Illegal hawker given suspended jail sentence for assaulting FEHD officers
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     A 58-year-old woman, convicted on four counts of offences relating to illegal hawking and assaulting Food and Environmental Hygiene Department (FEHD) officers, was sentenced to suspended imprisonment and a fine at Fanling Magistrates' Courts today (April 21).

     The court convicted the woman of all charges, namely obstructing public officers in the execution of duty, assault occasioning actual bodily harm, common assault and hawking without a licence, and sentenced her to imprisonment for two months, two weeks and six days for the first three charges respectively, to run concurrently and suspended for two years, and a fine of $1,000 for the last one.

     The court heard that two FEHD officers were attacked by the defendant during an operation against unlicensed hawkers at Lui Ming Road in Fanling on November 11, 2014.

     An FEHD spokesman reminded members of the public to co-operate with law enforcement officers. According to section 139 of the Public Health and Municipal Services Ordinance (Chapter 132), any person who wilfully obstructs, resists or uses abusive language to any law enforcement officer in the execution of his duties is liable to a maximum fine of $25,000 and six months' imprisonment.

     "To use force against public officers is not right and offenders will have a criminal record when convicted. Furthermore, the FEHD will claim from offenders losses arising from the absence of duty of injured public officers through civil litigation," he added.

Ends/Tuesday, April 21, 2015
Issued at HKT 19:13

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