The Government announced today (September 4) the appointments to the new term of the Private Columbaria Licensing Board.

     The Chief Executive reappointed the Director of Food and Environmental Hygiene as the Chairperson of the Licensing Board and appointed Dr James Wong Kong-tin as the Deputy Chairperson. In addition, three incumbent members, namely Ms Cally Chan Shan-shan, Dr Cheung Tin-cheung and Mr Leung Sze-kit, were reappointed, and Mr Cheng Kit-hung, Mr Cheung King-wai, Ms Winnie Fan Chui-wah and Ms Christina Maisenne Lee were appointed as new members of the Licensing Board. Their terms of office will take effect from September 8, 2026, for a period of three years. 

     The Secretary for Environment and Ecology, Mr Tse Chin-wan, said, "The members of the Licensing Board come from various fields, including legal, building, engineering, business, accounting and social services. They possess professional expertise and extensive public service experience. I believe that they will provide the expertise and invaluable advice necessary for the Board to discharge its statutory functions."

     "I am sincerely thankful for the contribution made by the retiring Deputy Chairperson, Mr Ip Kwok-him, and the three retiring members, Mr James Mathew Fong, Dr Ho Chi-ming and Miss Alice Wan Ngai-teck, in particular for providing invaluable insights during the review and amendment of the Private Columbaria Ordinance (Cap. 630) which was important in enhancing the regulatory regime for private columbaria."
         
     The Licensing Board is a statutory body established under section 8(1) of the Private Columbaria Ordinance (Cap. 630) for regulating the operation and management of private columbaria, in particular for handling the applications for specified instruments (licence, exemption and temporary suspension of liability), issuing relevant guidelines and codes of practice, and handling complaints, etc.

     The membership list of the new term of the Licensing Board is as follows:

Ex-officio member
Director of Food and Environmental Hygiene (Chairperson)

Members appointed on an ad personam basis
Dr James Wong Kong-tin (Deputy Chairperson) 
Ms Cally Chan Shan-shan
Mr Cheng Kit-hung 
Mr Cheung King-wai 
Dr Cheung Tin-cheung
Ms Winnie Fan Chui-wah 
Ms Christina Maisenne Lee 
Mr Leung Sze-kit

Ends/Friday, September 4, 2026
Issued at HKT 11:00

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