A BILL
To
sure No. 4
Amend the Summary Offences Ordinance.
Enacted by the Governor of Hong Kong, with the advice and con- sent of the Legislative Council thereof.
1.
.
This Ordinance may be cited as the Summary Offences (Amend- Short title. ment) (No. 3) Ordinance 1977.
2. Section 4 of the principal Ordinance is amended by deleting Amendment of subsection (26).
section 4.
(Cap. 228.)
3. The principal Ordinance is amended by adding after section 4A Addition of the following new section—
"Objects dropped from buildings.
4B. (1) If anything is dropped or allowed to fall from any building to the danger or injury of any person in or near a public place, the person who drops that thing or allows it to fall and the occupier of the building or part thereof from which the thing was dropped or allowed to fall commits an offence and is liable to a fine of $10,000 and imprisonment for 6 months.
(2) If anything is dropped or allowed to fall from any building in the course of the construction, repair or decora- tion of the building or part thereof, to the danger or injury of any person in or near
near a public place, the principal contractor on the site and the contractor carrying out the construction, repair or decoration commits an offence and is liable to a fine of $50,000 and imprisonment for one year.
(3) It shall not be a defence to a charge against an occupier under subsection (1) nor against a contractor under subsection (2) that the person who dropped the thing or allowed it to fall has not been prosecuted or that the thing was dropped or allowed to fall without the consent or know- ledge of the occupier or contractor, as the case may be, but an occupier or contractor so charged shall not be convicted if he proves to the satisfaction of the court that he could not reasonably have prevented the thing being dropped or allowed to fall to the danger or injury of any person in or near a public place or that reasonable measures had been taken by him or another person to prevent such an occurrence.".
Explanatory Memorandum
The existing provisions of section 4(26) of the principal Ordinance have proved inadequate for the protection of the public from objects dropped from buildings. This Bill accordingly seeks to replace section 4(26) with more
more effective provisions which substantially increase the existing penalty and make not only the person dropping an object or allowing it to fall to the danger or injury of any person in or near a public place, but also the occupier of the part of the building or the contractor concerned guilty of an offence, unless he proves that reason- able measures had been taken to prevent the offence.
J. W. D. HOBLEY, Attorney General.
new section 4B.
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Private notes are available after approval.