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LCQ8: Throwing objects from heights in public rental housing estates
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     Following is a question by the Hon Kwok Wai-keung, and a written reply by the Secretary for Transport and Housing, Professor Anthony Cheung Bing-leung, in the Legislative Council today (April 24):

Question:

     As incidents of throwing/falling objects from heights in public rental housing (PRH) estates have occurred repeatedly in recent years, the Housing Department (HD) has installed close-circuit television monitoring systems (monitoring systems) at the black spots of a number of estates, so as to deter such acts and gather evidence for enforcement of the Marking Scheme for Estate Management Enforcement in Public Housing Estates (Marking Scheme) by HD against such offenders or for prosecution by the Police.  In this connection, will the Government inform this Council:

(a)  of the PRH estates currently installed with monitoring systems, the number of systems, as well as the respective models, functions and costs of such systems, set out separately by District Council district;

(b)  of the relevant information on incidents of throwing objects from heights that occurred in PRH estates during the period from 2009 to the end of March this year (set out in the table 1):

(c)  of the number of criminal prosecutions instituted in the past three years against PRH tenants for throwing objects from heights; among such cases, the number of those in which the information recorded by the monitoring systems had been used as evidence; whether there were cases in which prosecution could not be instituted ultimately because there had been "blind spots" in the monitoring systems concerned, resulting in failure to record the related situations of throwing objects; if there were such cases, of the number and the details concerned;

(d)  of the number of appeals lodged with HD by those PRH tenants who had been allotted penalty points for throwing objects from heights and the number of successful appeals, in the past three years; the details of the existing appeal mechanism; whether any regular review has been conducted to see if such mechanism is fair to the appellants; if not, of the reasons for that;

(e)  of the number of PRH tenants whose tenancies were terminated, since the implementation of the Marking Scheme in 2003, because a total of 16 or more penalty points had been allotted to them for throwing objects from heights; and

(f)  of the current establishment of HD's Special Operation Teams against Throwing Objects from Height; and the respective numbers of inspections conducted and prosecutions instituted by such teams in the past three years?

Reply:

President,

     To deter and prevent incidents involving objects being thrown from height, the Housing Department (HD) has installed surveillance systems, commonly called the "eyes in the sky", at black spots where throwing object from height have occurred in the past in public rental housing (PRH) estates.  To comply with the requirements under the Personal Data (Privacy) Ordinance, their deployment and recordings taken at each location will be reviewed regularly.  To allow for effective follow up action, apart from the daily patrols carried out by estate staff, the HD has set up 12 Special Squads headed by Housing Officers to take enforcement action.  The HD has also procured the service of 12 Special Operation Teams of former police officers for deployment to estates by turns to detect cases of throwing objects from height.

     To enhance the deterrent effect on the unscrupulous and dangerous act of throwing objects from height by the PRH residents, seven points or 15 points would be allotted under the Marking Scheme for Estate Management Enforcement in Public Housing Estates (Marking Scheme) according to the seriousness of the falling object incidents to any household identified to have been involved with such an incident.  Moreover, the offender will also be prosecuted under the Public Cleansing and Prevention of Nuisances Regulation.  Since the introduction of the Marking Scheme in 2003, the situation of objects dropped from height has improved.  The Hong Kong Housing Authority (HA) will issue a Notice-to-Quit to terminate the subject tenancy if the tenant accrues 16 penalty points or above within two years.

     My reply to the six-part question of Honourable Kwok is as follows:

(a)  There are three surveillance systems for prevention of falling objects from height, viz Falling Object Monitoring System (FOMS), Mobile Digital Closed Circuit Television System (MDCCTV) and Mobile Surveillance System (MSS).

(i)  FOMS

     Since 1998, the HD has introduced the FOMS which employs video tapes for recording purposes.  The FOMS consists of CCTV cameras installed on the roof top of a domestic block so as to assist estate management staff to investigate incidents of throwing objects from height.  Currently, there are 96 sets of FOMS and the cost per system is approximately $190,000.

(ii)  MDCCTV

     The MDCCTV was introduced in 2004 by the HD using more advanced digital technology.  It is designed to be re-locatable and hence can be deployed on a need and rotation basis among estates.

     The cameras of the system are usually installed on roof top or in a vacant flat, with camera images recorded in a digital video recorder.  The system automatically monitors the change in the television image and can detect a falling object larger than a certain size, and the system would immediately alert the management staff concerned.  Currently, there are 21 sets of MDCCTV and the cost per system is approximately $200,000.
 
(iii)  MSS

     The MSS was introduced by the HD in 2010 using the latest technology.  It is also designed to be re-locatable and hence can be deployed on a need and rotation basis among estates.

     The MSS, with one high definition camera, is compact and of light-weight.  It is easy to install and can be mounted on roof top, building facades or lamp poles.  The MSS has the advantages of quick deployment and high mobility.  A data link can be set up between the MSS and the estate management office, so that estate management staff can perform remote control on the camera for downloading and real-time monitoring.  Currently, there are 28 sets of MSS and the cost per system is approximately $30,000.

     The HD has demarcated its PRH estates into six management regions according to geographical locations.  MDCCTV and MSS are co-used by the estates in each management region.  The deployment of the surveillance systems for prevention of falling objects from height according to management regions is detailed at the Annex.

(b)  For cases of throwing objects from height in PRH estates, information is provided as follows (see table 2) -

(c)  In the past three years, out of some 310 prosecution cases for throwing objects from height, about 70 successful cases used the evidence collected from surveillance systems.  On the other hand, prosecutions of five cases in the past three years cannot be brought up because of unclear image or incomplete image during recording of the whole incident of throwing objects from height.

(d)  According to the existing appeal mechanism under the Marking Scheme, tenants can appeal to the HD against the allotment of points for throwing objects from height.  In the past three years, there were 22 appeal cases from PRH tenants against point-allotment for throwing objects from height, 17 of which were successful.  The HA will issue a Notice-to-quit for termination of tenancy to tenants accruing up to a total of 16 points or above within two years.  However, the concerned tenants may make an appeal to the Appeal Panel (Housing), which is independent from the HA.  The existing mechanism provides diverse appeal channels at different levels to handle tenants' appeals equitably and has all along been operating smoothly.  Nevertheless, the systems are reviewed from time to time to ensure that they are in step with the overall community situation and tenants' aspirations.

(e)  Since the implementation of the Marking Scheme, five cases with misdeeds involving throwing objects from height, accrued 16 points or above and had their tenancies terminated.

(f)  As mentioned above, the HD has procured the service of 12 Special Operation Teams of former police officers for deployment to estates by turns to detect cases of throwing objects from height in addition to the enforcement actions taken by 12 Special Squads headed by Housing Officers of the HD.  Each team consists of one guard supervisor and two security guards.  There is an average of some 2 000 operations for detection conducted in some 160 PRH estates and 80 prosecuted cases on average per year in the past three years.

Ends/Wednesday, April 24, 2013
Issued at HKT 11:59

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