Following is a question by the Hon Adrian Ho and a written reply by the Secretary for Security, Mr Tang Ping-keung, in the Legislative Council today (October 14):

Question:

     It has been reported that in recent months, vehicles have been parked for long periods at night on relatively narrow road sections in Wan Chai District (such as in the vicinity of Wan Chai Road). This has affected the passage of large vehicles, caused obstruction to local road traffic, and brought much inconvenience and nuisance to residents in the district. In this connection, will the Government inform this Council:

(1) of the respective numbers of (i) complaints received by law enforcement agencies over the past three years involving illegal parking of vehicles in respect of the aforesaid road sections in the district and (ii) prosecutions instituted;

(2) as there are views relaying that persons involved in the aforesaid illegal vehicle parking are suspected of engaging in illegal acts (such as allegedly transporting women by prostitution syndicates to and from hotels or buildings in the district), whether law enforcement agencies have conducted in-depth investigations into the issue to ascertain if syndicate-controlled illegal acts are involved; if so, of the progress of the relevant investigations and the prosecution status respectively; if not, the reasons for not conducting in-depth investigation into the issue; and

(3) to effectively combat various illegal acts in Wan Chai District and maintain law and order in the district, whether law enforcement agencies have plans to establish a notification mechanism with stakeholders in the district, so as to enhance co-operation in combating the use of premises such as bars, residential buildings and hotels in the district for organised illegal activities; if so, of the details; if not, the reasons for that?

Reply:

President,

     The Hong Kong Police Force (HKPF) has been closely monitoring the law and order situation in Wan Chai District and has adopted a multi-pronged strategy, including intelligence-led enforcement operations conducted in response to stakeholder reports and public complaints, with a view to vigorously combating various types of organised crime and illegal activities, including illegal parking. Having consulted the Transport and Logistics Bureau, the reply to the question raised by the Member is as follows:

(1) The HKPF is committed to ensuring road safety and maintaining a smooth traffic flow. Enforcement actions will be prioritised in light of actual traffic situation, focusing on combating contraventions that endanger road safety and cause severe traffic obstruction, in order to make effective use of police manpower and law enforcement resources. The numbers of complaints received by the HKPF and the Transport Department (TD) against illegal parking of vehicles in Wan Chai District, including narrower sections such as Wan Chai Road, and the corresponding numbers of summonses issued over the past three years are set out in the table below:

Statistics of illegal parking in Wan Chai District
 

	Number of complaints (Note)						Number of summonses issued by the HKPF
	HKPF			TD
Year	2024	2025	2026 (as at September)	2024	2025	2026 (as at September)	2024	2025	2026 (as at September)
Narrower sections in Wan Chai District
(1) Wan Chai Road	156	167	170	0	0	2	1 960	1 438	638
(2) Heard Street	16	14	6	0	0	0	507	426	154
(3) Mallory Street	23	7	15	0	0	0	299	360	147
All sections in Wan Chai District, including the narrower sections above
Total	15 815	14 998	12 651	17	76	127	106 672	84 857	39 622

Note: As identical complaints may be received by the HKPF and the TD at the same time, there may be double-counting in the numbers of complaints received by the two departments.

(2) The HKPF has been committed to combating all forms of illegal prostitution, especially organised prostitution activities. Under section 130 of the Crimes Ordinance (Cap. 200), a person who harbours another person or exercises control, direction or influence over another person for the purpose of or with a view to that person's prostitution shall be guilty of an offence, and offenders shall be liable to imprisonment for up to 14 years; under section 137 of the Ordinance, a person who knowingly lives wholly or in part on the earnings of prostitution of another shall also be guilty of an offence, and offenders shall be liable to imprisonment for up to 10 years.

     As regards the combat of illegal prostitution activities in Wan Chai District, the HKPF and the Immigration Department have been maintaining close intelligence exchanges and will carry out regular joint operations codenamed "Tigertail" during which suspected vice establishments are raided. The Police will also carry out intelligence-led enforcement actions, conduct in-depth investigations and combat organised prostitution activities, so as to reduce the nuisance these activities may cause to the public. Over the past year, in operations against prostitution conducted in the vicinity of Wan Chai Road, the Wan Chai Police District arrested and prosecuted a total of 15 women for suspected breach of conditions of stay, while no syndicate-controlled operations were involved. The HKPF will continue to take proactive enforcement actions with a view to vigorously combating prostitution activities in the district.

(3) Good police-community relations are integral to preventing and fighting crime as well as upholding law and order in the community. The HKPF has been working closely with stakeholders in Wan Chai District to maintain public order. In this regard, the Hong Kong Island Region of the HKPF launched Project SAFE in 2023 to proactively share crime information with community stakeholders, and encourage them to enhance collaboration with the Police by, for example, providing criminal intelligence, assisting in the dissemination of crime prevention messages and leveraging technology (such as installing closed-circuit televisions) to enhance crime prevention capabilities. To date, nearly 230 partner organisations in Wan Chai District, including hotels, bars and other businesses, have participated in the project, helping to strengthen the Police's intelligence-gathering capabilities.

     Furthermore, the Wan Chai Police District will, in view of crime trends, strengthen liaison and intelligence exchanges with local stakeholders, including property management and security companies, to jointly combat crime. The Police will proactively convey crime prevention information to building security personnel, provide guidance on how to identify illegal prostitution activities to prevent suspicious persons from entering the buildings, and encourage them to report to the Police whenever a suspected crime is taking place, with a view to fostering police-community co-operation and fighting crime with concerted efforts.

Ends/Wednesday, October 14, 2026
Issued at HKT 14:45

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