1961-HKRS30-8-51_Part01 — Page 52

Safe keeping

of property.

Doclaimed

property,

Claimed property.

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29. The operator shall retain any property which comes into biş possession in accordance with the provisions of regulation 27 in saft keeping until claimed by the owner thereof or disposed of in accord ance with these regulations:

Provided that-

(a) the operator shall return forthwith all official documents. including licences, passports, and identity cards to the appro- priate Government Department or other body or person by whom they were issued;

(b) where the name and address of the owner of any property, other than documents referred to in proviso (a) are readily ascertainable, the operator shall forthwith notify him that th property is in his possession and may be claimed in accord ance with these regulations; and

(c) if any such property appears to the operator to be of a perish able or offensive nature and is not claimed and proved to bis satisfaction to belong to a claimant within eight hours from the time when it was found or if it becomes objectionable, the operator may thereupon destroy or otherwise dispose of it a he thinks fit and if such property is sold, the operator shall reward the conductor or driver in the manner provided in regulation 30.

30. If any property so retained by an operator is not proved t his satisfaction to belong to a claimant within three months of the dat when it was handed over by the conductor or driver to him, it shall thereupon vest in the operator who shall, as he thinks fit, either deliw such property to the conductor or to the driver or without delay st such property and in respect of any article which realizes a sum a excess of two dollars shall award to the conductor or to the driver one-fifth, up to an amount not exceeding twenty-five dollars, of the proceeds of such sale, in computing the amount due to the conductor or to the driver any part of ten cents being reckoned as ten cents:

Provided that any documents which have not been returned to the owner or other appropriate person under regulation 29 and which have not been claimed by the person entitled to their return before the expiration of such period of three months shall not be delivered to the conductor or to the driver or sold but shall be dealt with in such manner as the operator may deem appropriate.

31. (1) If any property while it is so retained by an operator be claimed and the claimant proves to the satisfaction of the operator tha it belongs to him, it shall thereupon be delivered to the claimant upo the claimant signing a receipt therefor and upon payment by him to the operator of a sum not exceeding fifty cents and in the case of

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property of a value exceeding two dollars an additional sum, up to an amount not exceeding twenty-five dollars, of one-fifth of the value of the property, which additional sum shall be awarded by the operator to the conductor or to the driver, any proportion of ten cents computing the amount due to the conductor or to the driver being reckoned as ten cents.

(2) For the purpose of this regulation, the value of the property shall be deemed to be such sum as may be agreed between the claimant and the operator or, failing agreement such sum as may be fixed by an auctioneer licensed in accordance with the provisions of the Miscel- (CΜp. 114) laneous Licences Ordinance, any fee payable to such auctioneer being paid by the claimant.

entitled to award.

32. The conductor or driver or other person into whose possession Person the property first came shall alone be entitled to an award under the provisions of regulations 29, 30 and 31.

33. Where any property is forwarded to a claimant, all costs of packing and carriage reasonably incurred shall be paid to the operator by the claimant.

Cost of packing ood

age.

34. An operator shall not be liable for any loss, damage or injury Liability of to lost property if all due diligence and care has been exercised by the operator. operator and by his employees in respect thereof.

property.

35. (1) Where any property is contained in a package, bag of Examina- other receptacle, the operator may cause such receptacle to be opened tion of and the contents examined if he deems it necessary so to do for the purposes of identifying and tracing the owner of the property or of ascertaining the nature of its contents.

(2) Where any property is claimed by any person, the operator may require the claimant to open any receptacle in which it may be contained and to submit the contents to examination for the purpose of establishing his claim to ownership or of ascertaining the value of the property.

PART VIL

Appeal, offences, penalties and repeal.

36. (1) Any person who is aggrieved by a decision of the Appeal. Authority under these regulations may appeal by petition to the Governor in Council against such decision and, until the decision of the Governor in Council on such appeal has been given, the effect of the decision of the Authority shall, so far as is practicable, be suspended.