Annual Report 2019 - govtlab.gov.hk · Administrative and clerical support is provided by the Administration Division. As at the end of 2019, the GL had an establishment of 502 staff,

2019

Government Laboratory HKSAR

Annual Report

01

Values

IntegrityWe act honestly, ethically and impartiallyat all times.

ProfessionalismWe encourage self-improvement andaim for scientific excellence.

Quality AssuranceWe ensure that all our work is carriedout in accordance with recognisedstandards.

TeamworkWe recognise the participation, initiativeand cooperation of all our staff as beingessential to our success.

Client FocusWe strive to recognise and anticipate the needs of clients, working openly and cooperatively in setting work schedules and meeting targets.

Environmental ConsciousnessWe are committed to conducting all ourwork within the established guidelinesfor protection of the environment.

VISION, MISSION & VALUES

Vision To be recognised

internationally as a laboratory providing world-class

scientific services.

MissionTo provide our community

with quality analytical, forensic, and advisory services,

achieved through advancing measurement science and standards by a proud and

committed work force.

GL Annual Report 2019

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Foreword

Our Workforce

Our Locations

Organisation Chart

Analytical & Advisory Services

Forensic Science

Development

Training, Sharing and Exchange

CONTENTS GL Annual Report 2019

2019 was an extraordinary year for the Government Laboratory. In addition to making untiring efforts in providing a wide spectrum ofquality professional scientific services to the community, we continued to dedicate ourselves to a long-term strategic plan in the field ofmetrology to meet the community′s needs of world-class measurement services. At the same time, we have diligently devoted ourefforts to safeguard the public safety and health, environmental protection, consumers′ interests and implementation of governmentpolicies in Hong Kong. Throughout the year, we had completed 204,659 tests on food safety, 132,259 tests on drug safety, 65,501 testson consumer goods safety, 211,145 tests on environmental protection and 37,195 cases on forensic testing.

Apart from the regular laboratory testing, our Laboratory has also provided impartial advisory services and contributed to the criminalinvestigations of a number of high-profile forensic cases over the course of the year, including murders, fatal accidents, drug seizures,etc. We have worked closely with client departments by providing round-the-clock services in emergency responses and on-site crimescene investigation services. The Laboratory’s scientific input was one of the key elements of the success of these work to uphold publicsafety, justice and the rule of law.

Operating to international quality standards and advancing measurement science are cornerstones of our success. Therefore, ourLaboratory has actively participated in collaboration initiatives and professional exchanges with other national laboratories, metrologyinstitutions and forensic laboratories of various countries and regions. This will remain our key measures to meet the challenges arisingfrom the increase in complexity of the service demands and drive continuous improvements in our services provided to members of thepublic.

With the increasing demand of new testing services in various scientific fields under our purview, we definitely continue to proactivelymake change within the Government Laboratory with active engagement in research and development activities and continuousdevelopment of staff in order to build a team of committed and capable professionals fit for the current and future challenges; forexample, a new team of professionals has been specially trained in the year to provide a brand-new forensic service in digital evidenceexamination to the community.

Lastly, please enjoy reading this annual report and see the interesting work undertaken by the Laboratory in 2019.

Della WM SinGovernment ChemistAugust 2020

03FOREWORD GL Annual Report 2019

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The Government Laboratory (GL) is headed by the Government Chemist and there are 2 operationaldivisions namely the Analytical & Advisory Services Division and the Forensic Science Division.Under each division, sections are grouped according to their specialties and services to clientdepartments and bureaux. Administrative and clerical support is provided by the AdministrationDivision.

As at the end of 2019, the GL had an establishment of 502 staff, comprising 7 directorate staff, 149professionals, 287 technical staff and 59 administrative and supporting staff. Besides, there were 16

professionals and 41 technical staff seconded to other departments.

Over the years, the GL has attracted many candidates with high qualifications to join the civil service.By the end of 2019, we have 112 professional staff with PhD degrees. Among the technical staffmembers, 76 and 99 have Master’s degrees and Bachelor’s degrees respectively. Many of them havenumerous years of experience. For instance, in 2019, 14 colleagues received the 30 Years’ Long andMeritorious Service Award while 23 colleagues received the 20 Years’ Long and Meritorious ServiceAward.

OUR WORKFORCE GL Annual Report 2019

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Public Works CentralLaboratory Building5

Ho Man Tin Government Offices(Headquarters)1

Food Safety Laboratory7Lai Chi Kok Government Offices2 Science Park4 King’s Park Meteorological Station6Public Health Laboratory Centre3

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Occupying several floors at Ho Man Tin Government Offices, GL’sheadquarters is a purpose-built laboratory where we moved into in1992. However, with the rapid increase in service demands fromclients, the space in the headquarters became insufficient inaccommodating the increasing staff members and facilities over thepast 27 years. The number of staff increased from 311 at the time GLmoved to the Ho Man Tin Headquarters to 502 as at the end of 2019.

Owing to limitation of space capacity in the headquarters, the GL haskept seeking appropriate accommodation for the provision of newservices, and currently the number of satellite laboratories is six.

OUR LOCATIONS GL Annual Report 2019

添加劑、污染物及成分組

Additives, Contaminants and

Composition Section

Residues Section

Food Complaints Section

Outsourcing Management Section

Strategic Development Section

Trace Elements Section

Quality Management Section

Other Scientific Services Group

Drugs, Toxicology and Documents Group

Criminalistics and Quality Management Group

06ORGANISATION CHART

Government Laboratory

Analytical & Advisory Services Division Administration Division Forensic Science Division

Food Safety and Quality Group

Chinese Materia Medica Chemistry Section

Chinese Medicines Section

Environmental Chemistry A Section

Environmental Chemistry B Section

Pharmaceutical Chemistry Section

Pharmaceutical Quality and

Investigation Section

Product Testing and

Dutiable Commodities Section

Trade Descriptions Section

Chemical Safety Section

Biochemical Sciences A Section

Biochemical Sciences B Section

Chemical Sciences Section

DNA Database Section

Parentage Testing Section

Physical Sciences Section

Scene of Crime and

Quality Management Section

Controlled Drugs A Section

Controlled Drugs B Section

Forensic Toxicology A Section

Forensic Toxicology B Section

Questioned Documents Section


07ANALYTICAL and ADVISORY SERVICES GL Annual Report 2019

The GL has all along endeavoured to provide quality testing and investigative services to ensure food safety and

environmental hygiene in Hong Kong. Comprehensive analytical services are provided to the Food and Environmental

Hygiene Department (FEHD) and the Agriculture, Fisheries and Conservation Department (AFCD) in support of the

enforcement of various pertinent regulations under the Public Health and Municipal Services Ordinance (Cap. 132), the

Pesticides Ordinance (Cap. 133) and the Public Health (Animals and Birds) Ordinance (Cap. 139).

