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WEDNESDAY, JULY 19, 1978
TIME FOR COLLECTING REGISTERED MAIL TO BE EXTENDED
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THE ACTING SECRETARY FOR ECONOMIC SERVICES, THE HON. DAVID T.K. WONG, SAID TODAY THE TIME FOR THE COLLECTION OF REGISTERED MAIL FROM POST OFFICES WILL BE EXTENDED FROM SEVEN DAYS TO A FORTNIGHT.
IN REPLY TO A QUESTION FROM DR. THE HON. HENRY HU IN THE LEGISLATIVE COUNCIL, MR. WONG ALSO SAID THAT OUT OF THE 8.3 MILLION REGISTERED ITEMS HANDLED BY THE POST OFFICE IN THE LAST FINANCIAL YEAR, LESS THAN 400,000 OR UNDER FIVE PER CENT WERE HELD FOR COLLECTION BY ADDRESSEES AT 18 DESIGNATED POST OFFICES.
OF THIS NUMBER, HE SAID, 310,000 WERE COLLECTED WITHIN THE PERIOD ALLOWED WHILE THE REMAINING 90,000 WERE RETURNED TO THEIR SENDERS.
HE SAID IT IS BELIEVED THAT THE MAJORITY OF REGISTERED LETTERS LEFT UNCOLLECTED ARE LETTERS WHICH ADDRESSEES DO NOT WANT TO COLLECT BECAUSE THEY MAY CONTAIN DEMANDS FOR PAYMENTS OF ONE KIND OR ANOTHER.
+FOR EXAMPLE, HE SAID, IT IS ESTIMATED THAT 30,000 OF THE REGISTERED ITEMS RETURNED LAST YEAR ORIGINATED FROM THE INLAND REVENUE DEPARTMENT OR THE RATING AND VALUATION DEPARTMENT.+
MR. WONG FURTHER SAID THAT ABOUT 3,500 PEOPLE CALLED AT POST OFFICES LAST YEAR TO COLLECT REGISTERED LETTERS AFTER THEY HAD BEEN RETURNED TO SENDERS. THE NUMBER OF LETTERS INVOLVED REPRESENTED ROUGHLY 0.04 PER CENT OF ALL REGISTERED MAIL HANDLED AND 1.1 PER CENT OF REGISTERED MAIL COLLECTED AT POST OFFICES.
+ DO NOT THINK THAT THE SIZE OF THE PROBLEM WARRANTS THE KEEPING OF 18 POST OFFICES OPEN IN THE EVENING FOR THE COLLECTION OF REGISTERED MAIL,+ HE SAID.
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