In order to improve the environmental sanitation and city appearance of Hong Kong, the government plans to significantly increase the fines for littering insects, including doubling the fixed penalty for littering from the current 1,500 yuan to 3,000 yuan, and increasing the fine for street blocking of shops from 1,500 yuan to 6,000 yuan.
The government has submitted relevant documents to the Food Safety and Environmental Hygiene Affairs Committee of the Legislative Council, and relevant matters will be discussed at a meeting next Tuesday (13th).
The government will also launch a one-month public consultation, and it is expected to submit the relevant amendment bill to the Legislative Council in the second quarter of next year at the earliest.
According to a document submitted by the authorities to the Food Safety and Environmental Hygiene Affairs Committee of the Legislative Council, the fixed penalty amount for the nine scheduled offenses under the Fixed Penalty Ordinance has not been adjusted since June 2003 and remains at $1,500.
The authorities believe that there is a need to increase the penalty and strengthen the deterrent effect.
Fines increased to $3,000 for 7 scheduled offenses including littering, spitting
The government proposes to double the fixed penalty amount for 7 scheduled offenses from $1,500 to $3,000, including throwing litter or waste in public places, spitting in public places, spitting in country parks and special areas , unauthorized display of posters or posters, dog droppings on streets, dumping of waste in country parks and special areas, and dumping of waste at sea.
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The fine for shops blocking the street and disposing of large garbage increased to 6,000 yuan
As for shops blocking the street, the government proposes to increase the fine from the current 1,500 yuan to 6,000 yuan.
The government explained that the number of fine notices issued for “causing obstruction in public places” has nearly doubled from 7,600 in 2019 to nearly 14,900 in 2021; The number of cases will increase to 23,500 in 2021, an increase of about 57%, reflecting the increasingly serious problem of street obstruction by shops.
For the disposal of large amounts of construction or other waste, the number of fixed penalty notices issued by law enforcement officers also increased from 173 in 2019 to 264 in 2021, an increase of more than 50%, reflecting the seriousness of the problem.
The government is also proposing to increase the fine from the current $1,500 to $6,000.
Progressive fixed penalty makes law enforcement more complicated and is not recommended for implementation
The government also disclosed in the document that it had considered whether to implement a "progressive fixed penalty" (that is, the fine for the second and subsequent violations is higher than the first), so as to impose higher fines on repeat offenders.
However, the implementation of progressive fixed penalties requires the establishment of a real-time and complete database, which may complicate the on-site law enforcement procedures and increase the chances of disputes between law enforcement officers and citizens at the scene of the case. Therefore, it is not recommended to implement it for the time being.
The policy address has proposed a comprehensive review of the powers and penalties of environmental hygiene legislation
The "Policy Address" proposed a comprehensive review of the powers and penalties of environmental hygiene laws. The fines for littering in Hong Kong have not been raised for nearly 20 years. The last time was after the SARS epidemic in 2003, the government will eliminate littering and spitting The fixed penalty has been greatly increased from 600 yuan at that time to 1,500 yuan now.
▼On August 14, Zhuo Yongxing, Deputy Secretary for Administration, inspected the back alleys around Prince Edward▼
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Garbage levy｜Environmental Protection Agency stated that the implementation target will remain unchanged by the end of next year, cancel the garbage bag bidding and exempt public funds. A 240-liter trash can is set up in the back alley to regulate the garbage disposal of restaurants
