South China Morning Post World

A man has died after chasing a suspected thief and falling from an industrial building in Hong Kong, according to police. The force received a report around 5.15pm on Sunday about a man who had found someone stealing cables at the Kimball Industrial Building in Kwun Tong and chased the suspect. The victim, who works in the premises, was later found to have fallen from the building, on to the air-conditioning pipes on the facade of the third floor. He was certified dead after being rushed to...

Hong Kong researchers say they are developing what would be the world’s first AI app that detects intoxication through real-time Cantonese voice analysis, helping users decide whether they are fit to drive after drinking. A team from the Hong Kong Metropolitan University (HKMU) said on Sunday that the self-assessment tool could not only help safeguard road safety but also potentially monitor language abnormalities linked to medication or fatigue. Funded by a HK$3.4 million (US$434,251) grant...

Hong Kong police have arrested two drivers linked to a viral video depicting two trucks cutting lanes and allegedly racing each other, the South China Morning Post has learned. A source familiar with the matter confirmed to the SCMP on Sunday that two drivers had been arrested for suspected dangerous driving after the footage was widely circulated on social media over the weekend. The compilation of dashcam footage was recorded last Friday at around 5.20pm. It showed the interior of a tunnel...

When Law Yin-ping moved into a village house in Yick Yuen Tsuen in northwest Hong Kong’s Lam Tei more than a decade ago with her granddaughters, it never crossed her mind that they could one day be rendered homeless – and forcibly separated. The Tuen Mun village falls within the government’s planned Hung Shui Kiu/Ha Tsuen New Development Area, which is set to become a high-end professional services and logistics hub under the Northern Metropolis megaproject. Law, who is nearly 70, said on Sunday

Mother’s Day business at many traditional Chinese banquet restaurants in Hong Kong has been weaker than last year, with diners increasingly opting for lunch and afternoon tea celebrations or non-traditional meals such as hotpot, industry representatives have said. Busy areas such as Causeway Bay were bustling with families on Sunday, as residents flocked to restaurants and shopping malls to celebrate, some carrying flowers and cards. “I did not want to do a very big dinner this year because...

Hong Kong authorities have stressed that an operational glitch at a nuclear plant in neighbouring Shenzhen involving the closure of a cooling water isolation valve last week posed no risk to public health or the environment. The Security Bureau said on Sunday that Guangdong province’s Nuclear Emergency Committee Office had notified it of an operational event at the Ling Ao Nuclear Power Station that occurred last Thursday. The plant, about 50km (31 miles) north of urban Hong Kong, was undergoing

Multiple residents of Hong Kong’s fire-ravaged Wang Fuk Court have reported problems with registering for an online meeting hosted by the estate’s administrator, with the company saying it has stepped up arrangements to enhance cybersecurity. A resident received an SMS from Hop On Management on Sunday saying he had not completed registration for the May 20 update session for owners, just two days after the firm had confirmed a “successful registration”. “You have not completed the registration..

Hong Kong customs has arrested a woman on suspicion of trying to smuggle seven animals worth about HK$4,300 (HK$549), including a sugar glider and a chinchilla, into the city. A Customs and Excise Department spokesman said on Sunday that officers intercepted the 46-year-old traveller at the Lok Ma Chau Spur Line checkpoint the day before, seizing the animals from paper bags she carried. “Customs reminds the public that importing animals into Hong Kong without a valid permit is an offence,” the..

Hong Kong recorded 17 per cent growth in investment in the first quarter of the year, driven mainly by machinery purchases and construction-related activities that reflected a steadily improving property market, the finance chief has said. Financial Secretary Paul Chan Mo-po noted on Sunday that while the city recorded its fastest quarterly expansion in nearly five years at 5.9 per cent, not all residents might immediately perceive the improvements in the economy. Nevertheless, he remained...

A diplomatic row has escalated over the conviction of two men linked to Hong Kong’s London trade office on spying charges, as Britain warned against attempts by foreign states to intimidate individuals on its soil and Beijing urged the country to stop “political manipulation” or risk “firm countermeasures”. The United Kingdom’s Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office said on Saturday it had summoned Chinese Ambassador Zheng Zeguang the previous day following the court verdict in the...

