TNAG-0760-FCO40-964-Annual-accounts-of-the-Hong-Kong-Government-for-1977-1978 — Page 9

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Paragraph 9: Head 5 - Fines, Forfeitures and Penalties, Subhead 030

4.

Penalties Fixed penalty scheme

Of the arrears of $11.5 million referred to in the Director of

Audit's report, $4.4 million is in respect of fixed penalty debts and

$7.1 million is in respect of court costs. The total fixed penalty

debts accummulated since 1971 represented 5.1% of the total amount

of penalties imposed under the Fixed Penalty (Traffic Contraventions)

Ordinance during a period of almost six years.

5.

The arrears are in respect of debts in those cases where legal

advice has been received that, under the existing legislation, collection

cannot be enforced, such as where the vehicles involved have been

scrapped or exported, where there has been a transfer of ownership,

or where the owners cannot be traced. Action was not taken to deal

with these arrears pending the amendment of legislation to close the

loopholes in the law. Amendments have now been enacted, and it is

expected that the number of cases where fixed penalty debts cannot

be collected will be sharply reduced. Action is also being taken to

write off the existing arrears.

Paragraphs 12-13: Head 9 - Revenue from Properties and Investments

Lands

6. The rules governing the recovery of mesne profits took some

time to resolve. A sensible and practicable course of action was

required in a field involving tenancies and licences of different kinds

with the complication of many people enjoying the use and profit of

land without any tenancy at all. Although the aggregate of mesne profits

not pursued is substantial, the effort and expense of pursuing them

would also have been substantial. However, in retrospect, it is clear

that the Government should have considered pursuing the larger debts

outstanding.

/Paragraphs 17 ...