Category: MIL-OSI

Source: Hong Kong Government special administrative region

The following is issued on behalf of the Hong Kong Monetary Authority:

     To assist affected residents of the No. 5 alarm fire in Tai Po in overcoming difficulties, the Hong Kong Monetary Authority (HKMA) and the Hong Kong Association of Banks (HKAB) discussed the follow-up measures with 28 retail banks (including digital banks).

     Due to the special circumstances of this fire incident, the banking industry introduces six emergency support measures with immediate effect:
 

1. Establish designated committees, set up dedicated hotlines and enhance information dissemination – All retail banks have today established their respective designated committees led by senior management to coordinate internal resources and guide frontline staff to handle the cases of affected residents with flexibility. Banks have also set up respective 24-hour hotlines dedicated to answering enquiries (see Annex), and will provide details and updates of their support measures via branches, websites and social media;
2. Provide a six-month pre-approved repayment grace period to alleviate the immediate financial pressure on affected residents – Banks will offer a six-month pre-approved repayment grace period (including principal and interest) for mortgages, personal loans, and credit card loans etc., of affected residents, as well as waivers of related penalties and service charges;
3. Extend branch service hours and increase manpower in Tai Po to meet the local needs – All retail banks will extend the opening hours of their branches in Tai Po, providing services from 9am to 5pm on November 29 (Saturday), and from 9am to 1pm on November 30 (Sunday). Service schedules of the following week will be adjusted as necessary based on actual circumstances. Additional staff will also be deployed to relevant branches to understand affected residents’ special banking needs;
4. Prioritise handling bank account matters and document replacements for affected residents – Banks will assist affected residents or their family members by expediting the processing of related bank accounts, and prioritise helping affected residents to replace banking documents such as ATM cards, credit cards, and debit cards, with flexible collection or direct delivery arrangements;
5. Assist affected residents to access liquid funds with flexibility – Banks will provide special assistance to affected residents who cannot present ID or banking documents, enabling them to access liquid funds and continue using other banking services through alternative identification methods.
6. Assist in follow-up of insurance claims — All retail banks will proactively contact affected residents who have purchased insurance policies through respective banks to assist them in submitting claims applications.

 
     The HKMA and HKAB once again express profound grief for the deceased in the No. 5 alarm fire in Tai Po and extend the deepest condolences to the affected families. Affected residents can contact banks anytime if they have enquiries or special banking service needs. The banking industry will continue to provide assistance in a timely manner with empathy and flexibility.

     At the same time, the HKMA and HKAB would like to take this opportunity to remind the public to stay vigilant at all times to prevent fraudsters from taking advantage of the situation. Whenever receiving calls that claim to be from banks, the public should authenticate the identity of the caller and never disclose personal and bank account information, passwords, or other sensitive information to suspicious individuals.

Source: Hong Kong Government special administrative region

     The Secretary for Home and Youth Affairs, Miss Alice Mak; the Secretary for Labour and Welfare, Mr Chris Sun, and the Secretary for Education, Dr Choi Yuk-lin met the media today (November 28) regarding the follow-up work on the No. 5 alarm fire at Wang Fuk Court in Tai Po. Following are their remarks at the media session:

Reporter: Firstly, we just want to ask how would the government go about coordinating the hundreds of millions of dollars of physical donations and also monitoring the donation? How to distribute and also make best use of these donations and resources? And the second question, does the government have the latest information on the number and nationalities of domestic helpers that are missing, injured or dead as a result of this fire, and what will be done to support these domestic helpers, their employers and their families?
 
Secretary for Home and Youth Affairs: As you see, the Government has already set up a Support Fund (Support Fund for Wang Fuk Court in Tai Po) to support the residents affected by this mega fire. We are consolidating the needs of various households to introduce different measures and schemes to help our affected residents. The first one being the $10,000 petty cash program which we launched yesterday. Till now, we have received and processed nearly 1,200 applications. Hopefully, we can distribute the money to the residents within these two days. This is the $10,000 petty cash to each affected household. Apart from that, we understand that each family will face different needs and difficulties during this incident. We are going to provide another $50,000 living allowance or subsidies to help each household. For this, we encourage all the affected households to register through the social workers of the Social Welfare Department. You can call 182 183 to reach social workers and give them your details and the social workers would process all these applications for you. For those unfortunately deceased, we will provide the families with $200,000 each, we hope to show our respect to the deceased and help the families in need in this difficult moment. All in all, we will screen and see all the needs and try to introduce more timely measures and schemes to help all those in need.
 
Secretary for Labour and Welfare: Thank you. For foreign domestic helpers, we understand that quite a number of helpers work in this estate, taking care mostly of the elderly people and also children and babies. The Labour Department together with the two consulates, namely the Indonesian Consulate and also the Consulate of the Philippines, arranged a visit to this site to help them identify and understand the situation of missing foreign domestic helpers in this court. So I provide you with the latest number provided to us by the two Consulates.
 