The GL also provides testing services to support the Centre for Food Safety (CFS) of the FEHD in implementing the food

surveillance programme. The scope of chemical analysis ranges from food composition & labelling to additives,

contaminants, pesticide residues and veterinary drug residues.

In 2019, the GL completed a total of 198,105 tests on a wide range of food samples, of which

219 tests pertained to food incidents that required urgent analytical services. In the year, 99%

(target: 95%) of the samples tested were completed within the target reporting time and the

average sample turnaround time was 15 working days which was well within the targeted 19

working days.

The breakdown percentages of the total number of tests analysed for food additives and

composition, contaminants, pesticide and veterinary drug residues were 25%, 18% and 57%

respectively.

Work Statistics

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Food Safety And Environmental Hygiene

ANALYTICAL and ADVISORY SERVICES



6,554 tests were performed in connection with the investigation of food complaint cases. 96%(target: 86%) of the cases were completed within the target reporting time. The averageturnaround time was 17 working days which was within the targeted 25 working days. Besides, theGL completed 41,844 tests for seepage and swimming pool samples in 2019 and 100% (target:96%) of the analyses were completed within the pledged target reporting time of 10 working days.

In addition to routine monitoring work, the GL also rendered analytical support to the handling ofvarious food incidents. In 2019, urgent analytical services were provided for the analyses ofmercury in tuna sashimi, heavy metals in Chinese giant salamander, luncheon meat and mango,

pesticide residues in eggs and mangoes, toxins in mushrooms, colouring matters in lucky buns,calcium oxalate raphide (needle-shaped crystal) in vegetable, veterinary drug residues in luncheonmeat, fish samples and frozen meat, and total volatile nitrogen in frozen meat.

Professional advice to a total of 9 requests on analytical methods and nomenclature in relation tothe active ingredients of registered pesticide formulations was also provided in the year.

Work statistics

09ANALYTICAL and ADVISORY SERVICES



The GL had achieved all the work targets set in 2019 related to environmental protection. The total number of tests conducted in theyear was 211,145. For air-related tests, 65,541 were performed on monitoring samples, 472 on field investigation samples and 2,816on litigation samples, giving a total of 68,829, respectively with 97%, 100% and 100% of the tests completed within thecorresponding target reporting times.

For water, sediment and biota samples, 129,685 tests involving more than 100 different pollutants including various nutrients, tracemetals and organic compounds in a wide range of sample matrices such as river water, marine water, sediment and biological tissueswere conducted with 99% of the tests completed within the corresponding target reporting times.

Regarding waste samples covering wastewater, leachates, livestock waste, chemical wastes and miscellaneous solid wastes, 12,324tests were performed on monitoring samples and 307 tests on litigation samples, respectively with 97% and 99% completed withinthe corresponding target reporting times.

分析及諮詢服務 10

The GL provides analytical and advisory services to the Environmental Protection Department (EPD) in support ofmanagement and monitoring of air and water quality, implementation of various environmental programmes and theenforcement of pollution control and environmental protection legislations including the Air Pollution ControlOrdinance (Cap. 311), the Ozone Layer Protection Ordinance (Cap. 403), the Waste Disposal Ordinance (Cap. 354), theWater Pollution Control Ordinance (Cap. 358) and the Hazardous Chemicals Control Ordinance (Cap. 595).Environmental samples such as air, water, sediment, biota and waste of different nature and matrices are regularlysubmitted for analysis pertaining to various environmental programmes including the toxic air pollutants monitoringprogramme, the river and marine water quality monitoring programmes, the biological monitoring programme, thetoxic substances monitoring programme and illegal discharge investigations. Testing of materials for asbestos andanalyses of diesel, biodiesel, and unleaded petrol and marine fuel are also part of GL’s statutory functions. Othergovernment departments to which analytical services relating to environmental monitoring were provided in the yearincluded the Agriculture, Fisheries and Conservation Department, the Correctional Services Department, the Electricaland Mechanical Services Department, the FEHD and the Leisure and Cultural Services Department. Technical supportwas also rendered to the Marine Department (MD) in the identification of the sources of oil spills in enforcement of theShipping and Port Control Ordinance (Cap. 313).

環境保護

ANALYTICAL and ADVISORY SERVICESEnvironmental Protection

Work Statistics

Environmental Protection


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The GL provides analytical and advisory support to the Customs and

Excise Department (C&ED) and other government departments in the

enforcement of legislation concerning consumer protection. Analytical

services are provided to support their statutory functions under various

regulations and ordinances.

The scientific services provided by the GL covered a large variety of

products including cigarettes, toys and children’s products, consumer

goods, dutiable commodities and miscellaneous commodities. Besides,

suspected counterfeit goods samples were also submitted for

authenticity testing.

Consumer Protection


Consumer Protection

Work StatisticsDuring 2019, the GL conducted a total of 4,995 tests on a

variety of commodities for compliance assessment of the

labelled claim or confirmation of their authenticity in support

of the enforcement of the Trade Descriptions Ordinance (Cap.

362). Samples of consumer goods submitted for assessment

of labelled claim included prepackaged products, silver and

metallic articles. Testing on authenticity covered a wide

variety of trading goods including Chinese medicine, dried

seafood, and products of algal, fungal, plant or animal origin.


In 2019, 95 brands of best-selling cigarettes on sale in the local market wereexamined and their tar and nicotine yields determined were published on thewebsite of the GL for public browsing. In addition, the GL carried out 3,039 testson other tobacco products. For toys and children’s products, 20,708 tests wereconducted for phthalates contents and safety requirements as stipulated in thestandards under relevant Ordinances. Items tested included Lunar New Yeartoys, Mid-Autumn Festival toys, Halloween costume toys, slime toys, soundproducing toys, beach toys, projectile toys and toy guns, infant cot mattresses,children’s safety harness, children’s cutlery, etc. For consumer goods, a widevariety of samples including festive items for Lunar New Year, children and adult

clothing, hot water bottles, tea-light candles, hand washes, food containers andcosmetics such as whitening cream, lipsticks, nail polishes, facial moisturizers,eye shadows, hair products, etc. were submitted to test for compliance with thestatutory general safety requirements. These accounted for a total of 11,970tests for this test category in the year. As always, the GL worked closely with theC&ED to follow-up those cases of public concern, e.g. slime toys, infant cotmattresses, candles and essential oil products published by the CHOICEMagazine. For dutiable commodities, the workload for hydrocarbon oils andliquors were 1,426 and 1,334 tests, respectively.


