LCQ12: Ensuring safety of electrical products
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Question:
Electrical products currently supplied in Hong Kong are primarily regulated by the Electrical Products (Safety) Regulation (Cap. 406G) and must be issued a certificate of safety compliance. However, it is learnt that non-compliant electrical products are still sold in the market from time to time, posing potential safety hazards such as fires and electrical leakage accidents. In this connection, will the Government inform this Council:
(1) of the number of reports of accidents involving electrical products (including but not limited to fires, electrical leakage and minor explosions) received by the Government in the past five years, as well as the number of casualties in such accidents;
(2) of the specific measures put in place to step up monitoring or inspection of non-compliant electrical products in the market;
(3) given that according to the web page of the Electrical and Mechanical Services Department (EMSD), members of the public may report unsafe electrical products through channels such as 1823, fax and email, of the number of relevant reports or complaints received by the EMSD and other relevant organisations in the past five years; and
(4) whether the Government has specific plans to enhance public knowledge of electrical product safety to facilitate members of the public in choosing compliant electrical products; if so, of the details; if not, the reasons for that?
Reply:
President,
The Electrical and Mechanical Services Department (EMSD) is responsible for the enforcement of the Electrical Products (Safety) Regulation (Cap. 406G) (the Regulation) of the Electricity Ordinance (Cap. 406), with a view to ensuring the safety of household electrical products. The reply to the question raised by the Hon Benson Luk is as follows:
(1) The number of incident cases involving household electrical products and the corresponding numbers of casualties as investigated by the EMSD in the past five years are tabulated as follows:
| Year | Incident cases | No. of injuries | No. of deaths |
| 2020 | 36 | 2 | 0 |
| 2021 | 46 | 8 | 1 |
| 2022 | 50 | 13 | 1 |
| 2023 | 51 | 13 | 0 |
| 2024 | 50 | 12 | 0 |
(2) The Regulation provides statutory control over all household electrical products supplied in Hong Kong to ensure public safety in terms of the use of these electrical products. According to the Regulation, suppliers of electrical products are required to ensure that household electrical products comply with the applicable safety requirements and have been issued with certificates of safety compliance before they are supplied.
The EMSD conducts annual sample checks on household electrical products supplied in Hong Kong. In the past five years, the EMSD conducted sample checks on 26 types for 300 household electrical products supplied in Hong Kong. It also engages third party testing laboratories to conduct testing based on the relevant safety standards. If relevant products are suspected to be in violation of the Regulation, the EMSD will conduct follow-up investigations.
Besides, the EMSD conducts inspections at retail stores supplying household electrical products, local e-commerce platforms, and their suppliers. Prosecutions will be carried out against non-compliant household electrical products identified during the inspections. The EMSD has conducted around 19 600 inspections in the past five years, and uncovered about 380 cases of violations of the Regulation with follow-up prosecutions.
(3) The numbers of reports on unsafe household electrical products received by the EMSD through various channels in the past five years are tabulated as follows:
| Year | No. of reports |
| 2020 | 60 |
| 2021 | 86 |
| 2022 | 65 |
| 2023 | 56 |
| 2024 | 54 |
(4) The EMSD has been enhancing public awareness of smart purchasing and safe use of household electrical products through various channels. Major measures include:
(a) publishing a new series of posters and leaflets in 2024, which introduce safety tips for commonly-used household electrical products such as air conditioners, electric fans, plugs, adaptors, and extension units;
(b) displaying posters and screening animated advertisements on billboards next to escalators in more than 35 MTR stations, featuring various topics including safety tips for dehumidifiers and reminders on the risk associated with cross-border e-purchasing of electrical products;
(c) conducting visits to around 280 schools and 40 elderly centres between 2022 and 2024 to promote the key points of electrical product safety;
(d) producing TV Announcements in the Public Interest and radio broadcasts, and carrying out advertising campaigns in various media platforms to enhance the promotion of electrical product safety, such as the promotion of smart purchasing of household electrical products and related safety information in online advertisement platforms and price comparison websites;
(e) producing promotional materials on electrical safety in eight languages (including Tagalog, Indonesian, Thai, Nepali, Hindi, Punjabi, Urdu and Vietnamese) on the EMSD website as well as publishing leaflets, with a view to facilitating ethnic minorities to obtain important household safety information (www.emsd.gov.hk/en/electricity_safety/publications/general/index.html#hes);
(f) participating in the Hong Kong Book Fair 2025 and distributing tailor-made handbooks on the safe use of household electrical products to children and their parents visiting the booth; and
(g) continuously collaborating with various departments to promote electrical product safety through various channels including community and outreach activities, such as participating in various district carnivals organised by the Home Affairs Department, as well as the Hong Kong Island Disaster and Emergency Preparedness Day and Fire and Ambulance Services Academy Open Day organised by the Fire Services Department. Game booths were set up in these events to enhance public awareness of electrical product safety.
The EMSD will continue to step up its publicity and education efforts through various channels, with a view to enhancing the promotion of electrical product safety and assisting the public in choosing compliant electrical products.
Ends/Thursday, September 25, 2025
Issued at HKT 12:50
Issued at HKT 12:50
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