8 d. ago Singer with ‘Hong Kong Spirit’ picked by American Idol creator for pop group

A 20-year-old Hong Kong woman who emerged from the same talent show as local heartthrob Keung To of popular boy band Mirror has been chosen to join a global pop group created by the man behind American Idol. XIX Entertainment, the company that runs the global pop group Now United made up of a rolling international membership, announced on Thursday that its newest addition was Hongkonger Ariel Tsang. Tsang said in a media showcase that the opportunity had come at a “perfect time”. “I was in a...

Politics

1 week ago Woman, 19, arrested over filming videos for subversive ‘Hong Kong Parliament’

Hong Kong national security police have arrested a 19-year-old woman for committing an act with seditious intent after she allegedly filmed a series of promotional videos for a group deemed to be subversive by authorities. Authorities said on Tuesday that Lan Fei was allegedly involved in producing promotional videos for an organisation called the “Hong Kong Parliament” between March and May this year. Police said the suspect was believed to have used social media to urge others to take part in...

Politics

1 week ago Woman, 19, charged in ‘Hong Kong Parliament’ subversion case denied bail

A 19-year-old woman has been denied bail after appearing in court on a sedition charge for allegedly encouraging Hong Kong residents to vote on setting up an overseas-based group deemed subversive by authorities. Lan Fei was denied bail on Tuesday by Chief Magistrate Victor So Wai-tak, who told her at West Kowloon Court: “I find that there are no sufficient grounds to believe that you will not continue to commit acts endangering national security.” Lan has been charged with one count of “doing...

Politics

1 week ago Inspection order ignored for 7 years at Hong Kong building where fire killed man

The owners of an ageing Hong Kong residential building where a blaze killed a subdivided flat tenant have ignored a government compulsory inspection order for seven years, while lawmakers have urged authorities to address electrical and fire safety risks before new regulations on subpar housing take effect. A day after the fire in the 67-year-old Mido Apartments building on King’s Road in North Point left a man in his sixties dead and six others injured, police and firefighters returned to the...

Events

1 week ago Hong Kong police probe fatal flat fire, suspect woman’s smoking linked to blaze

Hong Kong police are investigating whether a fire that led to a woman’s death in her flat on Sunday morning is linked to her smoking. Police said they had received a call around 7.43am from a security officer at Hoi Tat Estate in Cheung Sha Wan that smoke was emanating from one of the building’s units. Firefighters were deployed to the scene to extinguish the blaze. They forced entry into the flat and found a 59-year-old resident, surnamed Chow, unconscious. The woman was taken to Caritas...

Events

1 week ago Hong Kong authorities believe woman’s smoking caused flat fire that killed her

Hong Kong authorities believe a woman’s smoking habit caused a fire in her flat on Sunday morning that led to her death. Police said they had received a call around 7.43am from a security officer at Hoi Tat Estate in Cheung Sha Wan that smoke was emanating from one of the building’s units. Firefighters were immediately deployed to the scene to extinguish the blaze. The Fire Services Department said it sent 35 fire and ambulance personnel to put out the fire, which was extinguished by...

Events

1 week ago Hong Kong woman’s smoking suspected to have caused flat fire that killed her

Hong Kong authorities believe a woman’s smoking habit caused a fire in her flat on Sunday morning that led to her death. Police said they had received a call around 7.43am from a security officer at Hoi Tat Estate in Cheung Sha Wan that smoke was emanating from one of the building’s flats. The Fire Services Department said it sent 35 firefighters and ambulance personnel to the scene. The blaze was put out by 7.58am. Firefighters forced entry into the flat and found a 59-year-old resident,...

Events

2 w. ago Woman, 90, killed by Hong Kong school bus in car park; driver, 72, arrested

A 90-year-old woman has been killed by a school bus in Hong Kong, with the 72-year-old driver arrested by police. Officers received a call at around 4pm on Friday that an elderly woman had been hit by a school bus in a car park at Tai Hang Tung Estate in Shek Kip Mei. She was pronounced dead at the scene after sustaining serious head injuries. Police said the female bus driver, surnamed Lun, was believed to have knocked over the pedestrian while reversing in the car park. The school bus was not...

