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The Government was very concerned about recent media reports on the Driving Offence Points system for traffic offences, a spokesman for the Transport and Housing Bureau said today (July 3).
"The current system has room for improvement regarding serving of summons on drivers who have incurred 15 points for appearance in court. The Transport Department is not empowered to reject these drivers' applications for licence or to take other corresponding actions," the spokesman said.
"We take the matter very seriously. The Transport Department will consult the Police, the Justice Department and the Judiciary and review the existing system and legislation immediately to identify areas for improvement," he said.
"We understand the public's concern about this matter and will work out remedial measures carefully and table legislative changes for vetting in the new Legislative Council session," he said.
At present, about 740 drivers have incurred 15 points or above but cannot be served with summonses. Of them, 110 have accumulated two or more summons. The Transport Department will follow up these cases vigorously by tracking down through various channels the correct address of the drivers involved in order to serve the summonses. It will also refer those suspected cases of deceit or other criminal acts to the Police and the Independent Commission Against Corruption for investigation.
The spokesman reminds all driving licence holders that they were responsible for providing correct addresses to the Transport Department and updating the addresses after removal.
"Regarding suggestions that emergency laws be enacted to define 'summons to be served', we believe that this will have extensive implications, and will be unfair to some people who cannot be served with the summons for a good reason. In this regard, we must examine the feasibility of such a proposal carefully. We are committed to reviewing the existing ordinance for improvement in the next few months, with a view to submitting legislative proposals to the new Legislative Council," the spokesman said.
Ends/Thursday, July 3, 2008
Issued at HKT 19:05
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