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Following is a question by the Hon Ng Leung-sing and a written reply by the Secretary for Security, Mr Lai Tung-kwok, in the Legislative Council today (January 21):
Question:
On December 24, 2014, a large quantity of banknotes were strewn across the road from three cash boxes fallen from a travelling cash transport vehicle. Some of them were picked up by passers-by. A number of people subsequently handed over to the Police the banknotes which they had picked up. However, as of the middle of this month, a considerable number of banknotes have still not been recovered. Some members of the public have pointed out that the incident reflects that the law-abiding awareness among some Hong Kong people is weak. In this connection, will the Government inform this Council:
(1) whether it has assessed if the equipment, arrangements and security measures currently employed by security companies at present for transporting large amounts of cash are in line with international standards; if it has, of the outcome; whether the authorities have provided security companies with any guidelines on safe transport of cash;
(2) whether it has investigated if the transport arrangements and the equipment employed by the security company concerned in the aforesaid incident have violated the provisions of the relevant legislation; if it has, of the outcome; whether the authorities will examine the need for reviewing and amending the relevant ordinances so as to impose more stringent requirements and monitoring; and
(3) whether the authorities will undertake promotional and educational work to enhance the law-abiding awareness and improve the qualities of citizens of Hong Kong people; if they will not, of the reasons for that?
Reply:
President:
The Administration's consolidated reply to the three parts of the question is as follows:
The purpose of the Security and Guarding Services Ordinance (Cap 460) (the Ordinance) is to ensure, through a licensing system, that the persons and companies providing security and guarding services are up to a certain standard, so as to assist the law enforcement agencies in preventing and detecting crimes, and protecting the lives and property of the citizens.
Under the Ordinance, any company providing security services must hold a security company licence issued by the Security and Guarding Services Industry Authority (SGSIA). Pursuant to the Ordinance, SGSIA has specified the "Matters to which the Security and Guarding Services Industry Authority shall have regard when determining an application for a security company licence" (the Matters). The Matters set out the criteria and requirements to be met by a security company in relation to company background, staff training, insurance arrangements, security equipment and so forth. As far as Type II security company licence (the type of licence held by the security company involved in the incident mentioned in the question) for provision of armoured transportation services is concerned, the Matters contain detailed and stringent requirements on security transit vehicles. For instance, the vehicles must have ballistically resistant cabs, fitted with alarms and sealed windows, and must be licensed and inspected in accordance with the Road Traffic Ordinance, etc.
Upon receipt of an application for a security company licence, SGSIA will forward it to the Security Companies Inspection Unit (SCIU) of the Police for investigation of the applicant in accordance with the Matters. Upon completion of the investigation, SCIU will report the results to SGSIA for determining whether to approve the application.
SCIU will carry out annual inspections of licensed security companies to ensure compliance with the licensing requirements. In case of non-compliance of the licence conditions or sub-standard services, the Police may, depending on severity of the irregularities, issue warnings to or prosecute the company. In the absence of subsequent improvement, the Police will consider applying to SGSIA for revocation of its security company licence in accordance with the Ordinance.
The Police are investigating the incident mentioned in the question, including whether the security company has violated the Ordinance or any of the licence conditions. Meanwhile, the Crime Prevention Bureau of the Police has requested the company to take measures to avoid recurrence, and will provide recommendations to the company and other Type II licence holders on operation of the relevant security services.
Hong Kong people are generally law-abiding. Anyone who has picked up the banknotes in the incident should return them to the Police without delay. Failing to do so may constitute an offence of theft. So far, dozens of people have already returned the money involved to the Police. The Police will continue to gather evidence and trace the whereabouts of the money that is still missing.
Ends/Wednesday, January 21, 2015
Issued at HKT 14:21
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