Man pleads guilty in threat to bomb home of CE

A jobless young man who issued threats in online posts to bomb the home of Chief Executive Donald Tsang pleaded guilty to four counts of committing an act outraging public decency at the Tun Mun Magistrates' Court Wednesday.

Chan Wing-leung, 20, declared his criminal intent in an online forum, December 7, setting off a police investigation.

Chan was remanded into police custody, pending sentencing on April 7.

Bogus waiter makes off with credit cards

Police are investigating two incidents, in which a man dressed as a waiter made off with the credit cards of restaurant patrons who thought they were paying their bills.

Both cases occurred at restaurants belonging to the Maxim Group. Both occured during the busy dim sum hours on the weekend. Victims said they surrendered their credit cards to the man when time came to pay their bills and he then disappeared. The stolen cards were used to purchase items in nearby malls soon after the thefts occured.

Maxim said it had warned customers not to hand over credit cards before seeing a bill.

The Association For Hong Kong Catering Services Management said there had also been cases of people hired on a temporary basis making off with cash handed over by customers.

Parents lack knowledge about kids' eye care

One-third of parents in Hong Kong have misconceptions about providing proper eye care for their children, according to a survey of 150 parents by a market research institute. Parents either don't take their children for regular eye checks or fail to provide their children with properly fitted eyeglasses. Some failed to understand that ill-fitted classes would exacerbate myopia. The survey quoted optometrists as saying that an adequate amount of outdoor activity would help reduce the chances of developing myopia.

Plans for poultry slaughterhouse to be reviewed

The government is reconsidering whether it will be necessary to go ahead with planned development of a slaughterhouse for poultry, Secretary for Food and Health York Chow said Wednesday.

Chow told lawmakers the government has commissioned a consultant to re-assess the commercial viability and market interest in running such a center.

"We are also studying the trend of public demand for live chickens. We will consult the Legislative Council on whether a poultry slaughtering center should be developed once the detailed analytical results of these studies are available," he said.

Ketamine-using driver jailed 10 months

A 30-year-old former transport worker who has more than a dozen driving and substances abuses conviction has been ordered to spend the next 10 months behind bars.

Leung Yan-chiu crashed his car in January while under the influence of Ketamine only five days after his release from jail on a prior conviction.

Leung was up before the court on one count of driving while disqualified, one count of using a vehicle without third party insurance, one count of inhaling a dangerous drug and one count of driving a motor vehicle under the influence of drink or drugs.

China Daily

(HK Edition 03/25/2010 page1)