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Hong Kong’s anti-graft watchdog has arrested seven people for alleged corruption in building maintenance projects, including the owner of a contractor firm who concealed his control over a company tasked with overseeing tendering.

The Independent Commission Against Corruption (ICAC) said in a statement on Tuesday that it arrested five men and two women, aged from 37 to 75, who were part of a corruption syndicate in the building maintenance industry.

Among them were the chairman of an owners’ board, the proprietor of a maintenance contractor, the directors of a consultancy firm, and a registered inspector.

After investigating a report alleging corruption in the tender exercise for maintenance work at a building in Mong Kok, the ICAC found that the project contractor’s proprietor “allegedly controlled the project consultancy firm through his associates.”

‘Dual role’

According to the ICAC, the proprietor “secured the consultancy contract for the grand maintenance project at a low price, and concealed his dual roles as project contractor and consultant, along with his conflicting interests during the tendering process,” with the intention to induce the owners’ board “to select his company as the project contractor.”

The contractor eventually failed to secure the HK$20 million contract after property owners suspected irregularities in the tender exercise.

The ICAC also suspected the owners’ board chairman of bribery and alleged that the registered inspector, who maintained a full-time job in the finance industry, might not have carried out her duties in accordance with the Buildings Ordinance when signing inspection reports.

The consultancy firm and the contractor also concealed their affiliation in two other maintenance projects currently undergoing tender exercises – one in Tai Hang and another in Sham Shui Po – with contracts worth about HK$6 million.

The watchdog raided the offices of the consultancy firm and the contractor, as well as the suspects’ homes, seizing documents and accounting records related to the maintenance projects.

“The ICAC successfully intercepted these illicit activities and reminded property owners of potential corruption risks during contract awards,” it said.

“As the relevant corruption investigation is ongoing, the ICAC does not rule out further enforcement actions.”

The latest arrests come after the deadly fire at Wang Fuk Court brought to light bid-rigging and other illicit practices in the industry.

The watchdog appears to have ramped up anti-corruption arrests in maintenance projects in the months since the fire broke out.

The government-subsidised housing estate in Tai Po was undergoing large-scale maintenance work under a mandatory government order when the blaze broke out in November. The inferno – the biggest in Hong Kong in nearly eight decades – killed 168 people and displaced thousands of residents.

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A tale of four Matsuyas, and a whole lot of gourmet wagyu beef.

As one of the country’s big-three gyudon/beef bowl chains, Matsuya is among the top choices for those looking for a cheap but hearty meal in Japan. But maybe it doesn’t always need to be quite so cheap, and so Matsuya has made the decision to open a new, more expensive, and more gourmet, branch inside Matsuya.

Actually, we should back up a bit, because there are no fewer than four different Matsuyas we’re going to be talking about here. First is just plain old Matsuya, the beef bowl chain. Then there’s Matsuya Foods, the Matsuya restaurant chain’s parent company. Next there’s the Matsuya department store chain, whose branch in Ginza is going to be the site of the new Premium Matsuya gyudon shop.

The Matsuya department store chain is a totally separate company from Matsuya Foods. Founded 101 years ago, the Matsuya department store has an upscale image, offering not only fancy fashions but also high-end food items at its flagship store in Tokyo’s posh Ginza neighborhood. There’s some comic irony in a luxury department store and budget-friendly restaurant coincidentally sharing the same name, and the two companies decided to explore the idea of some sort of promotional collaboration, with the result being Premium Matsuya, which will be opening in Matsuya Ginza’s food section later this month serving special, upscale items you won’t see on a regular Matsuya restaurant menu.

For example, Matsuya’s signature dish is their standard beef bowl, which is priced at 460 yen (US$3). Premium Matsuya’s beef bowl, pictured below, will cost more than three times as much, 1,390 yen, but that’s because it’s made with Kobe beef!

Other delicacies offered by Premium Matsuya will include a hamburger steak bento boxed lunch with domestically raised kuroge wagyu (Japanese Black) beef (1,681 yen)…

…a tonteki (pork steak) bento (1,681 yen)…

…and beef curry rice sets, also with the options of sliced Kobe beef or a kuroge wagyu hamburger steak (1,050-1,681 yen).

While some Japanese department store food shops have seats for eat-in dining, preview images for Premium Matsuya suggest it’ll be a take-out only operation, though the staff will also have dapper uniforms unique to the upscale offshoot to help create an elegant atmosphere.

It should be noted that the menu and prices at regular Matsuya restaurants will remain unchanged, so this isn’t an example of Matsuya trying to reestablish its preexisting branches as higher-priced eateries, unlike the course recently taken by curry chain Coco Ichibanya. As for whether Matsuya Ginza’s clientele will be interested in gourmet Matsuya meals, Premium Matsuya’s opening as a permanent part of the food department comes after a similar limited-time pop-up at Matsuya Ginza last year was met with an overwhelmingly positive reaction from shoppers, so hopes are high for when Premium Matsuya opens on June 10.

