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Following is a question by the Hon Chan Hak-kan and a written reply by the Secretary for Security, Mr Lai Tung-kwok, in the Legislative Council today (November 12):
Question:
In recent years, it has often been reported that parallel trading activities have caused nuisance to residents in the North District. Recently, some residents in the North District have relayed to me that parallel traders use public transport (such as taxis, public light buses and cross-boundary coaches) to carry goods, causing inconvenience to other passengers. Regarding operations to combat parallel trading activities, will the Government inform this Council:
(1) as section 41(1) of the Road Traffic (Public Service Vehicles) Regulations (Cap. 374, sub. leg. D) (the Regulations) stipulates that no goods other than personal hand baggage shall be carried on a public bus, public light bus or taxi, whether the authorities took law enforcement actions under this provision in the past three years; if they did, of the number of prosecutions made for each class of vehicles;
(2) given that the Regulations do not impose a limit on the size of baggage that may be carried by a public light bus passenger, whether the authorities will examine amending the Regulations in this respect, so as to prevent parallel traders from using public light buses to carry goods;
(3) whether it has carried out inter-departmental joint operations to combat parallel trading activities which are carried out with the use of public transport;
(4) given that many people carry out parallel trading activities via the Lok Ma Chau Control Point and the Lok Ma Chau Spur Line Control Point at present, whether the authorities have stepped up, in collaboration with the law enforcement agencies on the Mainland, efforts in combating parallel trading activities carried out via those control points (such as requesting the mainland authorities to strengthen the deployment of the "flashing system", which was introduced earlier, for the examination of frequent travellers);
(5) of the details of the anti-illegal employment operations jointly mounted by the Immigration Department and the Hong Kong Police Force last year (i.e. the operations codenamed "Windsand"), including (i) the number of operations conducted; (ii) the number of persons arrested for suspected involvement in parallel trading activities (with a breakdown by whether the arrested persons were foreigners, Hong Kong residents or Mainlanders); (iii) the relevant number of prosecutions made; and (iv) the highest/lowest penalties imposed on the convicted persons; and
(6) given that parallel trading activities have caused problems such as obstruction and nuisance, whether the authorities have stepped up patrol and enforcement actions at black spots of parallel trading activities under the relevant ordinances (including the Public Health and Municipal Services Ordinance (Cap. 132), the Fixed Penalty (Public Cleanliness Offences) Ordinance (Cap. 570) and the Summary Offences Ordinance (Cap. 228))?
Reply:
President,
Hon Chan's question involves the policy purview of the Security Bureau, the Food and Health Bureau and the Transport and Housing Bureau. The Administration's consolidated reply is as follows.
(1) If the Transport Department (TD) receives complaints on alleged illegal carriage of goods on public buses, public light buses (PLBs) or taxis, it will refer such cases to the Police for follow-up actions. In the past three years, the Police prosecuted one driver under the Road Traffic (Public Service Vehicles) Regulations (Cap 374D) (the Regulations) for carriage of goods using a taxi. No prosecution was initiated against any driver of public buses or PLBs.
(2) The Regulations has already stipulated that no goods other than personal hand baggage shall be carried on PLBs. Offenders are liable on conviction to a fine of $2,000. The Regulations also provide that PLB passengers shall not bring any article onto the PLB without the permission of the driver. If necessary, PLB drivers and operators may contact the Police for assistance. Offenders are liable on conviction to a fine of $3,000 and imprisonment for six months.
Given that the carriage of articles by PLB passengers is already regulated under the Regulations, and that PLB drivers have the power to refuse boarding by PLB passengers carrying articles that may affect others or to order such passengers to leave their vehicles, the Government considers legislative amendment not necessary.
(3) to (6) The Government is very concerned about the nuisance caused by parallel trading activities to the daily lives of residents. The law enforcement agencies (LEAs) have been implementing a series of countermeasures.
In 2013, the Immigration Department and the Police jointly mounted a total of 55 operations in North District (including Sheung Shui and Lok Ma Chau), and arrested 594 Mainland visitors who were suspected of breaching their conditions of stay by involving in parallel trading activities and four Hong Kong residents. Among the arrested Mainland visitors, 68 were prosecuted for breach of conditions of stay, 67 of whom were sentenced to imprisonment for four weeks to two months and one was acquitted. The remaining 526 Mainland residents were repatriated to the Mainland. The charges on the four Hong Kong residents were withdrawn after investigation due to insufficient evidence.
The Customs and Excise Department mounts joint operations with the Shenzhen Customs on a regular basis at boundary control points where parallel trading activities are frequent. In 2014 (as at the end of October), 37 joint operations were mounted with a total of 176 cases involving a seizure value of $3.14 million.
Further, relevant departments have also stepped up enforcement actions against obstruction, litter offenders, etc. to ensure smooth passenger flow. In 2014 (as at the end of October), in accordance with section 4A of the Summary Offences Ordinance (Cap. 228), the Police issued summonses to 62 offenders for distributing goods and causing obstruction in public places.
The Food and Environmental Hygiene Department (FEHD) has been taking stringent enforcement actions against litter offenders, on top of providing enhanced street cleansing and waste removal services at locations where parallel trading activities are rampant. The FEHD issues Fixed Penalty Notice under the Fixed Penalty (Public Cleanliness Offences) Ordinance (Cap. 570) to any person for littering or spitting on the street. For articles which cause obstruction to scavenging operations, FEHD issues "Notice to Remove Obstruction" under the Public Health and Municipal Services Ordinance (Cap. 132), requiring the owner to remove the articles within the specified period, failing which FEHD may seize the articles without further notice. In 2014 (as at the end of October), FEHD issued 293 Fixed Penalty Notices to persons littering or spitting on the street, affixed 245 "Notice to Remove Obstruction" on articles which cause obstruction to scavenging operations, and seized 524 items at parallel trading blackspots in North District.
As regards the MTR, the MTR Corporation Limited (MTRCL) provides full support to the Government in carrying out enforcement actions within the railway premises. A series of measures to discourage parallel trading activities have been put in place, such as setting the size and weight limits on passenger baggage, displaying signage at some stations along the East Rail Line to remind passengers of the restrictions on baggage size and weight, and prohibiting passengers with bulky baggage from using escalators. It is observed that passenger flow in MTR stations has been smooth in general since the introduction of these measures. The MTRCL will exchange views and experiences with enforcement departments of the Government regarding matters such as manpower arrangement and operational deployment, with a view to strengthening mutual communication and co-operation for more effective enforcement efforts.
Ends/Wednesday, November 12, 2014
Issued at HKT 16:35
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