TNAG-1363-FCO40-1809-Hong-Kong-Hansard-reports-and-minutes-of-the-meetings-of-the-1985 — Page 268

Supplementary to Question No. 3 in the

Legislative Council on 26 June 1985

Dr. HO:- Sir, can the Secretary for Economic Services inform this Council as to

how soon will the Traffic Accident Victims Assistance Advisory Committee be

consulted about the ex-gratia payment proposed?

Secretary for Economic Services:- Sir, as soon as possible; I would hope that

would mean within the next several months.

Dr. HO:- Sir, does the Government or the Secretary for Economic Services have

any idea on the number of victims who will benefit from the proposed ex-gratia

scheme and on the estimated amount of compensation to be awarded?

1

Secretary for Economic Services:- Sir, I can't give an accurate figure yet of the

numbers involved because the time allowed for the lodging has not yet expired.

According to the record of the Legal Aid Department, there are about 300 individual

claims connected with the five companies to which I referred earlier, which will

fall within the scope of the proposed scheme. It is reasonable to assume that

those claims will represent a high percentage of the more serious injuries. As

the total number of claims is not yet known, it is difficult to give any reliable

figure on the total amount, however, it is not expected that the total payments

would exceed $100 million.