Work Statistics

Consumer Protection



For miscellaneous commodities, the GL carried out 117 tests to check the integrity offlexible gas tubing under the requirements of the Gas Safety Ordinance (Cap. 51).Besides, the GL received ad-hoc samples on checking the identity of kerosene as well asthe composition of liquefied petroleum gas. For evaluation of government tenders, 52tests were carried out which the items included rice, lime powder, liquid soap, andbleaching solution. In addition, 10,104 tests were carried out in relation toinvestigation cases under the Import and Export Ordinance (Cap. 60). The majority ofgoods tested included pesticide formulations, powdered formula, heated tobaccoproducts and valuable articles such as gold and diamond. Also, 700 tests wereconducted for the investigation of suspected short weight of prepacked goods and formetrological verification of traders' weighing equipment.

Work Statistics

Consumer Protection


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The GL works closely with the Department of Health (DH), Government Logistics Department (GLD), Hospital Authority (HA) and the C&ED

with a view to safeguarding public health and supporting the enforcement of the Antibiotics Ordinance (Cap. 137), the Pharmacy and Poisons

Ordinance (Cap. 138), the Chinese Medicine Ordinance (Cap. 549), and the Import and Export Ordinance (Cap. 60).

GL’s professional services on pharmaceutical analyses mainly provide support to (i) the routine market surveillance programme for

monitoring the quality of the local registered pharmaceutical products, (ii) the investigatory programme for complaint cases, illegal sales

(including via internet) and possession of suspected controlled drugs, (iii) the general quality control programme for facilitating government

procurement exercises on pharmaceutical products, and (iv) the routine surveillance programme for testing drug adulteration in health

products.

Routine analyses for Chinese medicines include the testing of Chinese herbal medicines (Chms) and proprietary Chinese medicines (pCms) for

contamination of heavy metals, toxic elements and pesticide residues; as well as drug adulteration in pCms. Analytical support in the testing of

chemical markers for certification of suspected unregistered pCms is also provided to the DH and the C&ED. Furthermore, the GL offers full

support to the DH for urgent investigatory analyses of samples for (i) cases of adverse reaction arising from the consumption of pCms

containing undeclared drug ingredients, and (ii) poisoning incidents related to erroneous substitution or contamination of Chinese medicines.

In addition, the GL continues to provide analytical and advisory support to the DH in the development of Hong Kong Chinese Materia Medica

Standards (HKCMMS) through conducting method verification and trial run studies.


Drug Quality

Drug Quality


In 2019, the GL conducted 6 and 51,562 tests for urgent and otherpharmaceutical samples respectively. All tests for urgent sampleswere completed within the pledged turnaround time while over 98%of that for other samples met the pledged target. As regards Chinesemedicines, the GL conducted 18 and 80,673 tests for urgent andother samples respectively. All tests for urgent samples werecompleted within the pledged turnaround time while over 99% ofthat for other samples met the pledged target.


Work Statistics

Drug Quality


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To support the Government in ensuring public safety, the GL is entrusted withthe statutory role to provide analytical and advisory services. The scope ofservice includes providing analytical and advisory services for the Fire ServicesDepartment and other government departments in the classification ofdangerous goods (DG) and on matters relating to occupational safety and health;providing 24-hour emergency response service to support the Fire ServicesDepartment in handling of chemical incidents; collaborating with the Hong KongObservatory (HKO) in monitoring radiation levels of environmental samples;rendering analytical support to the FEHD in the surveillance of radioactivecontamination of imported foodstuff; providing technical support to the DayaBay Contingency Plan (DBCP) and the Nuclear Powered Vessel Contingency Planfor Public Safety During Visits of Nuclear Powered Warships “PORTSAFE” inHong Kong; provision of technical support for the implementation of theChemical Weapons Convention (CWC) in the Hong Kong Special AdministrativeRegion and the control of import and export of strategic commodities throughthe provision of professional services to the Trade & Industry Department (TID)and the C&ED in the enforcement of the relevant local legislation.


Public Safety

For the classification of dangerous goods under theDangerous Goods Ordinance (Cap. 295) and itssubsidiary regulations, the GL conducted 3,779 tests in2019. All the classification tests were completed withinthe pledged target reporting time and the averagereporting time was 11 working days. In relation tooccupational safety and health, the GL completed 1,624tests on 337 samples taken by the Labour Departmentand the Hong Kong Police Force (HKPF).

Work Statistics

Public Safety


In 2019, the GL completed 4,017 sample pre-treatments for radioactivity measurement by theHKO and conducted 956 radioactive contamination tests on imported food samples under theFEHD food surveillance programme. None of the food samples tested was found to exceed theguideline levels stipulated in the Codex Alimentarius Commission for cross-border trade offoodstuffs in respect of 3 major gamma-emitting radionuclides, namely I-131, Cs-134 and Cs-137.All the tests were completed within the pledged reporting time with the average reporting time of7 working days.

Apart from testing services, the GL also provides advisory services to client departments insupport of law enforcement. In 2019, the GL offered over 310 pieces of professional advicerelating to over 990 items for classification under the Dangerous Goods Ordinance (Cap. 295)while over 370 pieces of advice involving over 410 items were provided pertaining to theimplementation of the Import and Export (Strategic Commodities) Regulations (Cap. 60G) andthe Chemical Weapons (Convention) Ordinance (Cap. 578).


Work Statistics

Public Safety


18FORENSIC SCIENCE GL Annual Report 2019

24-hour Scene of Crime and Laboratory Examination Services

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The GL is committed to providing high quality and professional crime scene investigation (CSI) services to law enforcement agencies in HongKong. A comprehensive range of 24-hour CSI services is provided by a team of experienced Laboratory Specialist Services Officers (ScientificEvidence Officers) and Chemists from different operational sections. Scene investigative services include but not limited to the identification,preservation and retrieval of relevant scientific evidence materials for examination, conducting professional evaluation of the gathered forensicevidence, reconstructing the sequence of events at the scene and presenting the evidence in court.

In addition to general CSI services, GL’s professional staff with specialist training supports four specialized scene investigation services, whichinclude Fire Investigation to determine the cause and course of suspicious fires; Traffic Accident Reconstruction to assist in deciphering thepossible cause of road traffic accidents; Bloodstain Pattern Analysis of serious crime scenes such as murder and serious wounding cases to assistin reconstructing possible events that had occurred at the crime scene; and investigation of illicit drug manufacturing/cultivation activities.Where necessary, a comprehensive team with scene officers for general crime scenes and professional specialists will conduct the sceneinvestigation together.

Apart from CSI services, the GL also provide round-the-clock laboratory examination services to client departments for cases requiringimmediate attention to provide imperative forensic evidence for criminal investigation and preliminary court proceedings. Such round-the-clockservice also encompasses provision of verbal expert advice to assist law enforcement officers in crime investigations.


