Revue de presse du 5 février 2010

 Fung Shui master released on $5m bail

Six papers in their leads and others in prominent coverage reported that Fung Shui master Tony Chan was released on bail of $5 million early this morning after being questioned by the CCB overnight for alleged forgery of the will of the late Chinachem chairman Nina Wang.

While the papers noted that Mr Chan was ordered to report back to the police mid-next month, DCP Peter Yam, however, said very little about the case could be disclosed at this time. He hoped that more could be revealed when the initial investigation was completed.

In a statement, RCG Holdings, a listed company owned by Mr Chan, denied any involvement in the criminal proceedings, reassuring shareholders that the High Court judgment that ruled against Mr Chan would not have any impact on its operations and finances.

 SDEV admits Govt can do more in building repair

The papers in good coverage reported the aftermath of the collapsed block of flats in To Kwa Wan, with several noting that Secretary for Development Carrie Lam had volunteered to coordinate the maintenance of old buildings, admitting that the Government could have done more.

It was understood that she had e-mailed CE Donald Tsang at the small hours on the day after the incident, stressing that the tragedy had pointed to a serious social problem which could only be resolved completely if the Government was more united and determined in handling the matter.

Speaking in Legislative council yesterday, Mrs Lam said the Government should also face squarely the problem arising from sub-divided flats (劏房) in ageing buildings in which the internal structure of the units were altered without the consent from the Building Authority.

She admitted that as a law enforcement body, the Buildings Department might not be able to detect these illegal alterations because Building Department staff were denied entry to flats for inspections on complaints received. She pledged that the Government would study ways to enhance the legislation in this area.

The problem of sub-divided flats was highlighted by the HK Economic Times, which in an inside-page lead noted the seriousness of the problem in To Kwa Wan and quoted the building industry as estimating that 90 per cent of such ageing buildings had illegal alterations.

They feared that the buildings might not be able to bear the extra loads as a result of such alterations and a similar tragedy might occur.

The papers noted that Mrs Lam also denied that the Government had pressured the Urban Renewal Authority into shunning rundown areas where developers had bought properties, stressing that when the URA selected sites to redevelop, the conditions of residents and buildings were prime factors for consideration.

It was the view of URA non-executive director James To that the authority had avoided pitching plans to the Government in areas where developers were active, knowing that the proposals were unlikely to be approved, some papers noted.

 Govt to record $5b surplus : Deloitte

The papers in good coverage, with the HK Daily News in its front-page lead, reported that accountancy firm Deloitte Touche Tohmatsu had estimated a $5 billion surplus for the 2009-10 fiscal year but forecast a small deficit of $7.5 billion for 2010-11.

Deloitte Touche Tohmatsu tax partner Yvonne Law suggested that the Government should offer tax incentives for the 2010-11 Budget, such as salaries tax rebate of up to $10,000 for individuals and deductions of up to $100,000 for home loan principal for 10 years.

Deloitte also recommended phased reduction in profits tax over three years from 16.5 per cent to 15 per cent, and called on the Government to offer tax incentives for the six key industries.

Meanwhile, the papers noted that Legco passed a non-binding motion to call on the Administration to help alleviate poverty by providing subsidies to poor children and extending the transport support scheme.

Secretary for Labour and Welfare Matthew Cheung said the related bureaux had set up special committees to study measures to help students in need.

 By-elections funding bundles with Budget estimates

The papers in moderate coverage reported that the Government was seeking to bundle the cost of the by-elections triggered by the resignation of five pan-democratic legislators into the forthcoming Budget estimates rather than seeking a separate funding.

Reports noted that the amount was included as an item under the REO in the 2010-11 estimates for the Budget.

In a paper submitted to Legco yesterday, the Constitutional and Mainland Affairs Bureau said to discharge its statutory responsibility, the Government should seek the legislature’s approval of the $159 million required to conduct the by-elections, adding that provisions for conducting elections or by-elections had all along been included in the annual estimates for the purpose of budgetary planning.

The paper also noted that the authorities would consider if there were views in the community asking for amendments to the law to prevent legislators from abusing the resignation mechanism.

 Complaints over improper sales practices jump 33pc

Complaints about improper sales practices had jumped 33 per cent to 4,195 cases last year over the previous year but the total number of complaints that the Consumer Council received dropped 19 per cent to 34,114 cases, many papers reported in good coverage.

Releasing its annual report at a press conference yesterday, Consumer Council chairman Anthony Cheung said that consumer complaints fell largely on telecom services which generated 9,165 cases, financial services were a distant second with 4,968 and electrical appliance sales came third with 2,260 complaints.

While delighting to see the overall level of consumer dissatisfaction had come down, Mr Cheung was equally concerned that the problem with undesirable sales practices had actually worsened over the year.

The council considered that the statistics demonstrated that unfair, misleading and deceptive tactics by salesmen remained a matter of grave concern.

Some papers noted that consumers had complained about misleading information, and the use of coercive and deceptive methods, believing that the sectors had to resort to the use of unscrupulous sales strategies to attract customers because of fierce competition.

In the way forward, Mr Cheung said the problem had to be addressed in close collaboration with the Government and that it was a matter of priority and urgency to press for necessary legislative measures.

Noting that the CEDB planned to conduct public consultation regarding legislative proposals to curb the problem in the first quarter of this year, the council said it would continue to consult the industry to seek additional remedies.

The papers also noted that complaints to the council against funeral services rose from just nine in 2008 to 31 last year, including 29 related to urn niches, involving more than $1.3 million.

In the headlines of their inside-page leads, Sing Tao Daily and the HK Commercial Daily said the council was considering making public the names of property developers involved in unscrupulous practices, including sales of inflated floor area and skipping of floor numbers.

The council had set up a working group to fight for the regulation of property sales and would submit proposals to the Government later.

 Anti-XRL Alliance rejects online forum invitation

The papers in moderate coverage reported that members of the Anti-XRL Alliance told the media yesterday that they would not attend the online forum organised by Transport and Housing Bureau on Saturday.

Alliance member Chu Hoi-dick said they could not accept the fact that the online forum would be conducted behind closed doors in the off-peak hours of Saturday morning. They urged the Government to hold the forum in public with live broadcast.

Under Secretary for Transport and Housing Yau Shing-mu informed the alliance that the online forum would proceed on Saturday.

 Police telecoms staff protest over outsourced maintenance

Ming Pao in its inside-page lead and several papers in moderate coverage reported that about 40 police telecommunications staff members yesterday took half a day off to protest outside the police headquarters in Wan Chai against the force outsourcing maintenance of its telecommunications posts, worrying that the risk of secret data being leaked would increase.

They urged the force to withdraw a telecommunications outsourcing contract or they might consider going on strike. They also demanded the force to stop further cuts of in-house telecommunications posts as the police had already reduced 197 positions of the telecommunications division since 2000.

Confederation of Trade Union’s Police Telecommunications Staff Union chairman Lee Wai-nin said police telecommunications staff were required to pass the integrity check when they joined the force but this requirement did not apply to people working for outsourcing services. He was worried about the risk of leakage of sensitive information.

Some papers said about one-third of the staff members of the force’s telecommunications division took part in the protest. Ming Pao said in headlines that the protest was a rare industrial action staged by the police in recent years.

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