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$960,000 granted to fire victims
The Criminal and Law Enforcement Injuries Compensation (CLEIC) Boards have approved more than $960,000 to victims and families affected by the arson case in Prat Avenue, Tsim Sha Tsui on January 25.
The money will be given to the families of 16 fatal cases and four injury cases. Applications from other victims are still being processed.
"The CLEIC scheme is designed to provide financial assistance to people and their dependants who are victims of violent crimes or are killed or injured in helping to prevent crime in Hong Kong," a spokesman for the Social Welfare Department (SWD) said today (Tuesday).
"It also provides for the payment of compensation where a person is killed or injured by law enforcement officers using weapons in the execution of their duties."
The scheme, which does not involve a means test and is non-contributory, has paid out about $10.5 million in 551 cases in 1996.
Enquiries on the scheme may be directed to the department's CLEIC Section on 2838 6079,
Meanwhile, SWD staff will continue to contact the victims and their families to offer appropriate assistance.
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Volume and price statistics of external trade in November
In the first 11 months of 1996, the volume of Hong Kong's re-exports increased by 7.7% over the same period last year, while the volume of domestic exports decreased by 8.2%, according to the statistics released today (Tuesday) by the Census and Statistics Department.
Taking re-exports and domestic exports together, the volume of total exports increased by 5%. Meanwhile, imports increased by 4.3% in volume.