Over $12b of local currency sold in new HKMA intervention
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South China Morning Post
2 hours ago
- South China Morning Post
Hong Kong police arrest couple over HK$52.9 million bottled water contract fraud
Hong Kong police have arrested a married couple suspected of defrauding the government in connection with a HK$52.9 million (US$6.8 million) contract to supply drinking water to civil service offices. Advertisement Kung Hing-fun, the senior superintendent of the Commercial Crime Bureau of Police, said on Monday that the man, 61, and woman, 57, were arrested the previous day. Kung added that the married couple were the owners of a company that had secured a 36-month water deal, and that a mainland Chinese man was still at large. The Post has learned the company in question is called Xin Ding Xin Co. Ltd. She also said that the deal stipulated supplying bottled water to certain government offices, but the product was sourced from a third-party supplier in Dongguan rather than a Guangzhou-based company as specified in the contract. The company mentioned in the contract was named Robust, the Post learned. Wong Chun-yue, the bureau's chief superintendent, said the Guangzhou firm learned from the news that it was selected as the contract supplier, adding that the company which won the contract only asked once about water quality and had no further communication. Advertisement 'We believe the suspects used the Guangzhou company's water quality documents to meet tender requirements,' Wong said.
South China Morning Post
2 hours ago
- South China Morning Post
Hong Kong police arrest couple for fraud in HK$52.9 million water procurement scandal
Hong Kong police have arrested a married couple suspected of defrauding the government in connection with a HK$52.9 million (US$6.8 million) contract to supply drinking water to civil service offices. Advertisement Kung Hing-fun, the senior superintendent of the Commercial Crime Bureau of Police, said on Monday that the man, 61, and woman, 57, were arrested the previous day. Kung added that the married couple were the owners of a company that had secured a 36-month water deal, and that a mainland Chinese man was still at large. The Post has learned the company in question is called Xin Ding Xin Co. Ltd. She also said that the deal stipulated supplying bottled water to certain government offices, but the product was sourced from a third-party supplier in Dongguan rather than a Guangzhou-based company as specified in the contract. The company mentioned in the contract was named Robust, the Post learned. Wong Chun-yue, the bureau's chief superintendent, said the Guangzhou firm learned from the news that it was selected as the contract supplier, adding that the company which won the contract only asked once about water quality and had no further communication. Advertisement 'We believe the suspects used the Guangzhou company's water quality documents to meet tender requirements,' Wong said.
RTHK
6 hours ago
- RTHK
Qantas fined A$90m for illegal Covid-crisis layoffs
Qantas fined A$90m for illegal Covid-crisis layoffs Qantas' fine is to be paid in two parts, with A$50 million going to the union and A$40 million for payments to the former workers. File photo: Reuters An Australian court fined Qantas A$90 million on Monday for illegally laying off 1,800 ground staff during the Covid-19 pandemic, ending a five-year legal battle over the workers' rights. Federal court justice Michael Lee said he wanted the penalty to be a "real deterrence" to firms that might be tempted by the financial rewards of breaching employment law. Qantas decided to sack the workers and outsource their jobs in August 2020, a period of lockdowns and border closures when no Covid-19 vaccine existed. Australia's federal court subsequently found that Qantas had acted illegally despite its stated "commercial imperatives" and later dismissed an appeal by the airline. It said the carrier had prevented staff from accessing their rights to collectively bargain or take industrial action. Long-dubbed the "Spirit of Australia", 104-year-old Qantas has been on a mission to repair its reputation, which was hit in recent years by the illegal sackings, soaring ticket prices, claims of sloppy service, and the selling of seats on already-cancelled flights. Qantas chief executive Vanessa Hudson took over in 2023, promising to improve customer satisfaction. She replaced Alan Joyce, who stepped down earlier than planned as Qantas endured heavy criticism over its treatment of workers and passengers, despite delivering bumper profits for shareholders. Qantas' fine is to be paid in two parts, the court said, with A$50 million going to the Transport Workers Union and A$40 million being held for future payments to the former workers. The penalty is in addition to a compensation payment of A$120 million for affected former employees that Qantas agreed to last year. "It has been five long years. Today is a victory, not just for our colleagues but for all Australian workers," said Anne Guirguis, who worked at Qantas for 27 years cleaning aircraft before being laid off. "We can close this chapter and move on now." Transport Workers' Union National Secretary Michael Kaine described Monday's decision as a "final win" for the Qantas workers. "Qantas was not sorry to workers when it illegally outsourced these workers, many finding out they'd lost their jobs over a loudspeaker in the lunch room," Kaine said. "Qantas is only sorry now that it has to pay the largest penalty fine of any employer in Australian corporate history." (AFP)