Authorities will negotiate with operators of popular care homes in Guangdong province to secure more places for elderly Hongkongers to meet a rising demand, the welfare minister has said, amid a ninefold surge in city residents moving into such facilities across the border in recent years. Secretary for Labour and Welfare Chris Sun Yuk-han said in an interview with the South China Morning Post that the number of elderly Hongkongers living in care homes under the Residential Care Services Scheme.

Amid the crackle of vinyl records and the nostalgia of Cantonese golden oldies, Holy Lee Hau-yin, a Hong Kong mother of three young children, is spinning a new narrative as a professional disc jockey and turning a page on her troubled past. After suffering an abusive marriage and the exhaustion of a decade of childcare, Lee will spend Mother’s Day on Sunday with renewed hope. The 28-year-old is set to perform for a private event at The Peninsula Hong Kong hotel and ultimately hopes to make a...

Hong Kong’s West Kowloon is poised to emerge as the second-most important office sub-market after Central with the completion of new buildings that will accommodate banks and insurance companies, according to industry officials. However, there was expected to be limited demand from newcomers or via corporate expansion, with leasing activity dominated by relocations and higher vacancy rates in some of the city’s other business districts. The 40-hectare stretch of reclaimed land is being touted as

The Hong Kong Bar Association has proposed criminalising bid-rigging by introducing a “double-track” approach to the Competition Ordinance, describing it as a quick fix to increase deterrence and encourage more whistle-blowers to expose industry malpractice following the city’s deadliest fire in decades. Under the current civil regime established in 2015, the ordinance only punishes individuals involved in serious anticompetitive acts, such as bid-rigging, with fines. But the new proposal calls.

An elderly woman tried to fight a younger one over priority seating inside an MTR train carriage in Hong Kong, with a clip capturing the dispute going viral on Saturday. In the clip posted on the social media platform Threads, the elderly woman in one of two adjacent priority seats is seen forcefully trying to remove the younger woman beside her. The older woman pushes the younger one’s face, grabs her hair and shakes her head, while using her foot to push her leg. The younger woman does not hit

The funeral for the father of Mo Li Kai-yin, the dancer left paralysed after being struck by a falling giant screen during a concert by Hong Kong boy band Mirror, will be held early next month. The family said on Saturday that Reverend Derek Li Shing-lam’s funeral would be held at 10.30am on June 6 at St Andrew’s Church, Kowloon. The 71-year-old Li died on April 25, a week after disclosing on his social media that he was receiving treatment for an undisclosed illness. According to his previous..

About 100 ships registered in Hong Kong or locally managed or owned are stranded in the Strait of Hormuz along with an estimated 2,300 seafarers, an industry leader has said. Richard Hext, chairman of the Hong Kong Shipowners Association, told the South China Morning Post on Friday that it was very risky to sail vessels through the strait due to the risk of attack, even though the United States and Iran had recently reached a temporary ceasefire. The United States-Israel war against Iran has...

Hong Kong homebuyers snapped up new flats on offer on Saturday, fuelling optimism that the bull run in the city’s property market will continue. All 154 units at Sun Hung Kai Properties’ Lime Spark project sold out as of 4.30pm, while 147 homes, or 93 per cent of the 158 flats available at Henderson Land’s Highwood Phase 2 project, found buyers, according to real property agents. “Home prices have climbed by nearly 8 per cent this year, and prospective buyers are likely to find that a delay in..

Stories filled with tragic bravery, outrage at heedless officials and horror as loved ones perished were among those shared by 24 residents of the fire-ravaged Wang Fuk Court estate, as they testified at a public hearing investigating Hong Kong’s deadliest blaze in decades. Over multiple sessions that began on March 19, some told the presiding committee how their repeated efforts to raise bid-rigging and safety concerns about the estate’s exterior renovation fell on deaf ears, well before the...

A wanted member of the overseas group “Hong Kong Parliament” has been arrested in Thailand for overstaying her visa and is reportedly set to be deported to mainland China. The organisation said on Friday that Zhang Xinyan, who took part in what it called a parliamentary election and was sworn in as a member last year, was recently arrested in Thailand for overstaying her visa. It was not immediately clear what type of visa Zhang held. In a reply to the South China Morning Post on Saturday, a...