Related: Matsuya Ginza
Source: Otakuma Keizai Shimbun via Livedoor News via Hachima Kiko, PR Times
Images: PR Times
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TikTok executives decided not to disable notifications during school hours, ignoring recommendations from their own safety team, and paid millions of dollars to parents’ and teachers’ associations to promote the social network in schools. Snapchat sent alerts to teenagers while they were in class urging them to share what was happening in the classroom. Google executives knew that YouTube was recommending videos to students during the school day that were unrelated to their lessons. Meta paid “teen ambassadors” to promote Instagram and hand out gifts to their classmates.

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BACHOK, June 9 — A youth from Kampung Chap here has transformed a childhood fascination with ornamental fish into a profitable business after teaching himself freshwater angelfish breeding through social media.

Wan Mohd Hazran Wan Rohim, 35, better known as “Chu”, said his interest in ornamental fish began in his teenage years and eventually evolved into a commercial venture after he recognised the industry’s potential.

He said he acquired all his knowledge on breeding, care and stock selection from instructional videos, online forums and social media communities, which he followed closely for about six months.

“Initially, keeping ornamental fish was just a childhood hobby. However, the interest stayed with me, prompting me to delve deeper into breeding and nurturing as I saw potential in this field.

“Without any formal course or training, I learned the techniques for breeding, caring for, and selecting angelfish broodstock through social media and online communities over a period of about six months,” he told Bernama recently.

The second of four siblings said he started the business two years ago with about RM60,000 in capital but encountered early setbacks, including high fry mortality rates, deformities and difficulties producing premium-quality breeds.

He said he continued improving his skills through online learning until he mastered the breeding process and was able to produce a wide range of angelfish with distinctive colours and patterns.

According to Wan Mohd Hazran, successful angelfish breeding requires careful attention to factors such as fish maturity, reproductive organs and the selection of suitable breeding pairs.

He now breeds seven angelfish varieties – smokey, chocolate, tricolour, silver zebra, white platinum, light blue pinoy and marble – in different sizes to meet customer demand.

“Usually, within about two months, these fish will start attracting demand, while they reach full maturity at around six months. The selling price depends on the size, ranging between RM3 and RM35 per fish,” he said.

Wan Mohd Hazran sells between 400 and 500 fish monthly, netting a four-figure income. — Bernama pic

Wan Mohd Hazran currently keeps more than 6,000 angelfish and sells between 400 and 500 fish monthly, generating a four-figure income each month.

Besides angelfish, he also breeds GloFish in eight fluorescent colours – green, red, blue, orange, yellow, white, purple and pink – to cater to strong demand among ornamental fish enthusiasts.

He said GloFish are popular because of their vibrant colours and ease of care, while angelfish command greater breeding value and offer a wider variety of strains.

“I sell around 1,300 to 2,500 GloFish a month, depending on stock and demand,” said Wan Mohd Hazran, who also operates an ornamental fish shop in Bachok.

He said social media remains both his main source of knowledge and a crucial marketing platform that has helped him expand sales across the country.

Wan Mohd Hazran hopes more young people will use social media constructively to explore opportunities in aquaculture, which he believes offers strong potential for sustainable income.

He also hopes to receive support, particularly in the form of equipment and quality broodstock, to increase production capacity and improve stock quality in the future. — Bernama

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An elderly Hong Kong taxi driver has appeared in court over dangerous driving that killed two pedestrians in Ngau Tau Kok.

Ng Kam-cheong, 70, wore a mask and sunglasses when he appeared at the Kwun Tong Magistrates’ Court on Thursday, Court News reported.

He was charged with one count of dangerous driving causing death and three counts of dangerous driving causing grievous bodily harm.

Ng was arrested on May 13 after a fatal traffic incident in Ngau Tau Kok on the same day.

He was driving downhill along Chun Wah Road when his taxi went out of control, mounted the pavement and a sitting-out area on Choi Ha Road, and hit two female pedestrians.

One woman was certified dead at hospital around 40 minutes after the crash. The other pedestrian died in hospital on Monday, five days after the accident.

The two passengers in the taxi suffered chest, back and neck injuries – they were in stable condition as of Monday.

The taxi driver himself sustained chest injuries.

The case was adjourned to August 13.

The defendant was granted bail of HK$50,000 on the condition that he must surrender all travel documents, be barred from leaving Hong Kong, hand over his driving licence, refrain from driving any class of vehicle, and report to a police station every week.

The offence of dangerous driving causing death carries up to 10 years’ imprisonment in Hong Kong, while the offence of dangerous driving causing grievous bodily harm is punishable by up to 7 years in jail.