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Following is a question by the Hon Starry Lee and a written reply by the Secretary for Food and Health, Dr York Chow, in the Legislative Council today (February 3):
Question:
It has been reported that during an anti-narcotics operation of the Police before Christmas last year, it was uncovered that a bar on an upper floor of a building in Tsim Sha Tsui had violated the licensing conditions, as about 400 customers had gathered in that bar which is allowed to serve only 49 customers. Some members of the trade have pointed out that some operators of entertainment establishments violated the licensing conditions for the sake of profits, and it is common that the number of people in an entertainment establishment exceeds the limit. The consequence would be unthinkable should an accident occur. At present, quite a number of entertainment establishments are located on the upper floors of composite buildings, which are for both commercial and residential purposes. The safety of such establishments is regulated by various ordinances, including the Fire Safety (Commercial Premises) Ordinance (Cap. 502), the Fire Safety (Buildings) Ordinance (Cap. 572) as well as the Karaoke Establishments Ordinance (Cap. 573) and its subsidiary legislation. In this connection, will the Government inform this Council of:
(a) the number of entertainment establishments in composite buildings in each District Council district in Hong Kong, together with a breakdown by the type of entertainment establishment; and
(b) the number of routine inspections carried out by the authorities of the entertainment establishments in (a) in each of the past three years, together with a breakdown by the type of entertainment establishment; among such inspections, the respective numbers of those which uncovered that the numbers of people in the establishments exceeded the maximum numbers of people stipulated in the licensing conditions and the establishments had violated the aforesaid ordinances; the usual number of people in excess of the limit; the respective number of prosecutions instituted by the authorities in respect of these two types of situations, as well as the number of cases in which the persons involved were convicted and the usual penalties?
Reply:
President,
(a) Entertainment establishments in Hong Kong are mainly bars, karaoke establishments, night clubs, commercial bathhouses, massage establishments and mahjong/tin kau parlours. The number of various types of entertainment establishments by District Council district is at Annex 1. Some licensing authorities (including the Liquor Licensing Board (LLB), Food and Environmental Hygiene Department, Television and Entertainment Licensing Authority and the Police) do not have the breakdown statistics on the number of entertainment establishments in composite buildings.
(b) The Security Bureau has advised that according to the Dutiable Commodities Ordinance (Cap. 109), there are two categories of liquor selling premises: premises with club liquor licences and premises with general liquor licences. Premises in the former category are required to be issued with certificates of compliance for clubs by Home Affairs Department to be allowed to sell liquor. On the certificate of compliance, a capacity limit will be imposed as a condition. For general premises with liquor licences, the Police will, by making reference to the location of the premises and having regard to public safety, recommend the LLB to impose a capacity limit as a licensing condition.
As the enforcement authority under the Dutiable Commodities Ordinance, the Police will keep the operation of premises holding valid liquor licences under close watch and conduct inspections from time to time to ensure that they comply with the statutory requirements. The Police will take appropriate actions against any illegal practices or non-compliance. Generally speaking, the Police will issue summonses to licensees who have breached the licensing conditions. The Police will even recommend to the licensing authority to reject application for renewal of licences or revoke the licences concerned if serious problems are found. The Police has not further categorised the cases of non-compliance by individual premises at this stage and hence does not have statistics on the number of prosecutions instituted in respect of these cases of non-compliance. Any person in breach of the conditions imposed under the liquor licence commits an offence. The maximum penalty for the offence is a fine of HK$100,000 and imprisonment for one year.
Besides, the Police will also inspect other public entertainment establishments in accordance to the law to prevent crime. The Fire Services Department (FSD) will examine the fire safety condition of liquor selling premises, night clubs, commercial bathhouses, massage establishments and karaoke establishments and carry out fire hazard abatement operations. These operations include checking and ensuring exits of the premises are free from obstruction and are not locked, smoke stop doors are properly closed and the premises' fire service installations are regularly maintained. The FSD will also ensure fire safety regulations are not breached. The number of inspections carried out by the FSD of the relevant entertainment establishments in the past three years are shown in Annex 2.
Ends/Wednesday, February 3, 2010
Issued at HKT 15:18
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