HONG KONG PROVISIONAL URBAN COUNCIL
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commissioned to make prosecutions, I will contact the Department to see if certain personalities can be appointed for prosecution of litter offenders.
Some cities may be handling this problem well, but I have noticed that certain places are relying on heavier penalties. Some places may be smaller with a smaller population, which is not quite the same as the situation in Hong Kong. They may choose to disregard human dignity too. I leave it to you to consider whether we should adopt their method in Hong Kong. Do you think there is such a need? For example in Taiwan in the past, litter offenders were required to hang large cards round their necks and sweep the streets in front of entrance of public parks or pick up bits of rubbish. As to whether we should follow that example, it depends on you. We have to make a balanced judgment and decide if we want to sacrifice human dignity for environmental cleanliness.
Mr. Albert Lai Wing-lin (in Cantonese):—Mr. Chairman, we know that throwing away cigarette butts indiscriminately is against the law. How about discarding some two inches of cigarette ashes on the ground? Is it an offence and will one be prosecuted?
Secondly, is it an act against the law to pour down waste water or urine on to the pavement or anywhere we like? How about people who allow their dogs to foul the streets? Can we prosecute them?
Thirdly, at present, shops are required to clear away rubbish from a designated area in front. How big is that area? Was any shop prosecuted in the past for not clearing away rubbish from its shop front?
Fourth, is the waste water from fish stalls considered foul water? If water from fish stalls is allowed to flow on pavements all the time, is it against the law? If it is, did we make prosecution in the past and what are the figures?
MR. JOSEPH Chan Yuek-sut (in Cantonese):—Mr. Chairman, I do not have in hand figures of people prosecuted by the Department for throwing away cigarette butts indiscriminately. A good friend of mine did complain to me about being prosecuted for a minor act of throwing away cigarette butts. So, I am sure we have such cases, but I do not have the figures in hand.
Mr. Chairman, pouring away waste water and indiscriminate dog fouling are different matters of no direct relationship to the problem of throwing away litter all over the place. When cases of dog fouling were discovered, the owner was usually prosecuted.
I think it is controversial to prosecute people for the rubbish found at their doors. The shop owners can blame it on the wind and speak for themselves. As to the area to be kept clean in front of shops, I don't have information in hand. There are designated areas for everything. The canopies of domestic premises and the vicinity are under the responsibility of the tenants to clean up.
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