FORENSIC SCIENCE GL Annual Report 2019

Work Statistics

In 2019, staff attended a total of 350 crime scene visits comprising 120 general crimescenes, 4 scenes with bloodstain pattern analysis, 9 fire scenes, 195 trafficaccident/vehicle-related scenes and 22 illicit drug-related scenes. Compared to 2018, theoverall scene attendance decreased by around 6%. In 2019, the GL provided 48 round-the-clock services for law enforcement departments, increased more than three folds ascompared with 2018 figure.

The GL organizes different kinds of relevant training to various law enforcementdepartments and related parties with a view to reinforcing the cooperation andstrengthen the quality of investigative services. In 2019, a total of about 1,755participants from Hong Kong Police Force (HKPF), Fire Services Department, Customs andExcise Department, Independent Commission Against Corruption, Department of Justice,Social Welfare Department and Building Department attended a total of 25 lecturesand/or visits arranged by the GL.

20FORENSIC SCIENCE



Forensic DNA Examination

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There are four working Sections in the GL providing quality forensic DNA examination services to the HKPF and otherlaw enforcement agencies. The two Biochemical Sciences Sections (BSS) routinely analyze 15 Short Tandem RepeatsDNA systems along with one gender testing system on the DNA recovered from crime scene biological evidencematerials with an aim to identify the person(s) related to the committed crime.

The DNA Database Section (DDS) maintains and updates a DNA database on behalf of the Commissioner of Police forDNA data of convicted offenders and suspects of serious criminal offences stored in the database. Outstanding DNAprofiles from evidence materials are uploaded to the DNA database for regular comparison with the DNA data in thedatabase with a view to locating any potential culprits involved. Since the database was set up in 2000, a largenumber of outstanding crime scene DNA profiles have been matched and subsequently led to further investigationsby law enforcement officers in otherwise unsolved crime cases.

The Parentage Testing Section (PTS) provides genetic testing services mainly to the Immigration Department (ImmD)for the verification of parent/child relationships in connection with immigration-related cases since 2000.



Work Statistics

In 2019, BSS completed examination of a total of 1,801 non-complicated and complicated cases involving 11,158 exhibit itemsrelated to crime scene biological evidence materials. The numberof cases examined increased by about 5% compared to 2018(1,715 cases) and exhibit items examined in 2019 increasedsignificantly about 17% compared to 2018 (9,511 items). As aresult of the increase in workload, the percentage of cases meetingtarget decreased for both types of cases; 89% of non-complicatedcases were completed within the target turnaround time of 60working days compared to 97% for 2018 and 86% of the

complicated cases met the target turnaround time of 130 workingdays compared to 96% for 2018.

DDS examined 2,170 cases with 96% of cases completed withinthe target turnaround time of 22 working days in 2019. Incomparison with the figures in 2018, the number of casesexamined and the percentage meeting target is decreased by 13%.By the end of 2019, the number of relevant DNA data stored in thedatabase had increased to 56,503.

In 2019, the use of the database has resulted in 277 and 35 pairs ofmatches between data from crime scene exhibits withoffenders/suspects and amongst crime scene exhibits respectively.These matching results have provided important clues for the lawenforcement agencies to further investigate unsolved crime cases.

In 2019, BSS and DSS delivered “Round-the-clock testing service”on seven and two occasions respectively to law enforcementdepartments with preliminary findings made available withinthree days.

22FORENSIC SCIENCE



In connection with the Certificate of Entitlement (CoE) applications pursuant to theImmigration Ordinance (Cap. 115), PTS has completed 2,583 reports in 2019, about 2.2fold compared with the figure in 2018. The percentage of cases completed within the targetturnaround time of 22 working days was highly satisfactory with 100% of cases met target.The average positive parentage matching rate in 2019 was about 98%, increased 4% ascompared with the rate in 2018.

Apart from the CoE applications, the GL has also offered genetic testing services to othersections in the ImmD such as Right of Abode section and the Birth and Death GeneralRegister Office; the GL has assisted in 76 such cases in 2019, about 25% increase comparedwith the figure in 2018.

The ImmD continues to assist the Mainland authorities in processing the One Way Permit(OWP) applications of eligible Mainland “overage children”. Due to poor health of someHong Kong parents of “overage children” who are unable to attend the Exit-EntryAdministration of the Public Security Bureau to provide specimens, the ImmD assists theseOWP applications by collecting specimens from the claimed parents in Hong Kong andsubmitting the specimens to the GL to conduct the genetic tests. In 2019, the GL hascompleted three cases under this category.

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Work Statistics

FORENSIC SCIENCE



Criminalistics – Contact and Physical Evidence

The GL provides services on the examination of trace evidence, such as textile fibres, paint, glass, flammable and explosive residues, andmiscellaneous chemical investigation. Trace evidence examination and miscellaneous chemical investigation frequently play animportant part in the evidence produced in crime investigation and subsequent legal proceedings, which justifying the effort andcommitment apportioned to it.

Fire investigation and traffic accident investigation are currently included under GL’s 24-hours services. The former is to determine theorigin, cause, and development of a fire or explosion. It involves multiple disciplines including fire chemistry, fire dynamic, knowledge ofbuilding systems, scene investigation techniques, chemical analysis and various analysis tools. The latter is to assist the HKPF in thereconstruction of the traffic accident.

GL’s forensic physical examination services include traffic accident reconstruction (TAR), tyre examination, vehicle number restoration,forgery and counterfeit items and cases involving marks and impressions evidence. The latter can help associate physical contact ofobjects such as tools and shoes with toolmarks and shoeprints recovered at crime scenes and associate a vehicle with a victim and thescene of an accident.

Different from chemical analysis, TAR involves the application of various scientific disciplines including mathematics, physics,automotive engineering, forensic video analysis and scene investigation techniques in deciphering possible cause of road trafficaccidents. Examination of failed tyres often provides useful information in determining whether their deflation causes the accident or isa consequence of the accident. Vehicle number examination and restoration entails, as the name suggests, the discovery and retrieval ofnumbers unique to the vehicles concerned as a means of detecting unauthorized vehicle-taking or modification.

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Work Statistics

Chemical Sciences Section The GL examined a total of 700 cases involving 3,705 exhibititems in relation to trace evidence, fire investigation and miscellaneous chemical investigationin 2019. Among these, 11 cases (of 53 items), 328 cases (of 2,136 items) and 361 cases (of1,516 items) were examined in the areas of fire investigation, trace evidence and miscellaneouschemical investigation respectively. When compared with the previous year, there had been anincrease of 8% and 6% in the number of cases and items for trace evidence respectively; whilethe increment for miscellaneous chemical investigation had been 31% and 62% respectively.

For those reported cases involving fire investigation, trace evidence and miscellaneouschemical investigation, 100%, 87% and 87% of them were completed within the targetedturnaround time of 88, 66 and 33 working days respectively.

