A 63-year-old Ocean Park mechanical technician died after collapsing at work on Friday.

Police told HKFP that they received a report at 9:08am after the man, surnamed Luk, was found unconscious outside a staff restroom before starting his duties.

Paramedics discovered him with serious head and shoulder injuries. He was certified dead at 10:33am at Ruttonjee Hospital.

Police said that they are still investigating the case. The Labour Department arrived at the Aberdeen theme park at 11am to inspect the facility’s operational safety conditions, local media reported.

The park expressed sorrow over the staff member’s death and are supporting his family and colleagues, according to RTHK.

A global cyberattack on online learning platform Canvas has compromised the personal information of more than 72,000 students and staff at Hong Kong schools and universities, according to the city’s privacy watchdog.

The data breaches are part of a global attack that hit almost 9,000 educational institutions worldwide, involving data from 275 million users, according to the platform’s developer, Instructure.

Seven local institutions, including three public universities, have reported the breaches to the Office of the Privacy Commissioner for Personal Data (PCPD).

They are: the Hong Kong University of Science and Technology (HKUST), the Hong Kong Polytechnic University (PolyU), City University of Hong Kong (CityU), the Hong Kong Academy for Performing Arts, the Hong Kong Art School, the Hong Kong Institute of Construction (HKIC), and Hong Kong Education City Limited.

The ShinyHunters hacker group allegedly held Instructure to ransom, threatening to leak the information unless the company paid, according to international media.

Instructure said it had reached an agreement with the hacker group to prevent a public leak and gave assurances that no personal information had been compromised.

Student and staff information

The CityU breach involved 28,000 students, according to the university’s report to the PCPD, the privacy watchdog said in a statement on Monday. The leaked data may have included student names, email addresses, student IDs, and messages.

The breach also affected 42,000 students and staff at PolyU, with their names and email addresses potentially compromised, according to the PCPD.

The watchdog “has advised the relevant organisations to notify those affected as soon as possible and to provide assistance as appropriate in each case, in order to prevent the breach from escalating,” it said.

Some 2,500 students and staff at the HKIC and 71 students at the Hong Kong Art School were hit by the breach. The other three institutions have yet to confirm the number of people affected.

Cybersecurity officials have called on institutions to suspend use of the online learning platform and remain vigilant against potential follow-up phishing attacks.

The Hong Kong Productivity Council chief digital officer Edmond Lai said at a press conference on Monday that such attacks could lead to further data leaks or unauthorised transactions.

He also said that the Hong Kong Computer Emergency Response Team Coordination Centre is using artificial intelligence tools to identify phishing websites potentially linked to the Canvas hack.

Meanwhile, Chief Superintendent Raymond Lam said at a press conference on Tuesday that two police reports had been made in relation to the Canvas hack.

One report was filed by a local institution, while the other involved people who used the incident as a pretence to deceive a resident.

A Lantau-bound Sun Ferry vessel ran aground near Hei Ling Chau in the early hours of Monday, prompting an evacuation of passengers and crew.

A spokesperson for the Fire Service Department (FSD) told HKFP on Monday that 34 people were on board, including 29 passengers and five crew members. No injuries were reported.

The incident happened at around 12.55am on Monday, when the First Ferry VI vessel, sailing the Central to Mui Wo route, ran aground and collided into the Hei Ling Chau typhoon shelter breakwater.

A total of four FSD boats, two ambulances and 60 firefighters and ambulatory medics were deployed, the spokesperson said by phone.

A passenger who gave his name as Adam told HKFP that “all of a sudden, the ship rammed violently into something.”

He added, “The sound during the collision [was] frightening, and the deceleration was so sudden and aggressive that it threw me off the seat.”

He said that there was momentary panic among passengers, but things calmed down quickly as the crew came to check on them.

See also: Mui Wo-bound ferry caught in fishing net, stranded at sea for an hour

Passengers donned life jackets and were transported by rescue boat to Mui Wo, he said.

Five days after the incident, a spokesperson for Sun Ferry told HKFP that the captain responsible “is currently not on navigational duty and is on leave.” They added that an investigation was now underway.

By Catherine Lai

Hong Kong resident Lisa Lau put on a costume drama as she settled on the bed that occupies much of her tiny apartment, trying to take her mind off a looming eviction.

