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Following is a question by the Hon Alice Mak Mei-kuen and a written reply by the Acting Secretary for Transport and Housing, Mr Yau Shing-mu, in the Legislative Council today (December 4):
Question:
It has been reported that thefts of luggage have occurred one after another at the baggage reclaim areas of the Hong Kong International Airport recently. Furthermore, a member of the public, after witnessing a suspected theft case at the baggage reclaim areas, requested the staff of the Airport Authority (AA) to view the video images recorded by closed-circuit television (CCTV) so as to understand the case, but such a request was refused. The incident has cast doubts over the security level of the airport. In this connection, will the Government inform this Council whether it knows:
(a) the total number of thefts occurring at the baggage reclaim areas and the number of such cases detected by the relevant authorities in the past three years;
(b) the number of complaints received by AA in the past three years about neglect of duty on the part of airport security guards;
(c) the number of CCTV cameras installed at the baggage reclaim areas and, among them, the number of those equipped with recording functions; and
(d) if AA will, upon request by members of the public who have witnessed crimes, assign its staff to view the video images recorded by the CCTV cameras in the airport so as to look into what happened when such crimes were committed; if it will, of the details; if not, the reasons for that?
Reply:
President,
Our reply to the various parts of the question raised by Hon Alice Mak Mei-kuen is as follows:
(a) According to the information provided by the Police, the number of cases of luggage theft in the airport's baggage reclaim areas as received by the Police in Airport District and the number of such cases detected in the past three years are set out in Annex 1.
(b) The number of complaints about neglect of duty by airport security guards as received by the Airport Authority (AA) in the past three years is set out in Annex 2.
(c) Fifteen closed-circuit television (CCTV) cameras have been installed in the baggage reclaim areas at the airport to monitor daily operation. All of them are equipped with recording functions.
(d) The AA will refer to the Police or other law enforcement agencies (LEAs), for example, the Customs and Excise Department, as appropriate any crimes that have been witnessed and reported by members of the public for investigation and follow-up. The AA will also provide the CCTV video footage to assist the LEAs' investigation.
Ends/Wednesday, December 4, 2013
Issued at HKT 12:00
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