By the end of 2019, the GL had 147 active cases still undergoing fire investigation, traceevidence and miscellaneous chemical investigation.

25FORENSIC SCIENCE



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Physical Sciences Section For physical examination, the GL examined a total of 738cases involving 1,334 exhibit items in relation to marks & impressions evidence, trafficaccident related investigation and miscellaneous physical investigation in 2019. Amongthese, 228 cases (of 258 items), 173 cases (of 548 items) and 337 cases (of 528 items)were examined in the area of traffic accident reconstruction (TAR), marks andimpressions evidence examination, and miscellaneous physical investigationrespectively. For those reported cases involving TAR, marks and impressionsevidence and miscellaneous physical investigation, 64%, 71% and 87% ofthem were completed within the target turnaround of 66, 66 and 33 workingdays respectively. As compared with the figures in 2018, there was a increaseof about 29% in the number of completed cases, but an decrease of about4% in the number of exhibit items examined.

By the end of 2019, the GL had 157 active cases still undergoing marks &impressions evidence examination, traffic accident related investigation andmiscellaneous physical investigation, which were higher than those in 2018.

Fatal Traffic Accident in Fanling HighwayOn 18 December 2019, a KMB double-decker Route 978, carrying over 50passengers, rammed into barriers and trees at Fanling Highway near TsungPak Long in Sheung Shui. The nearside front roof of the double-decker wasripped open. A total of 6 passengers were killed and 39 passengers injured inthis serious traffic accident. In the aftermath, an expert team of forensicaccident investigators from the GL was requested by the HKPF to attend theaccident scene and conduct a comprehensive and detailed scene examinationwith a view to determining the cause of the accident.

Work Statistics

FORENSIC SCIENCE



Controlled Drugs

Work StatisticsIn 2019, the GL examined 3,060 drug cases involving 17,616items, representing about 30% decrease in number of casesfrom 4,383 cases in 2018 and about 12% drop in itemsexamined from 20,195 items in 2018. Percentages of casesmeeting target were 92% and 90% respectively for routinecases with targeted 11 working days and majorseizure/manufacturing cases with targeted 44 working days.97% of the cases involving other illegal drug activities werecompleted within the targeted 120 working days.

The GL provided statistical figures from the results ofexamined case exhibits to relevant policy bureau and lawenforcement departments for monitoring trends of drug

abuse in Hong Kong. Among the number of cases examined in2019, cocaine remained to be the most common drug ofabuse, representing about 21% of the total cases, a 1%decrease when compared with that of 2018 (i.e. 22%);followed by methamphetamine hydrochloride (“ICE”),cannabis, ketamine and heroin which accounted for about20%, 19%, 11% and 10%. As compared with the figures of20%, 16%, 8% and 13% of the total cases respectivelyobtained for the same 4 drugs in 2018, the proportion ofcases involving “ICE” remained the same while there was adecrease in the proportion of cases involving heroin but anincrease in proportion of case involving cannabis andketamine.

According to the examination results, the monthly averagepurity of ketamine (76-85%) and heroin (57-85%) in 2019both showed an increase in the respective figures (53-82%)and (58-79%) obtained in 2018. The cocaine base purityshowed a decreased from 62-90% in 2018 to 54-80% in2019. The purity of methamphetamine hydrochlorideshowed a slight increase from 89-98% in 2018 to 94-99% in2019.

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The GL strives to provide comprehensive analytical services for enforcing the control of drugs andtheir chemical precursors involved in the contravention of the Dangerous Drugs Ordinance (Cap.134), the Pharmacy and Poisons Ordinance (Cap. 138), the Antibiotics Ordinance (Cap. 137), orthe Control of Chemicals Ordinance (Cap. 145). These services are mainly provided to the HKPFand the Customs & Excise Department as well as other law enforcement departments.

Controlled Drugs


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In 2019, the GL attended 22 illicit drug manufacturing /cultivation scenes, representing a decrease whencompared to 31 scenes attendance in 2018. Manufacturingof “Crack” cocaine (15 scene visits) together withcultivation of cannabis (5 scene visits) constituted a majorand significant proportion of the scene visits in 2019.

In response to the trends of continual emergence of newabused drugs and the implementation of new legislativeamendments in relation to drug control, the GL has longbeen striving to develop new analytical methods for newdrugs identification as well as quantification. The GL willcontinue to offer technical advice to the policy bureau inrelation to the legislation amendments for the control ofsuch abused drugs.

Work Statistics

FORENSIC SCIENCE

Controlled Drugs


Analytical Toxicology ServiceBiological specimens from thedeceased, suspects or victims aswell as relevant exhibits seized atdeath/crime scenes are examinedfor drugs and poisons so as to assistthe judiciary, coroners, pathologistsand the HKPF in death inquiriesand criminal investigations.

Urinalysis ServiceDrugs of abuse are examined inurine samples collected by theSocial Welfare Department, theCorrectional Services Department,the Methadone Clinics of theDepartment of Health and the HKPF(under the SuperintendentDiscretion Scheme), as well as thenon-government organisations andschools (under the Healthy SchoolProgramme of the NarcoticsDivision) in their respective druguse surveillance programmes.

Drink Driving ServiceAlcohol concentrations in blood orurine of drivers are determined soas to assist the HKPF to takeenforcement action in accordanceto the drink driving provisions inthe Road Traffic Ordinance (Cap.374).

Drug Driving ServiceBlood and urine samples of driversare examined for the presence ofdrugs including the six "specifiedillicit drugs" of zero-tolerance so asto assist the HKPF to takeenforcement action in accordanceto the Road Traffic Ordinance (Cap.374).

Hair Drug Testing ServiceDrugs of abuse are examinedin hair samples collected bynon-government organisations incollaboration with schools underthe Healthy School Programme.

Forensic Toxicology

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Forensic toxicology services provided by the GLencompass five operational areas: AnalyticalToxicology, Urinalysis, Drink Driving, Drug Drivingand Hair Drug Testing.

Forensic Toxicology


Work Statistics

Analytical Toxicology Work Statistics In 2019, a total of 2,179 cases involving 9,744samples were examined for analytical toxicology, with a decrease of about 3 % in the number ofcases and an increase of about 8% in the number of samples as compared to last year. Themajority of the cases were from the Forensic Pathology Service with 1,718 cases involving7,972 samples, equivalent to 79 % and 82 % of the total cases and samples respectively. Othercases were mainly from the HKPF, with 303 cases involving 1,250 samples, equivalent to about14 % and 13 % of the total cases and samples respectively. Amongst these examined cases in2019, about 61 % were found to have drugs or poisons.