Subdivided flats like Lau’s three-square-metre (32-square-feet) home — made by splitting up an apartment into smaller units — are being phased out after a law to regulate them came into effect in March.

Chinese President Xi Jinping has ordered the wealthy finance hub to resolve housing woes that are the result of decades of pervasive inequality, an acute housing shortage and eye-watering rents.

The Hong Kong government has given owners who register under the new system until 2030 to renovate their subdivided flats, but some landlords have already issued eviction notices to their tenants.

“I’ll stay here day by day,” Lau, a 48-year-old welfare recipient who had received an eviction notice months ago, told AFP.

“I don’t know (where to go),” said Lau, who lives on the equivalent of about US$930 a month, of which US$330 go for rent.

“I’m scratching my head.”

The new rules ban flats smaller than eight square metres (86 square feet) and mandate safety and hygiene standards, such as having at least one openable window, a sink and a toilet in an enclosed space.

Authorities estimate that more than 220,000 people in the city of 7.5 million live in so-called “shoebox” flats, around one-third of which need major renovation.

Lau’s cubicle is one of nine in a single unit, separated by thin wooden dividers, in a 60-year-old building in one of Hong Kong’s poorest neighbourhoods, Sham Shui Po.

With no kitchen, she makes soup or noodles in a rice cooker placed on the bed.

She uses a shared toilet and shower, and has taped a foam board across the bottom of her doorway to keep out rats and cockroaches.

Unaffordable housing

Despite the cramped conditions, Lau is reluctant to leave a familiar area where she has built a social network, and hopes her application for transitional housing nearby would be approved.

“As long as the landlord doesn’t come (to evict residents), we are so at peace, we are so comfortable,” she said.

The Housing Bureau said over 100 households had already moved out of Lau’s building, and that it was helping the 40 that are left to find suitable accommodation.

The Society for Community Organisation, an NGO that works with underprivileged groups, said the reform could help alleviate some of the worst living environments in Hong Kong.

But more government housing is needed, especially in the central areas, said Sze Lai-shan, the group’s deputy director.

“Don’t expect these people who live in very small flats to move into the new basic housing units. They won’t be able to afford it,” she said.

“A lot of the poorest people will be very dependent on the government to resettle them.”

The charity knows of around 300 households threatened with forcible eviction from subdivided flats, with more expected to follow, according to Sze — far more than the 35 notices the government said it had received.

Some residents have moved into public or transitional housing, while others have moved into other substandard flats as a temporary measure, Sze added.

‘Coffin homes’

Liu Xiaoli, who faces eviction from her subdivided flat, works two part-time jobs as a cook and cleaner to make ends meet after her divorce, and supports her daughter and granddaughter in mainland China.

“If the rent here or in other places goes up, I really can’t afford it,” the 63 year-old told AFP, adding that she was unable to find alternate accommodation nearby.

“I couldn’t find any (apartments) that meet the government’s requirements,” she said.

“Right now, I’m just delaying as much as I can.”

In response to AFP’s inquiry, the government said it had “significantly increased public housing supply” with an aim to produce around 196,000 units in the next five years, and sped up the process for residents on the waiting list for public housing.

These measures would contribute to “reduced demand” for subdivided units, keeping rents at bay, a Housing Bureau spokesperson said in a statement.

The new rules do not apply to notorious “coffin homes”, cubicles stacked on top of each other like bunk beds in shabby dormitories.

Wan Hon-cheung, 64, has been living in a plywood box about the size of a single bed for the last 10 years, and hopes the government will improve conditions for residents like him as well.

He often gets bitten by bedbugs and walks with a cane, making climbing up and down from his bed difficult.

“For us lower classes… this is reality, there’s nothing to complain about.”

10 people have sustained minor injuries after a truck collided with a double-decker KMB bus on a downhill stretch in Kwun Tong.

Police said they received a report of the crash on Po Lam Road, Sau Mau Ping, at about 6.20am on Tuesday. The collision involved a light goods vehicle and a Route 600 KMB bus, which travels between Kwun Tong and Central.

The truck overturned following the crash, while the KMB bus struck a traffic light pole before coming to a halt, police said.

Eight bus passengers and both drivers were reportedly mildly injured and were sent to United Christian Hospital for treatment.

Dashcam footage circulating online appeared to show the truck violating traffic signals by making a right turn towards Po Tat Shopping Centre on Po Lam Road, as the KMB bus was travelling downhill.

