In Brief

Hospital outpatient units kept busy over holiday

Hospital emergency departments were kept busy over the Lunar New Year holiday with the number of people treated being 10 per cent higher than the daily average this year. The Hospital Authority said an average of 6,768 patients sought medical help during the holiday, compared with 4,991 in the same period last year. Pok Oi Hospital saw the biggest surge in patients, with a 30 per cent increase.

Internet use source of family quarrels, poll finds

About 41 per cent of parents surveyed had quarrelled with their children on the use of the internet, according to a poll by Against Child Abuse. The group polled 1,546 pupils aged six to 17. More than 86 per cent said they would use the internet every day, and 36 per cent said they would spend two hours or more online. Nearly 15 per cent said quarrels over the use of the internet would lead to violence. The group also polled 288 parents, with 15 per cent saying that when conflict arose, they would punish their children by beating them.

Three fined for making false MPF statements

Three people were convicted and fined a total of HK$24,000 at Kwun Tong Court for making false and misleading statements to Mandatory Provident Fund trustees. Limbu Amrit, was fined HK$12,000, while Lee Kin Ho and Leung Wai Kuen, were each fined HK$6,000. They had applied for early withdrawals of their fund benefits by claiming they would leave the city permanently. Investigations by the Mandatory Provident Fund Schemes Authority found that was not the case. Meanwhile, four employers were fined a total of HK$67,500 at the same court after being convicted of failing to make MPF contributions.