Urinalysis Work Statistics For this service, the GL examined 15,501 cases for judicialconfirmation and 6,109 cases for methadone clinics in 2019, with a decrease of about 16% eachcompared to last year. There were 92% judicial confirmation (routine), 100% judicialconfirmation (enhanced probation) and 91% methadone clinics cases completed within thetarget turnaround time of 22, 6 and 11 working days respectively.

Drink Driving Service Work Statistics The GL handled totally 44 cases for this service in2019, with a decrease of 15% compared to last year. About 97% of the cases for alcoholdeterminations were completed within the target turnaround time of 11 working days.

Drug Driving Service Work Statistics The GL examined 11 cases for this service in 2019,with a significant increase of 83% compared to last year. All the drug driving cases werecompleted within the target turnaround time of 33 working days.

Hair Drug Testing Service Work Statistics The GL examined 1,578 hair samples for HealthySchool Programme in 2019, with a slight decrease of 3% compared to 2018.

30FORENSIC SCIENCE

Forensic Toxicology


Questioned Documents

Work Statistics

In 2019, the GL handled a total of 264 document examination cases underhandwriting and counterfeit/forgery categories and 140 express servicecases. The cases were mainly from the HKPF, contributing to about 76% ofthe total cases. For the express service cases, 81% of them were receivedfrom HKPF with the remaining 19% from the ImmD. The commonest typeof questioned documents examined in the express service cases in 2019was still to be the Hong Kong Smart Identity Card, amounting to 81% ofthe total express cases examined.

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The GL provides services to law enforcement departments on thedetermination of the authorship of questioned handwriting andsignatures and the authenticity and/or alteration of questioneddocuments. In addition, the GL offers express service for urgentexamination of the authenticity of travel and identity documents.



Same as last year, all pertinent pledged performance targets were met in 2019. 98%of the counterfeit/forgery cases (target: 90% completed within 30 working days),94% of handwriting cases (target: 85% completed within 66 working days) and100% of the express service cases (target: 99% completed within 1 working day)were completed within the targeted turnaround times.

Apart from the regular service, the GL continues to offer technical advice,professional support and testing to other government departments such as thetesting of quality of the new generations Hong Kong Smart Identity Card and e-Passport of the ImmD and security paper of the Government Logistics Department.

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Work Statistics

FORENSIC SCIENCE



33WORK DEVELOPMENT GL Annual Report 2019

Drug Quality

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Cases related to the contamination of N-nitrosodimethylamine (NDMA) in pharmaceuticals during manufacturing processescontinued in 2019. To address the stringent analytical requirements, the GL has improved the detection limit of NDMA bymodifying the existing extraction technique and LC-MS/MS method. For proteomic work, we have developed the identificationmethod for immunoglobulin G (IgG) in bovine colostrum tablets and the polypeptides (PSMA-11 and DOTA-TATE which areused as PET-scan tracer precursors for diagnostic and treatment of cancers).

To strengthen the analytical capability in Chinese medicines testing to support clients’ need, the GL has developed newscreening and quantitative methods for pesticide residues as well as qualitative methods for chemical markers, using gaschromatograph - tandem mass spectrometers and liquid chromatograph - tandem mass spectrometers. Inaddition, the GL continued to develop different rapid analytical methods for the determination of toxicalkaloids in Chinese medicines to cope with the urgent requests relating to the suspected poisoning cases.Furthermore, the GL has developed a method for determining content of sulfur dioxide with reference to thePharmacopeia of the People’s Republic of China to expand the analytical capability in Chinese herbalmedicines (Chms) testing.

Simultaneous analysis of multiple drugs adulterated in health products and pCms is a challenge. The GL hasdeveloped such method based on liquid chromatograph - tandem mass spectrometry. The findings have alsobeen presented in the AOAC Annual Meeting. The method has also been accredited under the Hong KongLaboratory Accreditation Scheme.

In addition, the GL has also developed a method for quantitative analysis of organochlorinated pesticidesresidues in Chinese materia medica using gas chromatography – tandem mass spectrometry technique andsuch method has been endorsed as a standard method by the members of the Scientific Committee (SC) andthe International Advisory Board (IAB) of the HKCMMS project.

One inductively coupled plasma mass spectrometer was installed for enhancing the testing capability ofheavy metals in pharmaceuticals. Instrumentation upgrade to ultra-high performance liquid chromatographwas completed for conducting the method verification and trial run studies in the HKCMMS project

Drug Quality

GL Annual Report 2019WORK DEVELOPMENT

During the year, the GL continued to develop new test methods tobroaden the scope of service provision concerning consumerprotection, such as the authentication of products derived frommusk deer and domestic chair stability test.

To enhance testing service for determination of heavy metals andhazardous elements content in consumer goods and toys andchildren’s products, an up-to-date inductively coupled plasmaoptical emission spectrometer (ICP-OES) was acquired to replacethe old testing equipment in 2019. Besides, new constant climaticchambers and walk-in type environmental chamber were installed

for conditioning samples in various sizes.

Similarly, to support the Department of Health and Customs andExcise Department in tobacco control, a bundle of majorinstruments including vaping machines, liquid chromatographwith tandem mass spectrometer and gas chromatograph withtandem mass spectrometer were acquired for analysis ofelectronic cigarettes and heated tobacco products.

In addition, in 2019, the GL became a Testing Member of theWorld Health Organization Tobacco Laboratory Network (WHO

TobLabNet). The WHO TobLabNet is a global network ofgovernment, academic, and independent laboratories aiming tostrengthen national and regional capacity for the testing andresearch of the contents and emissions of tobacco products, inaccordance with the World Health Organization FrameworkConvention on Tobacco Control (WHO FCTC). As one of the leadingtobacco testing laboratories in the region, the GL will continue ourtobacco testing and research activities to contribute to the WHO,such as training and developing test methods etc.

Consumer Protection

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Consumer Protection


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Food Safety and Environmental Hygiene

Food Safety and Environmental HygieneIn support of the implementation of the Pesticide Residues in Food Regulation (Cap. 132CM), the GLhas continued to develop more advanced analytical methods. The scope of accreditation in residuesanalysis in food was widened in January 2019 accordingly, including two single residue methods onethephon and glyphosate, and two multi-residue methods involving liquid chromatography tandemmass spectrometry and high resolution mass spectrometry respectively. The GL was classified as“Category A* ” laboratory in an European Union Proficiency Test on Pesticides in Food of Animal Origin(EUPT-AO14).

In light of the Food Adulteration (Metallic Contamination) (Amendment) Regulation 2018 coming intooperation on 1 November 2019, the GL developed advanced analytical methods on metal speciationanalysis for the new legislative requirements using hyphenated Inductively coupled plasma massspectrometry (ICPMS) technique.

On genetically modified (GM) food, the analytical capabilities have been extended to two new GMevents, maize GM event DP-4114-3 and potato GM event EH92-527-1 using real-time PCR.

