Vegetable prices surge 45%

Wholesale prices for vegetables have surged 45 percent on average since last month, as cold weather lingers on the mainland, slashing the supply of vegetables to Hong Kong.

The importation of vegetables from the mainland has slipped 15 percent. Wholesale prices for the popular flowering cabbage and the Chinese kale leaped from HK$6 a catty last month to HK$11 by Thursday, a 75 percent increase.

Vegetable prices have risen in tandem with prices on the mainland, where vegetable wholesale prices have registered a 55 percent rise after a 10-week upward trend.

Vegetable Marketing Organization, a statutory authority controlling the movement and sale of vegetables in Hong Kong, said that vegetable prices are unlikely to go down before the Chinese New Year due to the persistent cold weather and higher demand during the holiday period.

Ho, 'Long Hair' to pay legal fees

Legislators Albert Ho Chun-yan and "Long Hair" Leung Kwok-hung have been ordered to pay legal fees incurred to Chief Executive (CE)Leung Chun-ying to defend the challenge mounted against the CE's election victory by the two opposition legislators.

The Court of Final Appeal (CFA) quashed the challenge filed by Ho and Leung Kwok-hung in November ruling the case was not "reasonably arguable" and that "such challenges must be brought to an end". The lawmakers were instructed to pay the legal costs but were given leave to appeal the amount.

In the decision handed down on Thursday, the CFA said that Leung had paid the legal fees incurred in the election petition and judicial review out of his own pocket. The judges agreed with the Chief Executive's argument that the proceedings were hostile in nature and the awarding of costs should follow the event, with the winning party in the litigation entitled to recover legal fees from the losing party. Leung hasn't specified the amount he had forked out.

'Most victims not wearing life jackets'

Most of the 39 people who died in the Oct 1 ferry disaster near Lamma Island were not wearing life jackets, rescuers told the commission of inquiry on Thursday.

Leung Chi-hung, the deputy chief fire officer of Fire Services Department's Hong Kong Command, said that analysis by the department and police indicated 28 of the victims were not wearing life jackets and four other victims, held life jackets in their hands but didn't put them on. The situation of another seven was judged uncertain.

Leung also said that 30 of the victims were found inside the vessel, mostly on the upper deck. Seven were found outside. The location of another two was judged uncertain.

Elderly knocked down, killed

An 80-year-old man was killed in a traffic incident in Tai Po Thursday afternoon.

The incident took place around 1:10 pm, when a medium goods vehicle driven by a 64-year-old man, travelling along a slip at Kwong Fuk Estate, struck down the 80-year-old victim, who was crossing the road. The man, suffering multiple injuries, was transported to Alice Ho Miu Ling Nethersole Hospital and was certified dead at 1:31 pm. The vehicle driver was arrested for dangerous driving causing death.

China Daily

(HK Edition 01/11/2013 page1)