Hammer attack kills man

A 76-year-old man died after a hammer attack in a Chai Wan park yesterday.

The victim was sitting in the park in Tsui Wan Street at about 7:30 pm when a man, about 60, approached him and hit him on the waist with a hammer. After he collapsed to the ground, the assailant hammered his head several times before fleeing.

The victim died in Eastern Hospital.

The suspect was still at large and the assault weapon was not found by 10 pm yesterday.

Police said that an initial investigation showed the victim had no enemies or money problems.

A post-mortem will be conducted today.

Free ride for 70,000

More than 70,000 passengers had taken a free ride on KCR West Rail by 10:30 am yesterday, 10,000 more than the usual traffic volume.

The free-ride yesterday morning was offered by KCR to compensate for recent disruptions in the train service.

Although passengers said they welcomed the gesture, it is more important for KCR to review its operation and have a response system to avoid future disruptions.

Quick cremation bribes

Three Food and Environmental Hygiene Department workers have been charged with taking bribes from funeral parlour agents for expediting cremations at Fu Shan Crematorium.

Liu Weng-kee, 56, Tang Wan-hing, 51, and Leung Ying-ming, 52, will appear in Sha Tin Magistracy today.

According to the Independent Commission Against Corruption, they took from HK$80 to HK$100 each time to have the deceased cremated earlier than usual.

Fake drug seizure

Customs officers seized a batch of fake hepatitis and impotency medicines from two drug stores in Mong Kok and one in Causeway yesterday.

A total of 360 hepatitis pills and 847 impotency pills, worth more than $82,000 if sold, were seized in the joint raids between the customs and Department of Health at 4:30 pm. Nine people were arrested.

A customs spokesman said it is difficult to discern the fake from the real hepatitis medicine.

The drugstore operators are also suspected of selling medicine without prescription, he said.

Slimming pill recall

The Department of Health (DH) yesterday ordered a recall of two oral slimming products - one called "RS Slim Fit" and another without an English name - which have been found to contain a Western drug ingredient.

The Consumer Council alerted the DH on July 29, prompting an investigation. After laboratory analysis, the products were confirmed to have contained sibutramine but are not registered under the Pharmacy and Poisons Ordinance. Sibutramine is an appetite suppressant. Its adverse effects include increasing blood pressure and heart rate.

Online game market

The online game market in Asia, excluding Japan, grew 30 per cent in 2004 to US$1.09 billion with South Korea leading the region with nearly half of all revenue, according to data released yesterday.

South Korea's online gaming subscription market grew 24.8 per cent last year to US$533.4 million, giving the country 49.1 per cent of the Asia market, according to International Data Corp.

The mainland's online game market was the region's second biggest, accounting for 27.4 per cent of the market, followed by Taiwan at 17.6 per cent and Hong Kong at 2.5 per cent.

Honghe woos investment

Honghe Hani and Yi Autonomous Prefecture in Southwest China's Yunnan Province yesterday presented a total of 134 investment projects to lure investment of more than HK$10 billion.

Luo Songmin, who heads a delegation to Hong Kong, said they want more Hong Kong investors to invest in the prefecture's sectors such as mining, port construction, plantation, electricity and hydraulic engineering projects.

Luo revealed red chip conglomerate China Resources Power will participate in two more new power ventures. Hong Kong-listed construction giant Shui On Group has also poured around HK$100 million into Honghe's hydraulic projects.

(HK Edition 08/05/2005 page2)