Police nab 91 in syndicate bust

Ninety-one suspects, aged 16 to 79, have been rounded up in a police crackdown on a crime syndicate in Tai Po.

Police said the syndicate was engaged in activities that included drug dealing, running gambling dens, illegal soccer betting and loan sharking. The gang reportedly was earning some HK$500,000 per month.

Undercover detectives were deployed over the four-month-long operation. More than 100 police officers made arrests at multiple locations on Tuesday.

Probe over fatal meter reader fall

An investigation has been launched into the death of a CLP meter reader, who fell down a lift shaft when opening a door he apparently thought belonged to the electricity meter room.

Legislator Wong Kwok-hing accompanied the family of the deceased CLP worker, surnamed Lam, to attend a meeting with the Labor Department and Electrical and Mechanical Services Department Tuesday.

The accident took place on May 26, when Lam visited the Tung Chung apartment building Coastal Skyline. With a key obtained from the concierge, Lam opened a door that turned out to be an entrance to the lift shaft and plummeted to his death. There are no clear signs marking the door. The same key also opens the door to the electricity meter room.

Rail sighting disrupts MTR

A person seen on the tracks of MTR East Rail caused a one-hour-40-minute disruption Tuesday.

A conductor on a train traveling from University to Taipo Market contacted the control center at 11 am after spotting a person in the railway premises. Trains traveled at reduced speeds through the section of track where the sighting occurred and frequency of trains between Taipo and Lo Wu or Lok Ma Chau was reduced.

MTR staff inspected the section but found no unauthorized person. Normal operation resumed at 12:40 pm.

Recruitment center opened

The Labor Department opened a Recruitment Centre for the Retail Industry (RCRI) Tuesday in Wan Chai.

RCRI is the second industry-based recruitment center operated by the Labor Department and is modeled on the Recruitment Centre for the Catering Industry, which opened in February last year, said the Secretary for Labor and Welfare Matthew Cheung Kin-chung.

Job seekers said the center helps them to find jobs because it's industry specific.

Govt broadens Entrant Scheme

The Immigration Department announced Tuesday that investment-linked insurance products will be accepted as permissible investment assets under the Capital Investment Entrant Scheme.

In the past, immigrant investors were required to invest HK$6.5 million in assets such as real estate, equities, debt securities and designated mutual funds in Hong Kong.

The new inclusion is expected to entice more mainlanders to buy investment-linked insurance products in Hong Kong. Mainlanders account for some 6 percent of investment-linked insurance products sales in Hong Kong last year, involving HK$3.6 billion, according to legislator Chan Kin-por.

China Daily

(HK Edition 06/23/2010 page1)