The GL continued to outsource certain routine food testing work covering the testing of residues ofpesticides and veterinary drugs, preservatives, heavy metals and other contaminants to commercialtesting laboratories. The released resources were deployed to meet the demand of the work arisingfrom the amendments of food legislation, development of new testing methods and other duties whichincluded managing outsourcing activities, promoting chemical metrology work and enhancing thetesting capabilities of local laboratories. In March 2019, GL co-organised a “Metrology Workshop onMeasurement Uncertainty” with the Standards and Calibration Laboratory of the Innovation andTechnology Commission to share with the local testing community on the evaluation of measurementuncertainty in physical, chemical and biological testing.

* https://www.eurl-pesticides.eu/userfiles/file/General_Protocol_v_8(1).pdf


On international comparisons, the GL organised two Asia Pacific Metrology Programme (APMP) supplementarycomparisons on the analysis of organochlorine pesticides in ginseng root (APMP.QM-S11 with associated pilot studyAPMP.QM-P32) and on the determination of elements in seafood (APMP.QM-S19) respectively. Two proficiency testingprogrammes (APLAC T106: in parallel with APMP.QM-S11 using the same test sample for examination, and APLAC T110:Toxic Metal/Metalloid Species in Powdered Rice) were organised under the auspices of Asia Pacific Metrology Programmeand Asia Pacific Laboratory Accreditation Cooperation (APMP - APLAC) Joint Proficiency Testing Working Group. The finalreports on APMP.QM-S11 and its associated pilot study and the proficiency testing programme were approved andpublished.

Moreover, the GL is Hong Kong, China’s Designated Institute for metrology in chemistry and biology, and has theresponsibility of establishing and disseminating traceability of related measurements to support the testing community inHong Kong through the production of certified reference materials and provision of calibration services/reference valueswhen required. The latter is mainly via the organisation of reference value assigned proficiency testing programmes.Relatedly, The GL has, in 2019, successfully gone through the first re-assessment of reference material produceraccreditation in accordance with the ISO 17034:2016 requirements and extended its scope on the production of two newcertified reference materials: the “High purity Estradiol” and “Toxic Elements and Inorganic Arsenic in Rice”.

As regards quality management, the Analytical and Advisory Services Division has been working hard to ensure a smoothtransition from the old quality system in compliance with the ISO/IEC 17025:2005 requirements to a new quality systembased on the ISO/IEC 17025:2017 standard by the end of 2019. Great efforts were made in revising the divisional qualitymanuals and sectional work documents to address the requirements as stipulated in the new standard, arranging internalaudits based on the new quality system and coordinating on-site transition assessments cum routine surveillance visits andreassessments with the Hong Kong Accreditation Service. Following the completion of two rounds of transitionassessments in June to August 2019 and December 2019 respectively, which involved a total of 17 working days and 11overseas and local technical assessors/experts, as well as the implementation of appropriate follow-up actions to addressthe observations raised by the assessment teams, the Division successfully obtained the ISO/IEC 17025:2017 accreditationin January 2020.

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Food Safety and Environmental Hygiene


Environmental ProtectionIn response to the Stockholm Convention on Persistent OrganicPollutants (POPs), the GL keeps going to carry out methoddevelopment and validation work for the analysis of new POPs invarious environmental samples.

With the allocation of new resources, the GL continues to rendersupport to the EPD and the MD for enhancing the analyticalservices for handling marine environmental incidents.

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New equipment/facilities acquired in 2019 for analysis of samples related to marine environmental incidents

Portable Gas Chromatographic System

Ion Chromatographic System

Environmental Protection


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With technological advancement and the initiative on developingHong Kong into a Smart City, there is a growing trend of findingdigital evidence in the form of still images or video footagerecorded by security cameras, vehicle cameras and mobile phonespertaining to criminal cases and major incidents. In order to assistthe Courts of Law to evaluate the information provided by digitalevidence in a fair trial, the GL has been working hard to establish anew Digital Evidence Unit to provide forensic examination serviceson Forensic Video Analysis and Traffic Accident Reconstructionusing Digital Evidence.

The Digital Evidence Unit is responsible for developingexamination methods using advanced Forensic Video Analysissoftware and image processing software to exact relevantinformation from still images and video footage. The DigitalEvidence Unit also conducts image simulation tests for imagecomparison. Our professional staff has attended professionaltraining courses by overseas experts and are internationallyrecognized.

WORK DEVELOPMENT

Digital Evidence Examination


TRAINING, SHARING and EXCHANGE 40GL Annual Report 2019

Title / Article Author(s)

Antioxidants and PreservativesEncyclopedia of Analytical Science (3rd Edition) Volume 3, Elsevier, 2019

JTF Lau and YC Wong

Final report for CCQM-K141: High polarity analytes in food - Enrofloxacin and sulfadiazine in bovine tissue (CCQM-K141)Metrologia 56, (2019) Tech. Suppl. 08005

A Windust#, G McRae#, J Meija#, Z Mester#, JE Melanson#, M Croft#, L Johnston#, J Murby#, ECP do Rego#, FGM Violante#, JLN Fernandes#, W Wollinger#, RVP Leal#, H Li#, Q Zhang#, Y Gao#, D Bohm#, J Polzer#, E Kakoulidis#, P Giannikopoulou#, C Alexopoulos#, C Ho, SCM Yau, B Kim#, SW Hyung#, S Lee#, SY Baek#, A Krylov#, E Lopushanskaya#, M Belyakov#, Q Liu#, J Wang#, T Lu#, TL Teo#, K Shearman#, AC Gören#, B Binici#, LR Miguel# and C Hopley#

Final report on APMP.QM-S10: Elements in food supplementMetrologia 56, (2019) Tech. Suppl. 08009

N Hatamleh#, M Puelles#, H Lozano#, M Khan#, L Yang#, IG Pihillagawa#, K Nadeau#, Z Mester#, C Wei#, X Li#, DWM Sin, WH Fung, YT Tsoi, L Bergamaschi#, TO Okumu#, C Uribe#, A Stakheev#, R Shin#, R Jaćimović#, U Thiengmanee#, H Klich#, J Raouf#, N Chaabene#, S Chaieb# and HT Ngô#

Final report of APMP.QM-S11: Organochlorine pesticides in ginseng rootMetrologia 56, (2019) Tech. Suppl. 08017

WF Wong, WH Lam, WH Fung, BM Muendo#, GM Karau#, K Hanen#, A Silva#, Q Zhang#, N Sudsiri# and D Styarini#

Competency for Chinese Handwriting and Signature ExaminationJournal of Forensic Science 64(2), (2019), 607-615

CK Li

Toxicology19th INTERPOL International Forensic Science Managers Symposium Review Papers (2019), 457-562

