RTHK：Video News RTHK.HK

Police investigating the death of a man, who was dumped outside of North District Hospital with serious injuries early on Saturday, said they had made an arrest.

Detectives said the 32-year-old suspect was picked up in Tin Shui Wai and was believed to be linked to the car used to drop off the victim in Sheung Shui.

Acting senior superintendent Basil Tang, from the New Territories North Crime Regional Headquarters, said officers received a report from a passer-by at around 5.45am on Saturday that the 23-year-old man was lying unconscious near a pedestrian crossing on Po Kin Road, where the hospital is located.

He said the victim was then brought inside the hospital where he was pronounced dead an hour later.

Tang also said that the deceased had multiple injuries that are thought to have been caused by blunt objects, punches and kicks, adding that his cause of death was still under investigation.

Police were called to a suspicious vehicle in Wong Chuk Yuen in Pat Heung on Sunday evening.

"The police arrived at the scene to conduct an investigation and believed that this vehicle was involved in the incident. At the time of the incident, someone put on a fake license plate and abandoned the deceased outside of the mentioned hospital," Tang said.

"The police and laboratory personnel later searched the car and found blood stains and a stun gun."

Police were treating the case as murder, saying they believe others were involved and remained at large.

Firefighters on Monday said they found about 40 suspected cat corpses, after extinguishing a fire in Yuen Long.

Officers said the fire broke out in a tin-sheet house on Kam Shui South Road in Pat Heung at around 11am.

The firefighters said no one was injured and suspect that an electrical short circuit caused the fire.

Officers said they believe stray cats and dogs were being looked after in the premises, and they have notified the Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals to follow up the case.

The sound of cheering crowds and the rhythmic pounding of drums filled the air at venues across Hong Kong on Monday, as dragon boat races took place to celebrate Tuen Ng Festival.

Thousands of paddlers enjoyed the fruits of months of back-breaking training as they took to the waters of Stanley, Sha Tin, Tai Po, Sai Kung, Tuen Mun, Aberdeen, and Tai O.

In Sha Tin, the Marine Dragon Boat Team celebrated victory in one of 28 races.

"The atmosphere here is very, very exciting. The weather is good too! We’ve dedicated two months to practice. Regardless of whether it's day or night, we all strive together in our practices," said one team paddler.

"It feels refreshing to see everyone putting in such effort and working together towards the same goal. It feels great. The atmosphere is exceptional. Everyone is happy, cheering for them together. I will come back to see it again next year," said Sabrina Wang, a tourist watching the races for the very first time.

Meanwhile, some 190 teams competed off Stanley Main Beach in the morning.

Chris from City University said his team had practised for 10 months.

"We heard that rain had poured every year here, but the weather is fine today. Synchronisation is the most important factor. Individual strength matters less. The overall strength of a team is the essence," he said.

Bonnie Chan, CEO of Hong Kong Exchanges and Clearing, said the HKEX team was full of confidence going into their competition.

"We practised even when the Typhoon Signal No. 3 was issued, during an Amber Rainstorm Warning, and even a Red Rainstorm Warning. Today, we were finally able to get into the water. We are thrilled," she said.

A tobacco control advocate on Monday said the government should ban flavoured shisha, as part of an overhaul of smoking controls.

Henry Tong, chairman of the Hong Kong Council on Smoking and Health, made the comment after the administration announced 10 measures last week to quickly reduce smoking, including a ban on flavoured cigarettes.

Speaking on an RTHK programme, he noted that shisha, or tobacco smoked through a waterpipe, remains legal, but said it should face similar regulations.

"Shisha is very attractive to young people and women, mainly because there are many flavours and fruity flavours. The law should be clear when it comes to banning flavoured cigarettes. There shouldn't be flavouring agents allowed in shisha," he said.

"The implementation of new policies is a step-by-step process, and it is necessary to understand the public's acceptance level. Banning sales and purchases is the first step. I think we can continue to study how to prohibit possession and hopefully that can be implemented soon."

Tong also said that banning smoking in queues was a good start given that regulations were easy to define, but a measure to stop "smoking while walking" should be implemented as soon as possible.

Meanwhile, Tsui Yuen, a member of the Long-Term Tobacco Policy Concern Group, said he agreed with the extension of smoke-free areas, but suggested the addition of smoking areas as a means of compromise.

"Non-smoking areas can suppress the problem of second-hand smoking and reduce conflicts between smokers and non-smokers. In addition to adding non-smoking areas, we can also follow Japan and Europe and add some smoking areas or smoking rooms for public use. This can reduce the problem of second-hand smoking, limit littering and help the environment," he said.

French President Emmanuel Macron set off a political earthquake on Sunday when he called shock legislative elections for later this month after he was trounced in the European Union vote by Marine Le Pen's far-right party.

Macron's surprise decision represents a major roll of the dice on his political future, three years before his presidency ends. If Le Pen's National Rally (RN) party wins a parliamentary majority, Macron would be left without a say in domestic affairs.

Macron said the EU results were grim for his government, and one he could not pretend to ignore. In an address to the nation, less than two months before Paris hosts the Olympics, he said lower house elections would be called for June 30, with a second-round vote on July 7.

"This is an essential time for clarification," Macron said. "I have heard your message, your concerns and I will not leave them unanswered ... France needs a clear majority to act in serenity and harmony."

Led by telegenic 28-year-old Jordan Bardella, the RN won about 32 percent of the vote in Sunday's vote, more than double the Macron ticket's 15 percent, according to the first exit polls. The Socialists came within a whisker of Macron, with 14 percent.

Le Pen, the frontrunner for the 2027 election in which Macron is unable to stand, welcomed the president's decision.

"We are ready to take over power if the French give us their trust in the upcoming national elections," she said at a rally.

Macron's advisers said the president made his decision after this week's 80th anniversary of the D-Day landings in Normandy, when he met people out and about who said they were tired of endless political infighting in parliament.

Le Pen and Bardella sought to frame the EU election as a mid-term referendum on Macron's mandate, tapping into discontent with immigration, crime and a two-year inflation crisis. (Reuters)

The government was on Sunday urged to limit how much domestic helpers are allowed to borrow and to introduce licensing for debt collectors.

DAB lawmaker Edward Leung made the call after being approached for help by around 20 employers, who told him that their helpers had fallen victim to loan traps after filling out online forms.

He said helpers had to pay back amounts ranging from a few thousand dollars to HK$100,000.

"Currently in Hong Kong, [lenders] need to get a licence. However for debt collectors, they do not need to apply for a licence. However, in many places around the world for example in the UK, debt collectors do need a licence," he said.

"If this kind of situation worsens in Hong Kong, I believe that it will force the government to take further steps to set up certain laws to contain this kind of illegal debt collecting. For example, for debt collectors, they need to apply for a certain licence."

Leung said one disturbing trend involved debt collectors threatening to publish AI-generated pornographic deepfake photos of employers who refused to pay their helpers' debts.

He also noted a case of a helper borrowing money from a lender outside Hong Kong and being hit with a demand for more than double the sum just two weeks later.