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MONDAY, OCTOBER 28, 1974.
PUBLIC ENQUIRY CENTRES KEPT BUSY
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WHEN MRS. CHAN ARRIVED AT THE PUBLIC ENQUIRY CENTRE IN THE HEADQUARTERS OF THE HOME AFFAIRS DEPARTMENT, SHE WAS STILL GRIEF-STRICKEN, FEARING THAT HER LANDLORD MIGHT KICK HER OUT**.
BUT HALF AN HOUR LATER, HER GRIEF TURNED INTO RELIEF AND SHE LEFT THE THE OFFICE FULL OF CONFIDENCE, HAVING BEEN ASSURED BY THE STAFF BEHIND THE PUBLIC ENQUIRY COUNTER THAT THE LANDLORD COULD NOT EVICT HER AT ALL, BECAUSE HER TENANCY WAS UNDER THE PROTECTION OF THE LANDLORD AND TENANT (CONSOLIDATION) (AMENDMENT) ORDINANCE 1973.
EVERY DAY, STAFF OF THE PUBLIC ENQUIRY CENTRES OPERATED IN THE 19 CITY DISTRICT OFFICES, SUB-OFFICES AND IN THE HEADQUARTERS INFORMATION SECTION INTERVIEW AN AVERAGE OF 2,605 PEOPLE WHO COME TO THE CENTRES WITH ALL KINDS OF ENQUIRIES AND PROBLEMS.
THE LANDLORD AND TENANT (CONSOLIDATION) (AMENDMENT) ORDINANCE 1973 CAME INTO OPERATION NINE MONTHS AGO, BUT MANY ENQUIRIES ARE STILL MADE ON TENANCY MATTERS RELEVANT TO THIS ORDINANCE.
ABOUT 79,213 ENQUIRIES ON TENANCY MATTERS HAVE BEEN ANSWERED - FROM JANUARY TO SEPTEMBER THIS YEAR, COMPRISING NEARLY 11 PER CENT OF THE TOTAL OF 711,145 ENQUIRIES HANDLED SO FAR DURING THE PAST NINE MONTHS.
OTHER ENQUIRIES RELATED TO TRAVEL DOCUMENTS (58,446), PUBLIC HOUSING ESTATES (46,846), VACANCIES IN THE GOVERNMENT (24,374), FURTHER EDUCATION AND SCHOLARSHIP (71,793). THE LAST THREE TYPES OF ENQUIRIES WERE MOSTLY MADE BY SCHOOL LEAVERS DURING THE SUMMER MONTHS,
ENQUIRIES ON WEATHER AND TYPHOON ALSO SHOT UP DURING THE PERIOD BETWEEN JUNE AND SEPTEMBER, WHICH IS THE TYPHOON SEASON. A TOTAL OF 16,891 TYPHOON ENQUIRIES WERE ANSWERED DURING THESE MONTHS,
A TOTAL OF 505,298 FORMS WERE DISTRIBUTED AT THE 20 PUBLIC ENQUIRY CENTRES DURING THE NINE MONTHS,
NEARLY ALL KINDS OF GOVERNMENT, AND SOMETIMES NON-GOVERNMENT FORMS ARE DISTRIBUTED BY THE PUBLIC ENQUIRY CENTRES. OUT OF THE 505,298 FORMS DISTRIBUTED, THE MOST POPULAR ONES WERE APPLICATION FORMS FOR GOVERNMENT POSTS, PUBLIC HOUSING, PUBLIC EXAMINATIONS AND ENROLMENT FORMS FOR VARIOUS GOVERNMENT EDUCATION INSTITUTES.
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