City Briefs

Polluters handed 24 convictions last month

Twenty-four convictions were recorded last month for breaches of anti-pollution laws, the Environmental Protection Department said. Fifteen convictions were related to air pollution, five were under the Waste Disposal Ordinance, three under the Noise Control Ordinance and one was for water pollution. The heaviest fine, HK$100,000, was handed to a company that used construction equipment without a valid noise permit.

Pay rises thin on the ground for retail sector

Forty-two per cent of 228 retail workers had no pay rise last year, a poll has found. It shows 60 per cent of those who had pay adjusted last year were given rises of 1 to 2 per cent, while 27 per cent were given rises of 3 to 5 per cent. The Department Stores Commercial Staff General Union, Electrical and Audio-Visual Trades Employees Association, and the Retail and Wholesale Trades Employees Association conducted the poll.

Washing machine on fire

A 79-year-old woman was treated for smoke inhalation after a washing machine burst into flames at her Lam Tin flat. Four fire engines and an ambulance were sent to the unit in Hong Nga Court.