Events

2 w. ago Woman who killed daughter in Hong Kong gets indefinite hospital order

A mother diagnosed with schizophrenia has been sentenced to an indefinite term of custody at a psychiatric centre in Hong Kong, after stabbing her daughter to death while in a deluded state at a public rental flat four years ago. Part-time security guard Yang Leying broke down in tears as High Court judge Anthony Kwok Kai-on delivered the sentence on Wednesday. As the 50-year-old was led away from the courtroom afterwards, she yelled and was visibly distraught. Yang earlier pleaded guilty at the...

Events

3 w. ago ‘Ticking time bomb’: rare heart surgery saves pregnant Hong Kong mother and twins

A team of doctors in Hong Kong successfully saved the life of a pregnant woman carrying twins, who was suffering from an “extremely rare” and life-threatening heart condition, the first such case in the city for more than 20 years. The challenging surgery on the pregnant patient, who was diagnosed with aortic dissection, was performed in June last year. The medical team completed the operation in under five hours to minimise risk for the patient, significantly shorter than the usual eight to ten...

Events

3 w. ago Hong Kong police foil phone scam, save elderly woman from HK$100,000 loss

Hong Kong police have foiled a “guess who I am” phone scam, arresting two mainland Chinese men hired by a fraud syndicate and preventing an elderly woman from losing HK$100,000 (US$12,740). Chief Inspector Ma Suet-yiu of the force’s Western district on Wednesday said the arrests were made after the 78-year-old woman received a phone call from a scammer impersonating her son on Monday. The fraudster claimed he was in police custody for a criminal case and asked for HK$100,000 in bail money. He...

Economics

3 w. ago ‘Hong Kong woman accused of killing mother and brother acted under mental stress’

A woman accused of killing her mother and younger brother before attempting suicide is believed to have acted under mental stress, Hong Kong police have said, while the government is facing mounting pressure to rapidly expand its carer services. Welfare groups on Tuesday urged authorities to widen their database and related services to cover more types of high-risk carers across all of the city’s 18 districts, a day after a 52-year-old woman was arrested on suspicion of murdering her mother and...

Events

3 w. ago Woman arrested after bodies of mother, brother found in Hong Kong flat

Hong Kong police have arrested a woman on suspicion of murder after the bodies of her mother and middle-aged brother were found inside a flat in Cheung Sha Wan. The case came to light at around 3.50pm on Monday when authorities received a call that a man, 48, had been found unconscious in a flat in the Hang Moon Building on Cheung Sha Wan Road. Firefighters arrived and entered the flat, where they found the bodies of the man and his mother, 85. A police source said the mother had injuries on her...

Events

3 w. ago Hong Kong woman loses nearly HK$2 million in ‘pig butchering’ romance scam

A 47-year-old woman in Hong Kong lost nearly HK$2 million (US$254,778) in two weeks to an online romance scam, according to police, despite being warned by friends that the man she was chatting with could be a swindler. Police said on Monday that the woman’s case was one of more than 50 online love scams they had received reports about in the past two weeks, with a total value of more than HK$16 million. The scam began when the woman received a WhatsApp message from a stranger. The man claimed...

Economics

4 w. ago Woman in bikini on Hong Kong road crossing gets pulses racing on buses

A model in a bikini posing for pictures on a pedestrian crossing in the heart of Hong Kong has caused an internet stir, while also triggering a lighthearted reminder from a bus operator about road safety. A social media user posted a photo on Friday, showing a woman in a white bikini sunbathing on a beach lounger on a road crossing on Pedder Street in Central, with photographers taking pictures of her. The scene took many people by surprise, including passengers on board a KMB bus, which had...

Transport

last month Skeleton of elderly woman found in Hong Kong public flat, second case since May

The skeletal remains of an elderly woman have been discovered in a Hong Kong public rental flat, the second such case in three months. The situation came to light at 10am on Wednesday when officers from the Housing Department visited the home of the 77-year-old at Shing Yat House in Kwai Shing East Estate to execute an eviction after the order had apparently been ignored for months. A police source said the force found no signs of foul play and contacted the woman’s two sons. Investigators...

Events