Following is the transcript of remarks by the Chief Secretary for Administration, Mr Matthew Cheung Kin-chung, at a media session in relation to the traffic accident on Tai Po Road conducted at Alice Ho Miu Ling Nethersole Hospital last night (February 10):
 
Reporter: What kind of supports will the government provide to those who are injured and family members...

Chief Secretary for Administration: We will provide whatever assistance is required for the families affected. We feel deeply sorry about this very, very serious accident. The Social Welfare Department and also the Home Affairs Department are manning emergency desks at all hospitals concerned. And the Social Welfare Department will also provide case-workers on individual case-management basis to follow up on the needs of individual families affected. And also, of course, if there is a need, psychological, clinical services and counselling services will also be provided. In terms of financial assistance, the government, of course, renders the help. But I noticed that there are quite a number of philanthropic organisations have already expressed the willingness to help and this is very, very encouraging.

     But at the end, we need to really find out the cause of this very serious accident. That is why the Chief Executive has decided to appoint a judge to conduct an independent inquiry into the whole case, looking into the wider perspective, the whole question of safety, particularly in terms of passengers' safety in relation to franchised buses and minbuses, etc., in order to prevent a similar accident from happening in the future.

     Thank you.

(Please also refer to the Chinese portion of the transcript.)

Ends/Sunday, February 11, 2018
Issued at HKT 0:32

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