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Following is a question by the Hon Kwok Ka-ki and a written reply by the Secretary for Food and Health, Dr Ko Wing-man, in the Legislative Council today (April 17):
Question:
It has been reported that the Food and Environmental Hygiene Department (FEHD) issued a "Notice to Remove Obstruction" (Notice) under the Public Health and Municipal Services Ordinance (Cap. 132) to an elderly scavenger at Wellington Street in Central on December 5, 2012, ordering her to remove her articles placed on the road and the pavement within four hours, or else further law enforcement actions would be taken. Some members of the public have pointed out that there are commercial publicity materials placed for a long time on quite a number of streets in various districts in Hong Kong, while some print media place and distribute newspapers and magazines at various MTR exits, pedestrian crossings and major pedestrian links, and some organisations also set up booths on the streets as well as hang up banners to propagate their beliefs in various districts. They have queried why the authorities do not take law enforcement actions against the people concerned. In this connection, will the Government inform this Council:
(a) of the number of complaints received by FEHD in the past five years from various districts in Hong Kong about the articles of elderly scavengers causing street obstruction and becoming an eyesore, etc., and among them, the respective numbers of cases in respect of which FEHD had issued Notices and instituted prosecutions;
(b) of the number of complaints received by FEHD in the past five years from various districts in Hong Kong about commercial activities (including demonstration and promotion of commercial products as well as registration for telecommunications services such as broadband connections and mobile network, etc.) and publicity activities of organisations causing street obstruction, etc., and among them, the respective numbers of cases in respect of which FEHD had issued Notices and instituted prosecutions;
(c) of the number of complaints received by FEHD in the past five years from various districts in Hong Kong concerning print media placing and distributing newspapers and magazines at various MTR exits, pedestrian crossings and major pedestrian links, and among them, the respective numbers of cases in respect of which FEHD had issued Notices and instituted prosecutions; and
(d) whether the authorities will, upon receipt of the complaints mentioned in (a) to (c), determine if law enforcement actions are to be taken on account of the identities of the persons under complaint, the numbers of complaints against them and the gravity of the cases; if they will, of the specific standards of and legal basis for law enforcement?
Reply:
President,
Under Section 22(2)(a) of the Public Health and Municipal Services Ordinance (Cap. 132), if any article or thing is found to be so placed as to cause obstruction to any scavenging operation, the Food and Environmental Hygiene Department (FEHD) may cause to be served upon the owner of such article, or, where the owner cannot be found or ascertained, cause to be attached to such article, a notice requiring the owner to remove the same within a period of four hours after the notice is so served or attached; and to prevent the recurrence of such obstruction by the article during such period, as may be specified in the notice. In case of non-compliance, FEHD will remove the article concerned.
The location mentioned in the question is the junction of Wellington Street and Gutzlaff Street in Central. There, the pavements are narrow while the pedestrian and vehicular flows are high. The location is also home to many restaurants and shops. The activities of scavengers handling a large quantity of waste paper/recyclables are liable to cause environmental hygiene problems and street obstruction there. It has been the subject of frequent complaints received by FEHD. The District Management Committee of the Central and Western District Council is also very concerned about the problem of obstruction of pavements and carriageways by scavengers who pack and stack waste paper/articles at the aforesaid location. It has requested FEHD and relevant government departments to follow up the issue and report to the Committee on a regular basis.
According to records, the FEHD received a complaint in the afternoon of December 5 last year about a scavenger placing and handling miscellaneous articles on the roadside of the above-mentioned location, causing obstruction and environmental hygiene problems. Investigations by FEHD revealed that the scavenger concerned had placed a large quantity of articles collected, such as cardboard, etc., on the street and caused obstruction. She was given verbal warnings but failed to remove the articles as instructed. FEHD officers thus attached a notice to the articles in accordance with the said Ordinance. Subsequent checking by FEHD showed that the articles in question had been removed.
Since then, the scavenger concerned has not been found obstructing scavenging operations or affecting environmental hygiene again.
My reply to the various parts of the question is as follows:
(a) The number of complaints received by FEHD in the past five years about street obstruction and environmental hygiene problems caused by articles belonging to the scavengers in various districts and details of the enforcement actions are listed in Annex 1.
(b) The number of complaints received by FEHD in the past five years about street obstruction caused by commercial activities and publicity campaigns of organisations in various districts and details of the enforcement actions are listed in Annex 2.
(c) The number of complaints received by FEHD in the past five years about street obstruction caused by the distribution of newspapers and magazines in various districts and details of the enforcement actions are listed in Annex 3.
(d) The core function of FEHD is to upkeep environmental hygiene. Hence, it accords priority to handling cases involving obstruction to scavenging operations, and takes enforcement action (including issuing warning to or instituting prosecution against the persons concerned) under Section 22(2)(a) of the Public Health and Municipal Services Ordinance (Cap. 132) in the light of the circumstances and findings in non-compliance cases.
In general, FEHD officers will first issue a warning to the owner of articles causing obstruction. Enforcement action will be taken as appropriate in accordance with Section 4A of the Summary Offences Ordinance (Cap. 228) only if the warning is not heeded. Before initiating prosecutions, FEHD officers will determine whether there is adequate evidence to take enforcement action under the Ordinance, taking into consideration factors including whether the walkway is clear, the size of the articles as well as the duration and location of their placement, and whether they will cause any obstruction or inconvenience to pedestrians. According to observation by FEHD, the distribution of newspapers and magazines does not normally cause any obstruction to scavenging operations.
Under Section 104A(1) of the Public Health and Municipal Services Ordinance (Cap. 132), except with the written permission of the Authority, a person displaying or affixing a bill or poster on any Government land commits an offence. If any display of commercial publicity materials on the street is found, FEHD officers will remove them immediately. Prosecution will be instituted immediately against anyone found affixing a bill or poster at the scene. FEHD will also institute prosecutions under Section 104D(1) of the above Ordinance against persons who may benefit from the display of such publicity materials if there is adequate evidence.
Ends/Wednesday, April 17, 2013
Issued at HKT 16:01
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