In Brief

Four plans for conservation of Central Market chosen

Four design plans for the conservation of the 70-year-old Central Market have been selected and will be shown in public exhibitions for consultation in April, Urban Renewal Authority chairman Barry Cheung Chun-yuen says. Another architectural firm will draw up the final design after collecting public opinion about the features of the four models. Tenders for the project will be invited in the middle of this year and are expected to be completed by the end of the year. The revitalisation project, aimed at turning the building into an 'urban oasis' with a budget of HK$500 million, was announced in Chief Executive Donald Tsang Yam-kuen's policy address in 2009.

Customs steps up crackdown on pirated-discs hawkers

The customs department has stepped up a crackdown on hawkers selling pirated DVDs of films, television series and music ahead of the Lunar New Year holidays. In the past two months, officers have arrested 27 men and seized 17,000 discs. As part of the operation, officers discovered a storage facility used by pirated-disc suppliers and seized vans used to distribute the discs to hawkers. Under the Copyright Ordinance, the maximum penalty of trading pirated items is four years in jail and a fine of HK$50,000 per infringing copy. The department said it would step up operations against hawkers over the holidays, and appealed to the public to report ones they see to its 24-hour hotline on 2545 6182.

400 volunteers hailed over home child-care services

More than 400 volunteers were honoured yesterday for providing home-based child-care services for neighbours unable to look after their young children because of work commitments or hardship. They received commendations from director of social welfare Patrick Nip Tak-kuen. Between April 2009 and the end of last year, volunteers under the Neighbourhood Support Child Care Project looked after 10,616 children, half of whom were from low-income families and 60 per cent from single-parent families.