What the local media says
Prince of Wales Hospital in Sha Tin drew criticism for keeping the window curtains of an 11th-floor ward closed at all times. A patient complained he had been deprived of the right to look outside. The hospital said the curtains had been kept drawn to protect the privacy of patients since a district councillor revealed a few months ago that she had received two complaints from residents at Prima Villa, a private housing estate in the vicinity, who found views of the ward disturbing.
Chinachem Group chairman Dr Kung Yan-sum called police accusing a friend of his late sister, Nina Wang Kung Yu-sum, of misappropriating her shares in listed company ENM Holdings, a source said. Police asked Chevalier Group chairman Dr Chow Yei-ching to help in investigations to identify who was holding ENM shares for Wang. The source said the late tycoon, who is known to have held a 35 per cent stake in ENM, may in fact own more than half the company, as she had bought some shares through the friend.
The paediatrics department at Chinese University reported its first case of pneumonia death in a decade. A four-year-old girl died early last year of three types of pneumonia after days of respiratory problems, although she had received a seven-valent vaccination, the report said. Vaccines are numbered with "valents" that reflect how many types of bacteria they can prevent. A doctor advised that children under six be given a supplementary 13-valent vaccine, which offered better protection.
A former church in Kam Shan village, Tai Po Market, comprises 13 subdivided flats for lease to families, students and young singles from HK$3,500 to HK$6,000 a month, depending on the room size. The Hong Kong and Macau Lutheran Grace Church sold the 6,000 sq ft, two-storey premises to a property developer last year, and soon afterwards the interior of the building was subdivided into housing cubicles. The name of the church and its cross remain on the building.
The Kai Tak cruise terminal, now under construction at the site of the former airport, would start operation on June 12 next year, sources said. The Mariner of the Seas - a cruise ship owned by Royal Caribbean International, one of the terminal operators - would be the first vessel to berth at and set sail from the terminal. Plans are for the 138,000-deadweight-tonne ship, which will carry about 3,100 passengers, to stop over in Hong Kong on a trip from Singapore to Shanghai. Royal Caribbean Cruises and Shun Tak Holdings company Neo Crown each hold 20 per cent of the Worldwide Cruise Terminals Consortium, which won a 10-year deal in March to operate and manage the terminal. Worldwide Flight Services holds the remainder.
Police cracked a high-end prostitution racket and arrested 48 mainland women together with their female leader, 37, who visited Shenzhen every week to select and hire good-looking women to work in Hong Kong. The recruits were leased in groups, at HK$4,000 per person, to tycoons or male actors for group sex parties. The women were also provided to nightclubs in Tsim Sha Tsui East and brothels in Yuen Long. The racket reportedly made HK$7 million in the past year.
Compiled by Wayne Chung and Nelson Cheng