Images from the scene showed the truck lying on its side, while the windscreen of the KMB bus was shattered. Traffic in the area was disrupted following the incident, according to RTHK.

In an emailed reply to HKFP’s enquiry, KMB said on Wednesday that an investigation showed its bus was crossing the intersection on a green light, while the truck ran a red light by turning right from the opposite lane.

The bus operator said it would cooperate with the police.

A Hong Kong basketball coach has been released on bail after he was arrested for allegedly slapping a student on a school court, an incident captured in a viral online video.

Yung Kam-wah was released early Tuesday morning, TVB reported.

The 54-year-old was arrested on Monday on suspicion of common assault after an online video showed a basketball coach forcing a student to slap himself several times.

The incident allegedly happened at Hon Wah College, a secondary school in Siu Sai Wan, independent local media Create City Stories reported last week.

Hon Wah College issued a statement last Tuesday, saying that the incident took place at the school during the 2023-24 academic year, Cable TV reported.

The school added that it had contacted the student to provide support and had suspended Yung from coaching duties.

On the same day, Yung issued an apology on Facebook.

“I want to express my deepest apologies to the student in the video. No matter what rules were broken, what mistakes were made, or what the circumstances were, I should never have punished a student this way,” Yung wrote in a Chinese-language statement.

“I realise that this caused him distress and hurt him, and I sincerely apologise.”

Local media also reported that Hon Wah College students said Yung had been abusive toward pupils for a long time.

“Our generation needs education of love. Under harsh education, students will just want to give up. Our school basketball team used to do well. However, I saw many friends, who were members of the basketball team, quit the team over the past few years because they could not stand the harsh education there,” a student told reporters in Cantonese.

Yung, a former player for the Hong Kong men’s national basketball team, currently serves as the vice chairman of the Hong Kong Basketball Association and works as a sports commentator.

The Inland Revenue Department (IRD) has announced that tax revenue jumped by 22 per cent in the 2025-26 fiscal year, hitting a record high of HK$458.3 billion.

Unveiling the provisional tax figures at a press conference on Monday, Benjamin Chan, commissioner of Inland Revenue, attributed the rise partly to rallies in the property and stock markets.

Revenue from stamp duty – a tax imposed on the transfer of property or assets – reached HK$102.6 billion in 2025-26, a 61 per cent rise from the previous period.

Chan said the IRD also noticed a rise in the income of Hong Kong taxpayers and a higher number of companies paying profits tax.

In 2025-26, the tax office collected HK$212.6 billion in profits tax – a 20 per cent increase from 2024-25 – and HK$97.7 billion in salaries tax – a 10 per cent rise.

“The department’s revenue collection in 2025-26 was HK$458.3 billion, which is a record high,” Chan said.

The government previously logged HK$341.4 billion in tax revenue in 2018-19, a record high at the time, according to an IRD annual report.

The tax revenue declined afterwards – until the 2024-25 fiscal year, which recorded HK$374.5 billion, a 9.5 per cent increase from the previous period.

2.77 million tax returns issued

Chan also said on Monday that the IRD had issued about 2.77 million tax returns for individuals for the 2025-26, an increase of 115,000 from the previous year.

The commissioner also encouraged taxpayers to file their tax returns through eTAX, which is more environmentally friendly and helps ensure they reach the IRD in time. 

An extension of one month will be granted for returns filed electronically, according to the IRD.

Lam Hing Street in Kowloon Bay was filled with billowing smoke during the lunchtime rush hour on Wednesday, after a stove overheated at a restaurant.

Police told HKFP on Wednesday that eight people were on the premises at the time – all were evacuated, and no injuries were reported.

Smoke from a kitchen stove was thought to have spread rapidly through ventilation shafts. A dramatic clip on social media appeared to show smoke engulfing the area outside, reducing visibility.

The incident occurred at around 12.43pm at a ground-floor eatery.

A social media influencer and former Hong Kong resident is walking back to Hong Kong from Scotland with the goal of raising £1 million (HK$10.5 million) for Scottish charities.

Kate Barr, 30 – known on Instagram as @edukate__ – is currently in Munich, Germany, having set off from Dumfries, a town in southern Scotland, on April 19.

She is fundraising for Scottish Action for Mental Health, The Befriending Project – which tackles loneliness in the community, and The Usual Place – a specialist training academy for people with additional support needs.

