Radio Lantau News

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1. Retirement will not prevent department head probes

   Civil Service Chief Ingrid Yeung on Saturday said investigations under the two-tier accountability system will continue when a department head retires. Under the rule unveiled in the latest Policy Address, any problem identified will be handled by heads of department or an independent panel, based on the severity. She told RTHK that a department head who has resigned will still be investigated. "If the staff member has retired or quit... the investigation still needs to continue. Because very few incidents involve only one person. Some documentation records and files still exist, and a lot can be discovered from them. The investigation must proceed," she said. "If the personnel concerned have already left or changed positions, reports still need to be addressed and everything has to be disclosed," she said. Yeung said if a staff member intentionally tries to avoid disciplinary proceedings following an investigation, the government will still be able to act. For instance, if the worker opts for early retirement by making use of remaining vacation leave, the government will not hand out the pension immediately, she added.

2. New wave barrier to boost Tseung Kwan O flood defences

   Secretary for Development Bernadette Linn says an additional one-metre-high barrier will be installed at the Tseung Kwan O South Waterfront Promenade in order to bolster flood defences during future typhoons. Tseung Kwan O experienced severe flooding caused by Super Typhoon Ragasa, with more than 20 waterfront restaurants in the area damaged this week. Linn said that while existing defences are in place, including a five-metre-high wave barrier and sloped stone walls designed to absorb wave energy, the recent typhoon showed that there is a need for more protective measures. She said work on the new barrier project has just begun and is slated for completion next year, noting that it is one of more than 30 places identified by authorities in recent years as needing improvements in precautionary measures against flooding risks. "We will check if there are any places we overlooked, whether existing or planned facilities, such as flood barriers or removable flood panels, are high enough or if they need to be raised," she said. "We will continue this work, and after each event, we will review whether there is any new information." Additionally, she said, the government will discuss with promenade restaurant owners the possibility of installing temporary inflatable flood barriers outside their entrances as a further precautionary measure.

3. Labour chief outlines community living room locations

   Secretary for Labour and Welfare Chris Sun says the six additional community living rooms to be opened next year will be in locations that include Yau Tsim Mong, Tsuen Wan, Kwai Tsing, and Hong Kong Island. In this month's Policy Address, Chief Executive John Lee said the new rooms, along with the nine existing ones, would be able to serve 7,000 subdivided flat households. The rooms offer amenities such as shared cooking facilities and study areas. Sun told a Commercial Radio programme that the government wanted to set up a facility in Yau Tsim Mong, as the number of tenants living in the district's subdivided flats may be the highest across the SAR. He believes the SAR will see more than six additional facilities later, as many groups have shown an interest in working with the government on the project. While community living rooms in Sham Shui Po, Hung Hom, To Kwa Wan, and Nam Cheong have been operating for more than a year under a three-year lease, Sun said groups providing the venues would extend the service. "They're going to provide another three years of extension of their lease," he said. "So that means for these four community living rooms, they will be providing to us free of charge, together with the renovation cost for six years." Separately, Sun also provided an update on a joint pilot scheme between the Hospital Authority and the Social Welfare Department, which was launched in July. Under the scheme, when a caregiver, who is a recipient of carers' subsidies for low-income families, is admitted to hospital, the authority will notify the department to offer respite services for the family in need. Sun said, so far, the Hospital Authority had made more than 500 alerts. However, he said urgent support was only needed in two cases, including meal deliveries from the Social Welfare Department.

4. Father and helper arrested for risking kids in typhoon

   Police have arrested two people on suspicion of child neglect after they allegedly brought two children to watch the waves at Kennedy Town as Super Typhoon Ragasa hit Hong Kong on Wednesday. A 46-year-old man, the children’s father, and a 33-year-old foreign domestic helper were arrested after officers examined a video that had been circulating on social media. Police said they checked CCTV footage extensively before making the arrests on Friday. Western District Chief Inspector Cheung Wai-shan described the situation as extremely dangerous, although the two boys, aged four and six, were not injured. “At the time, there were swells and seawater had already started surging onto the pavement, but the two adults were still bringing the children there to take photos. There was a very real risk they could have been swept away by the waves. The situation was perilous and could have caused serious injury or even endangered the children’s lives, so the police take this case very seriously,” she said. Cheung added that parents should never seek excitement at the expense of safety, stressing that children’s wellbeing must always come first. “This kind of behaviour not only puts themselves and children in extreme danger, but if an accident happened, it could also place extra burdens or risks on rescuers. It is a highly irresponsible act that should be condemned by society,” she said.

5. Exco backs elevated Kai Tak transport system plan

   The Executive Council on Friday approved development plans for a smart and green mass transit system in Kai Tak which will connect the area's MTR station with the cruise terminal. The project is expected to be completed in 2031. Tenders for three sites associated with the project are expected to be awarded next year. Property development rights at nominal premiums would be granted to those who win the tender for the three sites. New legislation would be introduced for granting and regulating the franchise operating the transit system, with the aim of tabling it at the Legislative Council by the end of next year. The elevated transit system is expected to run between Kai Tak Station and the cruise terminal, with the four stations in between being Kai Tak Sports Park, Shing Fung Road Park, Kai Tak Sky Garden, and a planned depot above Shing King Street. A government spokesman said the administration hopes to introduce a slate of innovative measures to speed up the completion of the project – while saving costs as it cooperates with the private sector. "We will encourage the entry of new local, mainland and overseas investors and operators by selecting a franchisee to finance, design, construct, operate and maintain each new system through an open tender, which can enhance competition and bring in innovative thinking," he said. The spokesman also noted the government would offer funding support for the light rail operator, adding that as the expected operating cost was lower than heavy rail, a fiscal balance or even a profit could be achieved when the system is completed. The government would also set up a dedicated interdepartmental one-stop platform to coordinate on the development of the project to save time, according to the spokesman.

