Number confusion a permit circus

In response to a numbering format in the renewed Home Return Permit, the Ministry of Public Security is considering launching a new e-Home Return Permit to end the number confusion, said Wong Kowk-kin, a Hong Kong deputy to the National People's Congress, who attended a meeting with ministry officials yesterday.

The change of the last two digits from 00 to 01 after a permit is renewed has caused identification problems in business transactions for Hong Kong people on the mainland. The Ministry explained that the first eight digits are fixed personal identification numbers and the last two digits represent how many times a cardholder has renewed the permit.

The new e-Home Return Permit will separate the fixed personal numbers from the last two digits to avoid confusion. The system should be functional by the year 2011.

Thai tourist killer gets life for murder

Twenty-seven year old So Kam-tong was sentenced to life in prison yesterday for stabbing and suffocating Thai tourist Charitar Kamolnoranath at Revenue Tower in 2005. A High Court jury deliberated for less than two and a half hours before returning a unanimous guilty verdict. During sentencing, Justice Clare-Marie Beeson said the 40-year-old victim was "a purely random victim" and that So was likely to offend again.

Fire safety revisions follow tragedy

The Fire Services Department will consider ordinance amendments to upgrade the fire safety equipment in old industrial buildings, Deputy Director of Fire Services Chan Chor-kam announced yesterday after a fireman was killed and three injured in Monday's fire at an industrial building in Cheung Sha Wan.

Chan said that Hong Kong has 650 old industrial buildings that do not have automatic sprinkler systems. The sprinkler system has a cooling effect that can help firefighters maneuver and partially block flames from spreading. The building engulfed by fire on Monday did not have a sprinkler system in place.

The upgrade will also include better equipment for firefighters, such as new breathing apparatuses expected to arrive by mid-April. The Department currently provides training programs that teach firefighters how to use the new equipment, says Chiu Sin-chung, Chairman of the Fire Services Department Staffs General Association. The new equipment has a location function, which allows the central console to locate firefighters and determine residual air.

MTR fare increase review coming in June

The MTR Corporation will review the current ticket price in June 2010, announced its CEO Chow Chung-kong at a press conference yesterday. But whether the MTR will increase the fare depends on the Wage Index of the Transport Sector.

According to the Fare Adjustment Mechanism, the MTR can review the fares for the year every June. The Composite Consumer Price Index and Wage Index of the Transport Sector will determine the new fare price.

Available figures show that the Composite Consumer Price Index for last year and this year so far has already approached 1.5 percent, which is enough to trigger a fare increase.

As for the Wage Index of the Transport Sector, the Census and Statistics Department has only announced the figure of the first three quarters of the last year, which increased by 1.4 percent since the end of 2008.

China Daily

(HK Edition 03/10/2010 page1)