“I want people to realise that normal people can do extraordinary things,” she said in a press release on Thursday.

The 10,000-mile journey will take her through Europe and Türkiye, and onto Pakistan, India, Nepal, Bangladesh, Thailand, Laos, Vietnam and China. For safety reasons, she will fly over Iran and Myanmar due to ongoing conflicts.

The press release said Barr “hopes the journey inspires others to contribute in whatever way they can — whether through donations, volunteering, advocacy, or supporting local charities.”

As of Thursday, she has raised more than £800 (HK$8,400).

Some Wang Fuk Court residents have said they “are given no choice” over the government’s plan to buy back their flats, urging authorities to reconsider rebuilding the fire-hit estate on site.

Residents continued to return to the housing complex in Tai Po on Wednesday, half a year after the massive fire in November, which killed 168 people and displaced thousands. They were permitted to visit their flats for a second time to retrieve personal belongings, following an initial round of trips last month.

Speaking to the media outside the cordoned area, several residents expressed dissatisfaction with the buyback plan. The government has given flat owners until the end of August to accept the offer, while those who opt in before June 30 will be given priority in selecting flats in a special sales scheme.

“We are given no choice,” a Wang Tao House resident surnamed Lee told reporters in Cantonese. “It’s either sell your flat or sell your flat,” she said.

A Wang Shing House resident, surnamed Sze, said his family were inclined to accept the buyback plan, calling it the “only rational option.”

“We have concerns about how to conduct our lives after selling the flat, because it has not been made clear,” Sze told InMedia in Cantonese. “It’s not an easy decision [to sell the flat], but people will understand that, in our situation, we don’t really have many options.”

A Wang Tao House resident, surnamed Lai, criticised the government’s June 30 deadline for early flat selection as “putting the cart before the horse.”

“A sensible way would be to let us pick what we really want to buy, before making us sell the flat,” he told local media outlet The Collective in Cantonese.

Another Wang Shing House resident, identified only as Mrs Wong, similarly slammed the deadlines in the government buyback plan.

“Why do we have to decide before June 30 or the end of August? Why can’t we wait until the report by the independent committee?” she said in Cantonese. She was referring to a public inquiry that is due to report on a range of issues relating to the blaze by September.

She also questioned how the HK$2 billion fire insurance covering Wang Fuk Court would be claimed if the government decided not to rebuild the estate.

“Why can’t you use that HK$2 billion to rebuild? We can wait. I am not dying,” she told The Witness. “But [the government] is not giving us a choice.”

‘Never communicated directly’

Lee, the Wang Tao House resident, said her flat was not affected by the fire and expressed hope that she could live there in the future. She supports the idea of rebuilding the estate, she added.

She also called on the government-appointed administrator, Hop On Management, to organise an owners’ meeting to facilitate communication and improve transparency.

Wang Tao House resident Lai also appealed for an owners’ meeting, saying it would allow residents to communicate their preferences regarding the government buyback plan as well as to communicate directly with the government.

“Often, residents’ voices are only heard through the media. In fact, the government has never communicated with us directly,” he said.

More residents have been calling on the government to reconsider rebuilding Wang Fuk Court in media interviews. Some have also expressed this wish through handmade posters and drawings displayed in their flats’ windows.

The second round of visits will run until May 29. It is unclear whether residents will be allowed to make more trips in the future.

The authorities have said the buyback plan is final. So far, there have been no announcements regarding the arrangements for those choosing not to accept the buyback offers.

Deputy Financial Secretary Michael Wong said in February that the government would study whether “special legislation” would be needed if some owners refused to sell their flats.

Hong Kong authorities are exploring the introduction of a real-name reservation system for a popular hiking trail in Sai Kung to curb overtourism.

Speaking at a Legislative Council (LegCo) panel meeting on Monday, Dianne Wong, under secretary for environment and ecology, said the registration system could prevent excessive arrivals at the Po Pin Chau section at Sai Kung’s East Dam during holidays, allowing better visitor flow management and preventing overcrowding.

Po Pin Chau, located in Hong Kong’s UNESCO Global Geopark, is known for its scenic views and has become a tourist hotspot, especially among mainland Chinese visitors, who flock to the site in large numbers during Golden Week holidays.

