinese University of Hong Kong found more than 20 per cent of cancer patients suffer from depression and need psychological therapy.

A total of 300 cancer patients were interviewed in the survey. The results showed that 21.8 per cent of them are depressed.

The depressed patients often used to be the bread earners of their families and now have to rely on others for a living.

Victims of smokers

As many as 60 per cent of pregnant women and 40 per cent of babies in Hong Kong live in an environment of cigarette smoke, according to a study of the University of Hong Kong.

They are 15 per cent and 30 per cent more likely to catch diseases, which lead to HK$23.71 million in hospital costs every year.

The study, launched in 1997, was based on medical records and on a questionnaire to 8,327 couples of mother and babies.

Compulsory seat belts

Passengers of minibuses will be required to wear seat belts from next month, the Transport Department said yesterday. And minibuses registered to operate public transport will be required to be fitted with seat belts and high-back seats.

(HK Edition 07/27/2004 page2)