     The Indonesian Consulate confirmed two deaths for Indonesian domestic helpers, one unverified death, two injured, and also 11 of them are missing. For the Filipino foreign domestic helpers, so far we have gathered information from the consulate is one unverified death, one injured, one is reported missing, and also there are altogether 32 in the process of locating them. We are working closely with the two Consulate Generals to help the foreign domestic helpers.
 
     I think there are two major concerns with the foreign domestic helpers right now. One is about the living requirement. In their contract, they have to live in their reported residence. Right now, there is no way for them to get back. We are going to make special arrangements for them to make sure that they are still in compliance with the visa conditions of staying here in Hong Kong. The second is for those who died at the fire. There is already a standard provision in their contract so we will make sure that they will get all the necessary help, including getting their bodies back to either to Indonesia or back to the Philippines. Also, all the death compensation will be arranged in accordance with their standard contract for foreign domestic workers.

Source: Hong Kong Government special administrative region – 4

In memories of the victims of the fire at Wang Fuk Court in Tai Po, the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region (HKSAR) Government has made the following mourning arrangements:

From November 29 to December 1, national flags and regional flags displayed at all government buildings (including offices of the HKSAR Government outside Hong Kong) will be flown at half staff. During this period, government officials will not attend non-essential public activities. All entertainment and celebration activities organised or funded by the Government will be cancelled or postponed as appropriate.

The Chief Executive, Mr John Lee, together with principal officials, Non-official Members of the Executive Council and civil servants, will observe a three-minute silence at 8am tomorrow (November 29) at the Central Government Offices, to mourn for the victims of the fire in Tai Po.

During the mourning period, the Home Affairs Department will set up condolence points in all 18 districts for the public to sign condolence books to mourn for the victims. The condolence books will be available for signing from 9am to 9pm between November 29 and December 1.

Source: Hong Kong Government special administrative region – 4

Regarding the fire at Wang Fuk Court in Tai Po, the Social Welfare Department (SWD) is providing welfare services and other supports (including financial assistance) to affected residents with the “one social worker per household” service arrangement. Residents do not need any registration card as documentary proof. 

In response to the public concern over the Emergency Relief Chit, the SWD clarified that the chits are only a record for residents who had received Emergency Relief Services at temporary shelters. It is irrelevant to the “one social worker per household” service. 

The SWD social workers are reaching out to all affected residents. Residents not yet in touch with the SWD are advised to leave their contact information by calling 182 183. 

Source: Hong Kong Government special administrative region – 4

     In view of the fire incident at Wang Fuk Court in Tai Po, a Government spokesperson said today (November 28) that in accordance with the notice on adjusted arrangements for events related to the 12th National Games for Persons with Disabilities (NGD) and the 9th National Special Olympic Games (NSOG) issued by the office of the Organising Committee of the 12th NGD and the 9th NSOG (https://www.baygamespara.cn/node_cc15c9de96/c4b365a634.shtml (Chinese only)), the Hong Kong leg of the 12th NGD and the 9th NSOG torch relay originally scheduled for 9.30am tomorrow (November 29) and special traffic and transport arrangements announced earlier will be cancelled. Torch relay events for the 12th NGD and the 9th NSOG in Guangzhou, Shenzhen and Macao will also be cancelled tomorrow. The opening ceremony of the 12th NGD and the 9th NSOG originally scheduled to be held in Guangzhou on December 8 will be cancelled as well. A simple closing event will be organised after all competitions of the 12th NGD and the 9th NSOG conclude.

Source: Hong Kong Information Services

Following the establishment of a task force to launch a full investigation into possible corruption in the grand renovation project of Wang Fuk Court in Tai Po, the Independent Commission Against Corruption today arrested eight individuals, all of whom are being detained for further enquiries.

The arrestees, aged between 40 and 63, include seven men and one woman. Four of them are from the consulting firm of the grand renovation project, namely two directors and two project managers responsible for supervising the project. Three others are scaffolding subcontractors, including a couple who are the proprietors of a company. The remaining arrestee is a middleman.

Search warrants were executed today at 13 premises, including the offices of the consulting firm and the subcontractors, as well as the residences of the arrestees. Works documents and bank records were seized.

Source: Hong Kong Information Services

In view of the fire incident at Wang Fuk Court in Tai Po, the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region Government announced today that the Hong Kong leg of the 12th National Games for Persons with Disabilities (NGD) and the 9th National Special Olympic Games (NSOG) torch relay, originally scheduled for 9.30am tomorrow, will be cancelled.

The announcement was made in accordance with a notice issued by the office of the 12th NGD and the 9th NSOG Organising Committee.

The special traffic and transport arrangements will be aborted accordingly.

In addition, the torch relay events tomorrow in Guangzhou, Shenzhen and Macau will not be held.

The opening ceremony of the 12th NGD and the 9th NSOG previously scheduled to take place in Guangzhou on December 8 will also be cancelled.

A simple closing event will be organised after all competitions of the 12th NGD and the 9th NSOG conclude.

Source: Hong Kong Information Services

In memory of the victims of the fire at Wang Fuk Court in Tai Po, from November 29 to December 1, national flags and regional flags displayed at all government buildings, including offices of the Government outside Hong Kong, will be flown at half staff.

