Three lawmakers quit Liberal Party

Acting chairperson of the Liberal Party Lau Kin-yee yesterday expressed sadness over three prominent members' decision to quit the party and hoped that they would change their minds.

Legislator Jeffrey Lam Kin-fung, who had shown interest in running for the party's chairmanship, handed in his letter of departure yesterday, saying he does not want to waste his time on infighting any more.

Fellow party members and legislators Leung Lau Yau-fun and Leung Kwan-yuen, who had supported Lam for the party's chairmanship, also quit yesterday.

Sulphur dioxide found in meat samples

Nineteen out of 291 meat samples have been found with a trace amount of preservative sulphur dioxide, the Centre for Food Safety said yesterday. The chemical should not be used in fresh or frozen meat.

The centre collected 291 meat samples for tests and 15 beef and four pork samples contained sulphur dioxide at levels between 10ppm and 2,100ppm.

Based on the levels detected, normal consumption should not pose any adverse health effects. But people who are allergic to the preservative may experience respiratory discomfort, headaches and nausea.

Police given community service for forging signature

A police officer stationed in Aberdeen was sentenced to 200 hours of community service yesterday at Kwun Tong Magistracy for forging the victim's signature in a criminal vandalism case.

The presiding magistrate said the light sentence was reasonable because the defendant had a clean work record for 22 years before he made the career-ending mistake. Leung Chin-choi, the defendant, forged the victim's signature on the transcript of his witness account in a criminal vandalism investigation. The magistrate thought Leung had been lazy on that occasion.

Two suspected cases of food poisoning

The Centre for Health Protection yesterday reminded people to observe good personal, food and environmental hygiene to prevent food-born diseases after two cases of suspected food poisoning involving 11 people Monday night.

All 11 victims, nine women and two men, had dinner at the same Thai restaurant in Jordan, Kowloon, in two groups.

They displayed symptoms consistent with gastroenteritis, including diarrhea, abdominal pain, vomiting and fever.

China Daily

(HK Edition 10/09/2008 page1)