Six men and four women of a suspected of involvement in a triad-run loansharking syndicate were arrested during territory-wide raids by Organised Crime and Triad Bureau officers yesterday. Among those arrested was the syndicate's mastermind, police said. They have all been released on police bail.

soccer betting ARRESTS

Soccer betting orders with a face value of about $1 million were seized in a raid on a flat in Fa Yuen Street, Mongkok. Police arrested a man, 28, and woman, 38, and seized a computer. The couple were being questioned last night.

doctor faces tribunal

Former legislator Lam Kui-chun appeared before the Medical Council yesterday charged with professional misconduct. Dr Lam is alleged to have performed a radioablation treatment on his late patient Lo Tai, who suffered from liver cancer, without adequate training, between June and November 2001. The case continues today.

gay sex ruling adjourned

The Court of Appeal has adjourned its decision as to whether a High Court judge went beyond his powers in declaring unconstitutional laws banning buggery for men under 21. The government has been fighting to overturn an August decision by Mr Justice Michael Hartmann that struck down laws prescribing jail terms for men aged less than 21 engaging in homosexual acts.

sing pao ordered to pay

Sing Pao Newspaper Management Limited, which runs the cash-strapped Sing Pao Daily News, has been ordered by the High Court to pay the Mandatory Provident Fund Scheme Authority more than $1.3 million in MPF contributions, unpaid between October last year and March.

loiter charge dismissed

A civil engineering student, Lai Lok-shing, 21, who had admitted and was convicted of molesting a schoolgirl in Cheung Sha Wan, was acquitted in the District Court yesterday of loitering. The judge will pass his sentence on the indecent assault charge on August 1, pending a psychological report of Lai.