In this undated photo, residents stand in line for takeout meals at a busy restaurant in Admiralty, Hong Kong. (CALVIN NG / CHINA DAILY)
HONG KONG – The Hong Kong Special Administrative Region government said on Sunday that it has approved the applications of 350,000 residents to get a one-off HK$10,000 ($1,273) unemployment subsidy.
Police have also recently taken actions on 39 fraud cases where the suspects provided false information when applying for the scheme, the government said
In a statement, the government said the total number of beneficiaries of the Temporary Unemployment Relief Scheme far exceeded the original estimate of 300,000. There were 470,000 applicants.
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"The scheme is a targeted, temporary measure to provide a one-off subsidy of HK$10,000 to low-to-middle persons who have lost their jobs due to the fifth wave of the epidemic and tightening of social distancing measures to reduce their financial stress before they find another job,"the statement reads.
The government said it earlier reminded applicants who got rejected to submit requests for a review of their applications by July 8.
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Among the 30,690 requests received by the deadline, around 27,500 applications were eventually granted subsidies while the decision to reject was upheld for about 3,190 applications.
Moreover, a lenient approach was adopted throughout the vetting and review process by exercising discretion to approve appropriate cases, the government said.
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It added that those who were granted subsidies but turn out to be ineligible should return the money.
Police have also recently taken actions on 39 fraud cases where the suspects provided false information when applying for the scheme, the government said.