On New Year’s Eve, a 21-year-old tourist from Guangzhou fell to his death after falling from a 70-metre cliff into the sea at Po Pin Chau, according to local media.

Wong said on Monday that authorities had been conducting crowd control measures in recent months, such as stopping people from entering the hiking trail at Po Pin Chau when the number of visitors reached capacity.

But having to ask visitors to queue is not ideal for promoting eco-tourism in the city, Wong said, adding that a real-name registration system could limit arrivals and avoid overcrowding during peak hours.

“In the future, [tourists] will only come if they have made a booking, which will be better for their own expectation management,” Wong said in Cantonese.

Lawmaker Kitson Yang expressed concern over potential abuses of the registration system, such as people scalping their spots for money or failing to show up.

He suggested that authorities consider drawing lots for the registrations and charging a deposit that would only be returned if the visitors showed up after securing a spot.

Wong said the real-name system should tackle the issue of no-shows as the government would adopt “appropriate measures” for offenders, but added that the government would study the possibility of a ballot.

Sharp Island to be designated as marine park

Speaking at the same LegCo panel on Monday, Fabia Tam, deputy secretary for environment and ecology, said authorities also planned to designate the coral areas located on the east and west sides of Sai Kung’s Sharp Island as a marine park.

The proposed area spans approximately 63 hectares, Tam said.

Under the city’s Marine Parks Ordinance, the designation will strengthen the legal protection of wildlife and the marine ecosystem in the area.

Monday’s proposal comes after excessive tourism caused environmental damage to Sharp Island during China’s National Day Golden Week in October, with some tourists seen trampling on corals and digging up marine life.

According to a policy briefing submitted to LegCo, the statutory designation process is expected to be completed by mid-2027.

Wong said that before the completion of the marine park designation, the government would continue its crowd-managing measures and educational campaign to promote “sea-friendly” behaviours to visitors on Sharp Island.

The Hong Kong government said it has issued buyback offer letters to homeowners of the fire-hit Wang Fuk Court, moving forward with its plan to acquire property titles from displaced residents.

The government said on Thursday that it has distributed “letters of offer” to flat owners of the seven blocks affected in the massive inferno in November that killed 168 people – Hong Kong’s deadliest blaze in decades.

The move follows the authorities’ announcement in February that they would spend up to HK$6.8 billion to buy back flats from owners. The budget consists of HK$4 billion in taxpayers’ money and HK$2.8 billion from a support fund largely made up of public donations.

Owners can choose cash or a flat swap for a new government-subsidised unit under a special sales scheme, according to the February plan.

The government has established a company named Wang Fuk Court Property Rights Acquisition Limited, which has distributed the offer letters to owners, it said on Thursday.

Owners have until August 31 to sign a “letter of acceptance” enclosed with the offer letter and return it to the company if they choose to accept the acquisition, it said.

“Upon receipt of the owners’ duly signed ‘Letter of Acceptance,’ the government will make every effort to promptly assist in completing the Agreement for Sale and Purchase and the [Deed of] Assignment,” a government spokesperson said in a statement.

Early flat selection

For owners who opt for cash, authorities will expedite the payment for them to make purchases in the private market, the government said.

Those who want to participate in the government’s special sales scheme will be allowed to select their flats earlier if they accept the buyback offer quickly, authorities added.

They will receive priority if they return the letter of acceptance by June 30.

For homeowners of Wang Chi House, the only block not affected by the blaze, the government said that if 75 per cent of owners sign the letter of acceptance by June 30, the buyback plan will be made available to them. The government previously said buying out Wang Chi House would require an additional HK1 billion.

The Thursday statement did not mention what arrangements were available for those choosing not to accept the government’s buyback offers.

Amid calls from some residents for the housing estate to be rebuilt at its original location, the government has said that the buyback plan is final.

Authorities said the seven towers hit by flames suffered “irreversible” internal damage, and that they would be torn down to build a park or other community facilities.

However, some residents expressed scepticism about the government’s proposal after a public inquiry into the fire revealed that damage was concentrated in a number of buildings.

Some residents also expressed a desire to return to the estate after they were allowed to return to their homes to retrieve their personal belongings and found their flats largely unscathed, according to local media.

Deputy Financial Secretary Michael Wong, who is leading the buyback plan, said in February that the government would study whether “special legislation” would be needed if some owners refuse to sell their flats.