Breaking news, analysis and opinion from the SCMP's Hong Kong edition.
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Hong Kong labour unionists have called for employers to be required to provide outdoor workers with heatstroke-prevention equipment during extreme temperatures. They also said on Saturday that heatstroke should be added to the list of statutory occupational diseases, making it easier for workers to claim compensation in work-related cases. The calls for better protection for workers in extreme…
Hong Kong’s weather forecaster will assess next week whether to issue a typhoon warning as Tropical Storm Narra is expected to edge closer to the western Guangdong coast. The Hong Kong Observatory said on Saturday morning that the storm was expected to linger over the vicinity of Beibu Wan, also known as the Gulf of Tonkin, before having a higher chance to turn east to northeast gradually early…
Hong Kong physiotherapy graduates are facing a job crunch amid ongoing healthcare budget cuts and a surge in new practitioners entering the industry, with one representative saying 60 applicants had competed for one position in a remote care facility for elderly residents. Data also showed that the proportion of applicants admitted to Polytechnic University’s (PolyU) prestigious physiotherapy…
A former assistant warden at a residential home for the intellectually disabled in Hong Kong has been accused of raping a resident multiple times two years ago. Chung Pui-kei has been charged with five counts of rape of a mentally incapacitated woman who lived at a home in Tai Po linked to the Hong Chi Association, an NGO, between July and August 2024. Prosecutor Human Lam Hiu-man outlined the…
Hong Kong authorities will cap access to a popular Sai Kung trail overlooking hexagonal rock columns at 2,000 people per day during several stretches from next month and require real-name registration for visitors, marking the city’s first countryside crowd-control measures of their kind. The Agriculture, Fisheries and Conservation Department announced the arrangement on Friday for the Po Pin Chau…
Smuggled cockroaches, frozen domestic rats and mealworms were among a haul of pests seized at a border checkpoint in Hong Kong, with a local driver arrested, authorities said on Friday. The Customs and Excise Department said officers intercepted the 118kg (260lbs) shipment – which also contained moth larvae and fruit flies mixed with declared goods – inside a goods vehicle at the Man Kam To…
An associate professor at the University of Hong Kong (HKU) has been charged by the corruption watchdog for allegedly receiving HK$2.2 million (US$280,500) in bribes in return for awarding seven procurement contracts for information technology education services to a vendor. The Independent Commission Against Corruption (ICAC) said on Friday that it had prosecuted Gary Wong Ka-wai, 45, of the…
A team of researchers from the Chinese University of Hong Kong (CUHK) has conducted the city’s first robot-assisted pelvic fracture surgery in what promises to be a safer, less intrusive alternative to a procedure typically considered among the most challenging. CUHK’s faculty of medicine said on Friday that the novel orthopaedic robotic surgical system could turn a “new page” in trauma care amid…
Humanoid robots, 3D printers and artificial intelligence (AI) hubs are among the newest technologies showcased at Hong Kong’s annual electronics and tech exhibition, as the city’s finance chief encourages residents to learn how to use them. At the opening of the four-day event on Friday, hundreds of visitors crowded the 22nd Hong Kong Computer and Communications Festival at the Convention and…
The British headquarters and Hong Kong distributor of beauty product company Opatra London have suspended local operations after allegations of aggressive sales tactics triggered the arrest of local senior staff and a raid on a corporate secretarial office in Sheung Wan. In a statement issued on Friday, Opatra London continued to distance itself from the local distributor, which it said owned and…
A senior manager at Hong Kong rail giant the MTR Corporation was allegedly conned out of HK$74 million (US$9.4 million) in a two-year-long scam by a fraudster posing as an employee of HSBC UK who lured the victim into investing in green bonds. Police said on Friday that a 59-year-old man had reported that he had been scammed. The case has been classified as obtaining property by deception, and no…
A dog that fatally mauled its handler at a Hong Kong pet training facility was a stray awaiting adoption, the South China Morning Post has learned, with residents living nearby saying they were not worried as the animals at the centre were kept indoors. A check by the SCMP on Friday morning found the facility at Ping Yeung Tsuen in Ta Kwu Ling closed a day after the attack. But staff members…
A former Deloitte information technology manager has been jailed for 22 months for stealing 423 laptops worth HK$1.2 million (US$153,000) from the accounting firm’s Hong Kong office to fund his stock trading addiction. The District Court sentenced Ho Man-kit, 40, on Friday after he pleaded guilty earlier this month to a count of theft for misappropriating Lenovo computers and selling them to an…
We have selected seven stories from this week’s news across Hong Kong, mainland China, the wider Asia region and beyond that resonated with our readers and shed light on topical issues. If you would like to see more of our reporting, please consider subscribing. 1. Chinese team aims to put ‘smart’ diabetes probiotic on US shelves within 2 years Chinese researchers have engineered a probiotic that…
A now-disbanded alliance behind Hong Kong’s annual Tiananmen Square vigil, along with two of its former leaders, have been found guilty of inciting subversion under the national security law for advocating an end to “one-party dictatorship” in mainland China. In a 216-page judgment delivered at West Kowloon Court on Friday, three High Court judges ruled that any attempt to overthrow or undermine…
Hong Kong should press ahead with its proposed tax break on carried interest, the performance fees earned by hedge fund and private equity managers, after Singapore unveiled a rival tax-exemption scheme, according to industry participants. The bill, submitted to lawmakers in June and expected to come to a vote later this year, has sparked debate in the financial industry. Some participants argue…
More consumers in Hong Kong have come forward to allege aggressive sales tactics across the beauty sector, including credit card abuse, unwanted physical contact and pressure to buy costly products, on the back of a crackdown on the local operations of a UK-based brand. Legal experts warned that such practices could breach the Trade Descriptions Ordinance, which prohibits harassment, coercion and…
A 33-year-old woman who operated a pet training facility in northern Hong Kong has been found dead after being mauled by a dog, police have said. Confirming an earlier South China Morning Post report, investigators said closed-circuit television footage showed the woman working alone at the facility at Ping Yeung Tsuen in Ta Kwu Ling when she was attacked by one of the dogs there on Thursday…
A rare Hong Kong government incentive for developers will help revive old neighbourhoods such as Sham Shui Po, where redevelopment projects have stalled amid a sluggish property market, analysts have said. They said on Thursday that the bonus plot ratio pilot scheme, due to launch next month, would provide private developers with a financial incentive to redevelop the city’s older neighbourhoods,…
From arrests linked to the Hong Kong operations of beauty chain Opatra London to a surge in online complaints against other skincare brands, high-pressure sales tactics remain widespread and continue to take a toll on consumers. Why do such malpractices remain widespread despite the city’s Trade Descriptions Ordinance, which criminalises aggressive commercial practices that significantly impair a…
Hong Kong Aircraft Engineering Company (Haeco) has signed a memorandum of understanding with the country’s largest independent aircraft lessor to set up a maintenance centre in the city, forging what authorities described as a “powerful alliance” between industry giants. The Transport and Logistics Bureau on Thursday revealed that Haeco, a sister company of flag carrier Cathay Pacific Airways, had…
