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Following is a question by the Hon Jeffrey Lam and a written reply by the Secretary for Security, Mr Lai Tung-kwok, in the Legislative Council today (June 17):
Question:
After the end of the occupation movement late last year, a group of people have set up and lived in the tents, erected study rooms and placed miscellaneous items such as tables and chairs, etc., on the pavements outside the Central Government Offices and the Legislative Council Complex. The number of tents has been increasing in recent months, with the area of pavements occupied expanding as well. It has been reported that cases of theft and indecent assault have occurred in the area. Some members of the public have pointed out that since some people cook food and place a large quantity of wood inside the tents, they are worried about the fire hazards thus caused. They are also worried that the occupation of pavements may turn into a second occupation movement. In this connection, will the Government inform this Council:
(1) whether it has recorded, on a regular basis, the situation of occupation of the aforesaid pavements; if it has, of the details (including a breakdown of the number of tents by size and the number of various types of miscellaneous items); if not, the reasons for that;
(2) whether it has assessed if the worsening of the occupation of the aforesaid pavements will give rise to the following incidents: people who work in the vicinity cannot gain access to their workplaces because of blockage of pavements, and emergency rescue services are even disrupted due to traffic obstruction; if it has, of the details; if not, the reasons for that;
(3) of the number of cases of theft, indecent assault and other crimes that occurred in the aforesaid area since late last year; and
(4) given that some people cook food inside the aforesaid tents, whether the Police have carried out inspections to check if inflammable substances and other dangerous goods are stored in such tents; if the Police have done so, of the details; if not, the reasons for that?
Reply:
President,
With respect to the Hon Jeffrey Lam's concern over the risk to law and order, safety risk as well as fire risk caused by the allegedly illegal erection of tents and placement of objects by certain members of the public on the pavements outside the Central Government Offices (CGO) and Legislative Council Complex (LCC), the Government's consolidated reply is as follows:
According to Police records, as at June 15 this year, there were in total about 200 tents and erected structures of different sizes, plus other objects such as tables, chairs and potted plants etc., on the above-mentioned pavements. From December 15 last year to June 15 this year, the Police have received over 30 reports involving obstruction caused by the tents, erected structures and other objects on the aforesaid pavements.
The Police have been closely monitoring the situation of the aforementioned pavements with a view to maintaining law and order and combating illegal acts. From December 15 last year to June 15 this year, a total of five persons concerning four cases were arrested by the Police on the aforesaid pavements for suspected common assault, criminal damage and assault occasioning actual bodily harm.
In addition, the Police have found potentially dangerous items at and near the tents on the aforementioned pavements. Such items included wooden planks, metal bars, glass bottles, bricks, crushed rocks and knives etc. Given that large-scale public order events would be held on June 14 and the following few days at the above-mentioned road sections and nearby places, the Police are concerned that those items may pose risk to public safety. Therefore, the Police, after having attempted to get in touch with the owners of those items and made appeals to the persons concerned to remove those items, in the afternoon of June 13 removed those potentially dangerous items which had not yet been taken away to the Central Police Station for safekeeping in order to reduce the risk to public safety. The Police have called on members of the public not to bring any dangerous items to the aforesaid pavements. At the same time, the Police have strengthened patrol of the relevant road sections and will continue to adopt appropriate measures to ensure public safety and public order. The Fire Services Department has also strengthened inspection of those road sections so as to monitor fire risk and make sure that the emergency vehicle access remains free from obstruction.
The Hong Kong Special Administrative Region (HKSAR) Government respects the public in expressing their views in a lawful and peaceful manner. However, the Government at the same time also has the responsibility to safeguard the public's right of using the roads, as well as to ensure public safety, public order and public health.
The pavements outside the CGO and LCC are a public place and a main access to these two important facilities. While expressing their views, members of the public should respect others' right to use these road sections and should not illegally occupy public place by means of tents, erected structures or other objects. The HKSAR Government urges the protesters to remove soon the tents, erected structures and other objects from the aforesaid pavements, so that members of the public can use these pavements in the normal way. Relevant government departments will continue to closely monitor the situation of the aforesaid pavements, examine necessary follow-up measures and take appropriate law enforcement actions at an appropriate time. It is not appropriate to reveal details at this stage.
Ends/Wednesday, June 17, 2015
Issued at HKT 12:08
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