Israel learned a lesson three years ago that America has learned, at least twice, and every time the consequences are disastrous.
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BAGANBAZAR GRAPHSource-attributed newsWORLD deskJudges and judicial officers have been recommended to receive a 2 per cent salary increase for this financial year, following a pay freeze last year due to the city’s mounting deficit. Judges gather at the opening of the Legal Year 2025, on January 20, 2025. Photo: Kyle Lam/HKFP. The salary increase follows an annual review of the salaries of judges and judicial officers, which refers to magistrates, coroners, court registrars and roles in the Labour Tribunal, the Small Claims Tribunal and the Competition Tribunal. The review takes into account factors including judges’ workload, private sector pay trends, and the economic situation in Hong Kong. The Standing Committee on Judicial Salaries and Conditions of Service, which conducts the review, did not observe any “major change in the responsibility and working conditions” of judges and judicial officers, according to a report published on Wednesday. But it noted that the “heavy criminal caseload was compounded by an increasing number of complex cases” related to the 2019 protests and unrest and national security legislation. “The Judiciary is required by circumstances to accord priority to these cases, which means that the progress of other cases has inevitably been impacted,” the report stated. The High Court. File photo: Kyle Lam/HKFP. “The Judiciary however expects that the impact will be ameliorated in the coming years,” it added. The courts were also dealing with a “sustained influx” of judicial review applications relating to non-refoulement claims, referring to cases lodged by asylum seekers in the city. The current annual review mechanism for judges and judicial officers’ salaries has been in place since 2008. There were five years in which salaries were not adjusted: 2009 and 2010 during the global financial cri
BAGANBAZAR GRAPHSource-attributed newsWORLD deskHong Kong police have reportedly launched an investigation into whether a 10-year-old girl filmed carrying bags of beer could be the victim of child abuse, after video of her struggling with the load went viral online. Screenshots of the videos showing the girl made to hold bags of beer, posted on October 6, 2026. Photo: Screenshot via Facebook. The police force’s New Territories North child abuse unit has reportedly taken over the investigation, while social workers and teachers at the girl’s school have also stepped in. Their response comes after a video of the girl holding two plastic bags filled with cans of beer near Fu Tai Estate in Tuen Mun was shared in a Facebook group and then widely circulated on the social media platform Tuesday. She also appeared to be carrying a damaged backpack. When approached by passersby asking if she needed help, she said in Cantonese: “My dad doesn’t let people help.” The clips show her struggling with the bags as she walks alongside a man whom social media users speculated was her father. At one point, the video shows the man snatching one of the bags from the girl, calling her a “useless person.” ‘Exercising’ On an RTHK programme, Tuen Mun district councillor Leo Chan said that police officers closed an initial investigation on Tuesday evening after finding no “obvious signs” of child abuse. The police received a report at around 10pm on Tuesday. The preliminary investigation found that the girl was “exercising” and picked up the beer of her own accord, according to local media outlets citing police sources. Hong Kong Police Force. Photo: Kyle Lam/HKFP. HK01 reported on Wednesday afternoon that the incident had been reclassified as a request for police assistance and taken over by the Child Abuse Investigation Unit of the New Terri
BAGANBAZAR GRAPHSource-attributed newsWORLD deskFour people were charged after allegedly surveilling a Taiwanese lawmaker and his family two years ago, prosecutors said on Wednesday. Lawmaker Puma Shen and the pinhole camera found on his motorbike. Photo: Puma Shen, via Facebook. Taipei prosecutors alleged that two people in Hong Kong hired the four Taiwanese defendants to follow, film and photograph Puma Shen, who is a member of the ruling Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) and an outspoken critic of China. The defendants have been charged with offences under the Personal Data Protection Act after they “illegally collected and utilised the personal data” of Shen, his wife and daughter, thereby “causing harm” to them, prosecutors said in a media statement. China opened an investigation into Shen in October 2025 for alleged criminal “separatist activities”, a year after barring him from entering the country. Warrants issued Prosecutors allege that three of the accused placed a tiny camera in the seat of a motorbike and parked it in front of Shen’s family home in Taipei. They said the defendants collected images of Shen, his wife and their daughter as they entered and exited the residence between October 1 and November 8, 2024. A banner for Puma Shen’s campaign to become mayor of Taipei. Photo: Puma Shen. The images were sent via the messaging app Telegram to the people in Hong Kong, the statement said. The two people in Hong Kong paid one of the defendants the equivalent of US$12,700 (HK$99,669) to carry out the surveillance, it said. Arrest warrants were issued for the Hong Kong pair. Shen, who is running for Taipei mayor in local elections scheduled for November 28, did not comment immediately on the case.