6. Legco approves HK$1bn for setting up AI R&D body

   The government on Friday said it hopes a new public body tasked with turning AI research outcomes into commercial applications could bring in some HK$300 million by the third year of its establishment and achieve self-financing down the line. This came as the Legislative Council's finance committee approved HK$1 billion to set up the AI Research and Development Institute that was first announced in the government budget in February. Officials project that the body – to be formed next year – would spend all of its initial funding within five years. Commissioner for Digital Policy Tony Wong said the institute could generate income through commercialising mid- to down-stream research projects. "It could be AI projects to support public administration, patent registration, including profit sharing with the market," he told lawmakers. "The institute will also be able to provide consultant advisory and business-matching services for the trade. It may also be able to perform assessment and cybersecurity trials for the private sector." Wong added that the plan is to have a 50-strong staff – with its chief executive earning more than HK$4 million a year. Around a quarter of the workers would be researchers, each of whom would earn an annual salary of more than HK$1.1 million. Secretary for Innovation, Technology and Industry Sun Dong said the institute is set to become a leader in Hong Kong's AI development, coordinating and promoting local projects in the field. He stressed the institute has the public mission of getting more sectors in society, such as schools, to use AI.

7. Man faces prosecution for swimming at closed beach

   Police have applied to the courts for a summons to prosecute a 54-year-old man who went swimming at a beach that had been closed off in Tuen Mun as Super Typhoon Ragasa hit Hong Kong on Wednesday. Officers said they received a report and went to the scene, where they gave the man a warning before he left. After further investigations, officers submitted the summons application on Friday to prosecute the man. Under the Bathing Beaches Regulation of the Public Health and Municipal Services Ordinance, failing to comply with temporary closure orders is an offence punishable by a fine of up to HK$2,000 and 14 days in jail. Before the arrival of Ragasa this week, the government repeatedly warned people against going out to watch the waves. But some ignored the advice and put themselves in danger. Police on Thursday arrested two women for allegedly taking a child storm-chasing in Southern District when Ragasa skirted the city.

8. Cybercrime cost HK$3.6b in first seven months: police

   Financial losses suffered through cybersecurity offences rose almost a fifth in the first seven months of 2025 year on year, police revealed on Friday, despite technology crime numbers going down slightly. Officers also warned that people are leaving more digital footprints online that made them vulnerable to cyberattacks, which had become more elaborate and posed "actual risks" to the public and business operations. Rachel Hui, a superintendent of the force's cybersecurity and technology crime bureau, said offenders have turned to "high-value targets". "The hackers would have much information surrounding the potential victims, then they can send phishing messages to them," she said. "They can also apply AI or deepfake technologies easily." "We can see quite a lot of ransomware cases where we can find traces of AI... We can find that they are using AI chatbots for negotiations for a higher [ransom] amount." The force recorded 19,080 cases of cybercrimes in the first seven months of this year, down 0.9 percent from the same period in 2024. Losses for the period amounted to more than HK$3.6 billion, making for a year-on-year increase of 18.4 percent. For hacking incidents alone, monetary losses racked up to HK$39.4 million, representing a tenfold increase. The worst case saw a financial institution suffer a HK$26 million loss. In an ongoing operation, the force took down and cleared problematic command-and-control servers, botnets and phishing sites, while seizing over 1,500 gigabytes of data for investigation and analysis. Among the over 39,800 cybersecurity threats recorded in the operation, around 80 percent of them involved phishing sites. Officers requested 89 internet service providers to take remedial measures on cybersecurity loopholes.

9. Govt expects over 8m crossings during Golden Week

   The government on Friday estimated that more than eight million people would travel in and out of Hong Kong during the upcoming National Day Golden Week holiday, which runs from October 1 to 8. The Immigration Department expects around 8.76 million people, including Hong Kong residents and visitors, to pass through the city's land, sea and air checkpoints. Of these, around 7.52 million are expected to use land boundary control points. The department has forecast that the busiest day for outbound travel would be October 4, with around 660,000 travellers, while the busiest day for arrivals would be October 1, with around 610,000 passengers. The busiest control points are expected to be Lo Wu, Lok Ma Chau and Shenzhen Bay. The department advised passengers to plan ahead, avoid travelling during peak periods, and pay attention to radio and TV broadcasts for updates on traffic conditions at the control points. The interdepartmental working group on festival arrangements, led by the chief secretary, said officials would also liaise closely with their mainland counterparts to ensure smooth passenger flow.

10. Police vow sufficient manpower for fireworks crowd

    Police pledged on Friday to deploy sufficient manpower to manage the hundreds of thousands of revellers expected to flock to both sides of Victoria Harbour for the National Day fireworks. Ho Chun-hin, the acting superintendent for Kowloon West traffic, said crowds watching the 23-minute display on October 1 could reach last year's levels. "According to our past experience... the number of people on both sides of the harbour had reached 290,000 during peak hours at the last National Day fireworks display," he said. "We expect we will have to handle a similar size crowd this time as well," he said. "I can assure [people] that the police will have sufficient manpower and will adopt the most appropriate crowd management measures to ensure the public can enjoy the event in a safe and orderly manner." But Ho did not reveal the number of officers to be deployed. Parts of the city near popular viewing spots on both sides of the harbour will be closed off. The area around Golden Bauhinia Square will be closed at 4pm, while road closures for certain parts of Hong Kong Island will begin from 6.30pm. On the Kowloon side, road closures will start from 5pm in Tsim Sha Tsui and West Kowloon Cultural District. To facilitate cross-border travel, there will be a temporary bus stop next to the West Kowloon terminus of the high speed rail to make it easier for visitors to get to Huanggang and Shenzhen Bay.