Police probe gas blast

A dismantled gas stove and a spanner were found in the Sham Shui Po flat where a suspected gas explosion occurred on Tuesday morning injuring three people. The police said heavy smoke and a fire were reported in the 9th floor flat in Fu Yee House, Fu Cheong Estate, around 10 am. Firemen at the scene found a woman in the hallway outside the flat and a man unconscious in the kitchen. Another female resident was also injured in the flat. The fire was extinguished within half an hour. Initial investigations concluded that the fire was suspicious. A government laboratory will test the stove and spanner.

11 injured in crash in Taiwan

Eleven Hong Kong tourists were injured - none seriously - in a bus collision on Alishan Road in Taiwan's Chiayi county around 11 am on Tuesday. The injured are among 84 tourists, traveling in three tour buses, on their way to the Alishan mountain resort. Two buses ran into each other when the lead vehicle slowed down suddenly to avoid a car. All were discharged from hospital and are continuing their journey.

Two in court over kidnap scam

Two young women pleaded guilty to conspiracy to defraud in Fanling Magistrates' Court on Tuesday. This was for faking a kidnap to gain a HK$500,000 ransom from a relative. Sentencing was adjourned, pending reports on the pair. Sham Wing-ki, 27, and Leung Hiu-tung, 18, were remanded in custody. The court heard Sham lived with her aunt and cousin after her parents divorced. They continued to have a close relationship after Sham moved out a few years ago. But to pay off debts of HK$300,000. Sham colluded with her friend Leung to stage a kidnap. They sent a photo of Sham bound and gagged to Sham's cousin. But the cousin alerted police.

59 arrested over fake marriages

The Immigration Department has arrested 59 people in a crack down on fake marriage rackets. Assistant Director (Enforcement & Removal Assessment) William Fung Pak-ho said 90 percent of suspects were young people born after the 1980s. They were told they could marry in Hong Kong after obtaining fake marriage registrations on the mainland. The mastermind behind the racket, her husband and two adult children were among those arrested. This fake marriage racket differed from others as it recruited participants through friends and relatives instead other methods such as advertisements.

China Daily

(HK Edition 12/03/2014 page7)