WS Chan, GF Wong, CW Hung, YN Wong, KM Fung, WK Lee, KL Dao, CW Leung, KM Lo and WM Lee

Forensic drug analysis of chloro-N,N-dimethylcathinone (CDC) and chloroethcathinone (CEC): identification of 4-CDC and 4-CEC in drug seizures and differentiation from their ring-substituted positional isomersForensic Science International 298, (2019), 268-277

WC Cheng and WC Wong

Prevalence of drugs of abuse in testing of illicit drug seizures and urinalysis of selected population in Hong KongForensic Science International 299, (2019), 6-16

WC Cheng and KL Dao

Population data of 23 autosomal STR loci in Hong Kong ChineseForensic Science International: Genetics 39, (2019), e24-25

SW Lin, TT Lam and SCY Ip

Haplotype data of 27 Y-STR loci in Hong Kong ChineseForensic Science International: Genetics 38, (2019), e14-15

SCY Ip, SW Lin and TT Lam

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# Non-Government-Laboratory Staff

PUBLICATIONS

GL Annual Report 2019TRAINING, SHARING and EXCHANGE

Title Event Venue Presenter

Comparison of Dioxin Congener Profile in Food (Poster Session) 39th International Symposium on Halogenated Persistent Organic Pollutants

Kyoto, Japan CS Ng

Determination of Pentachlorophenol in PUF/filter (Air) by Gas Chromatography – Electron Capture Negative Ion Mass Spectrometry (GC–ECNIMS)

39th International Symposium on Halogenated Persistent Organic Pollutants

Kyoto, Japan KW Cheng

Application of Advanced Instrumentation Technology for the Determination of OrganochlorinePesticide Residues in Chinese Materia Medica

11th International Advisory Board (IAB) Meeting of the HKCMMS Hong Kong, China KL Chan

Food Complaint Cases Investigation and Survey of Total Volatile Nitrogen Content in a Variety of Meat in Hong Kong

9th International Symposium on Recent Advances in Food Analysis (RAFA 2019)

Prague, Czech Republic

LS Chen

Analysis of Botulinum Neurotoxin A (BoNT/A) in Pharmaceutical Products based on Proteolytic Activity and Signature Markers

30th International Symposium on Pharmaceutical and Biomedical Analysis

Tel Aviv, Israel YC Wong

Detection of illegally added pharmaceuticals in the medications from registered Chinese medicine practitioners

48th International Symposium on High-Performance Liquid Phase Separations and Related Techniques 2019

Milan, Italy HK Lam

Analysis of Botulinum Neurotoxin A (BoNT/A) in Pharmaceutical Products based on Signature Markers Isranalytica 2019 Tel Aviv, Israel YK Cheung

Experience Sharing on Implementation of ISO/IEC 17025:2017 and ISO 17034: 2016 at Government Laboratory of Hong Kong, China

APMP TCQS Workshop 2019 Sydney, Australia MF Lo

Pesticide multi-residue Analysis by LC-MS/MS and LC-HR-MS with multiple calibration techniques 133rd AOAC International Annual Meeting And Exposition Denver, USA CH Lam

Mole: Definition and facts, now and in the future Metrology Symposium 2019 Hong Kong, China WF Wong

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PRESENTATIONS


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Title Event Venue Presenter

Evaluation of Measurement Uncertainties in Chemistry Measurements Metrology Workshop on Measurement Uncertainty Hong Kong, China YT Wong

Evaluation of Measurement Uncertainties in Biology Measurements Metrology Workshop on Measurement Uncertainty Hong Kong, China HM Tang

Development work related to the Food Adulteration (Metallic Contamination) (Amendment) Regulation 2018

Seminar on Testing and Certification for Food Safety Hong Kong, China HS Chu

How Metrology Supports Measurements in Food Safety Area APMP - Food Safety Focusing Group Workshop Sydney, Australia TC Cheung

Evidence from Crime Scene in Hong Kong (Plenary lecture) International CSI Conference 2019 Incheon, Korea YK Cheng

3D Crime Scene Reconstruction International CSI Conference 2019 Incheon, Korea YK Cheng

The Mystery of a Fatal Fire and Explosion Incident: a Fire Case Sharing from Hong Kong The 11th Asian Forensic Sciences Network (AFSN) Annual Meeting and Symposium, Ho Chi Minh City, Vietnam

Ho Chi Minh City, Vietnam

YM Cheung

Determination of Vehicle Speeds from Video Recordings by CCTV and Vehicle On-board Cameras The 11th Asian Forensic Sciences Network (AFSN) Annual Meeting and Symposium, Ho Chi Minh City, Vietnam

Ho Chi Minh City, Vietnam

CN Tam

The development and prospect of proficiency testing programmes on documents examination (Plenary lecture)

The 8th National Symposium on the Theory and Practice of Documents Examination

Kunming, China CK Li

Workshop on Stamp Examination Annual Conference of Australasian Society of Forensic Document Examiner Incorporated (ASFDE Inc.)

Sydney, Australia CK Li

The emergence of deschloro-N-ethyl-ketamine, a ketamine analog, in drug seizures and drug driving cases in Hong Kong

The 57th Annual Meeting of The International Association of Forensic Toxicologists (TIAFT)

Birmingham, UK WC Cheng

PRESENTATIONS


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OUR VISITORS

2019/1/25 Visit by Mr Tom HEILANDT, Secretary,Codex Alimentarius Commission (Codex), Italy

GL Annual Report 2019GL Annual Report 2019TRAINING, SHARING and EXCHANGE

2019/4/10 Visit by Mr. Zhang Taolin, Deputy Director, Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Affairs of the People's Republic of China

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OUR VISITORS

2019/5/23 The Hong Kong Police Force「Project Legacy」


2019/5/8 Visit by Mr Niu Yong, Deputy Chief of the Forensic Science Working Office, Criminal Investigation Department, Ministry of Public Security, the People's Republic of China

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2019/8/20 Visit by Miss Erica NG Lai-man, Deputy Secretary for Food and Health (Food) 2, Hong Kong Food and Health Bureau

2019/6/19 Visit by Minister Ni Yue-feng, General Administration of Customs, the People's Republic of China

OUR VISITORS


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2019/11/19 Visit by Ms Josephine CHEUNG Pui-lin, Senior Principal Executive Officer (General Grades), Hong Kong Civil Service Bureau

2019/11/11 Visit by Mr Joshua Law Chi-kong, Secretary for the Civil Service, Hong Kong Civil Service Bureau

OUR VISITORS


2019

Government Laboratory, Hong Kong SAR©The Government of the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region 2019 All rights reserved.This report shall not be reproduced in full or in part without the permission of the Government Chemist.

www.govtlab.gov.hk

Annual Report

Government Laboratory HKSAR