Lai See | Government looks for a new director of public prosecutions

We have been talking for some months now about the interest on the part of Director of Public Prosecutions Kevin Zervos in becoming a judge. We see that the first shoe in that scenario dropped over the weekend with a government advertisement for a director of public prosecutions. This implies that Zervos has tended his resignation. He turns 60 next year so he would have to retire in any case under civil service rules. And if he is to become a judge he needs to take up the appointment before he turns 60 if he is to qualify for the benefits that accompany a seat on the bench, such as enhanced pension rights.

As to who will succeed Zervos, we have mentioned a few names in the past. Former deputy DPP Robert Lee Shiu-keung; Robert Pang Yiu-hung SC, who is with Bernacchi Chambers; Eric Kwok Tung-ming SC, of Plowman Chambers; and Joseph Tse Wah-yuen with Denis Chang's Chambers. However, the latest name on everyone's lips as the new front runner is Senior Counsel Keith Yeung from Plowman Chambers. This may well be because he is reportedly a close friend of Secretary for Justice Rimsky Yuen Kwok-keung.

Those at the Environmental Protection Department that are brooding over Hong Kong's future policy waste management would do well to take a look at a study on the impact on towns close to incinerators and hazardous waste facilities in Spain.

The EPD is supposed to be undertaking a reappraisal of its waste disposal arrangements since the shelving of the proposed Shek Kwu Chau incinerator project. However, the project has not been axed and land appraisal work is continuing at the location.