During this period, government officials will not attend non-essential public activities. All entertainment and celebration activities organised or funded by the Government will be cancelled or postponed as appropriate.

Chief Executive John Lee, together with principal officials, Executive Council non-official members and civil servants, will observe a three-minute silence at 8am tomorrow at the Central Government Offices, to mourn the victims of the fire in Tai Po.

During the mourning period, the Home Affairs Department will set up condolence points in all 18 districts for the public to sign condolence books to mourn for the victims. The condolence books will be available for signing from 9am to 9pm between November 29 and December 1.

Source: Hong Kong Information Services

Financial Secretary Paul Chan this afternoon convened a co-ordination meeting with financial regulators to enhance support for residents affected by the recent fire incident at Wang Fuk Court in Tai Po.

Secretary for Financial Services & the Treasury Christopher Hui attended the meeting, along with senior representatives from the Monetary Authority, the Insurance Authority, the Mandatory Provident Fund (MPF) Schemes Authority and the Securities & Futures Commission.

At the meeting, Mr Chan instructed the financial regulators to step up co-ordination and mobilise banks, insurance companies, MPF trustees and other financial institutions to provide timely and effective assistance to the affected residents. The directives include:

 • proactively reaching out to affected residents to understand their needs and offer assistance;

 • streamlining procedures and expediting the processing of service and claims applications with discretion, wherever possible;

 • adopting a lenient approach in handling delayed payments of loans, contributions and insurance premiums by affected individuals;

 • giving priority and simplifying procedures in handling account matters related to the deceased;

 • establishing a cross-sectoral co-ordination mechanism among financial institutions to enhance information flow and speed up response efforts; and

 • extending service hours of bank branches in the district on Saturdays and Sundays to better serve local residents.

Mr Chan said that the residents affected by the fire are going through an extremely difficult time, noting that financial institutions should adopt a compassionate and empathetic approach, respond flexibly to the actual circumstances and needs of each family, and proactively provide appropriate support.

He stressed that addressing the immediate needs of the affected residents is the top priority. During the post-incident recovery and beyond, sustained support and care to the residents will be essential.

Mr Chan expressed hope that banks, insurers and other financial service providers would introduce ongoing support measures to help relieve any future financial pressure faced by the affected residents.

In line with the directives, the Monetary Authority and the Hong Kong Association of Banks will separately announce further measures today.

Separately, the Insurance Authority has set up a dedicated task force to co-ordinate the insurance sector’s responses, including the handling of public enquiries and claims.

Insurers are also offering various forms of assistance, including prioritising claims processing, expediting payouts, offering premium holidays or extended payment deadlines, and providing interest relief on policy loans. Some insurers are also providing emergency cash assistance or making advance payments to cover temporary accommodation costs.

Source: Government of Western Samoa

[JOINT PRESS RELEASE 27th November 2025] – The Ministry of Customs and Revenue (MCR) successfully intercepted a shipment containing 99grams of methamphetamine, preventing the harmful substance from reaching our communities. The street value of the seized drugs is estimated to be around $100,000 Samoan tala.

Customs Border Officers detected the prohibited drugs during a routine inspection of consignments arriving from American Samoa at the Matautu Wharf, where officers identified anomalies in the consignment and carried out a detailed examination. The prohibited drugs was concealed in a can of Milk Powder (Coffee Mate). The concealment method demonstrates the continued attempts by criminals to smuggle illicit drugs into Samoa through ordinary goods. The swift actions and vigilance of the officers led to the discovery and immediate seizure of the illicit drugs.

A 38-year-old male of Lalovaea, Samusu Aleipata, Fogatuli and Magiagi and a Filipino lady connected to the shipment were referred to the Samoa Police, Prison and Corrections Service (SPPCS). The male defendant has been charged with Possession of Narcotics (Methamphetamine) and Importation of Prohibited Goods and is jointly charged with the female defendant with, Possession of Utensils. Both MCR and SPPCS are working collaboratively to ensure that the defendants are prosecuted to the fullest extent of the law.

This interception highlights the ongoing efforts by the Samoa Customs and Samoa Police under the “Say No to Illicit Drugs campaign” to combat the smuggling of methamphetamine and other illicit drugs into Samoa. Customs continues to strengthen its enforcement strategies through advanced inspection technologies, enhanced intelligence-sharing, targeted profiling, and strong cooperation with both domestic and international law enforcement partners.

The Chief Executive Officer Fonoti Talaitupu Li’a-Taefu commends the professionalism and commitment of all officers involved in this operation and reaffirms its dedication to protecting Samoa from the threat of transnational drug smuggling.

Samoa we must stand together to eradicate illicit drugs from our community and hold criminals accountable. The cowardice actions of a small number of Samoan criminals involved in the illegal trade of drugs for their own benefits has a huge negative impact to the overall peacefulness of Samoa.

Working together for a Safe & Secure Border and Peaceful Samoa

ENDS

Ministry of Customs & Revenue Samoa

Samoa Police, Prisons & Corrections Services

November 28, 2025