A Guangzhou political adviser was acquitted of vote-rigging by a magistrate who said he believed the defendant did not know it was illegal to register using his secretary's address. Fong Kei-wah, 49, a member of the Chinese People's Political Consultative Conference of Guangzhou, voted in the Lok Hong constituency of Eastern District in last November's district council elections, registering under his secretary's address in Chai Wan.
Merchant Danny Tong Tak-lee, 49, pleaded not guilty in the District Court to dangerous driving causing the death of Samuel So Sum-yue, an Australian passport holder and student at Macquarie University in Sydney. So, 20, was back in Hong Kong on holiday when he was hit by Tong's vehicle while jaywalking on January 1. Tong was travelling at 90km/h in a 50km/h zone, and So had been drinking. The trial continues.
Some 9,800 residents of village houses have lodged submissions under the system for registering illegal structures, which closes on December 31. Heung Yee Kuk chairman Lau Wong-fat and about 20 rural leaders met Development Bureau officials yesterday to form a new joint liaison group to implement enforcement of controls on illegal structures.