HONG KONG URBAN COUNCIL
THE CHAIRMAN replied as follows:
This question concerns the procedure relating to the auctioning of stalls with particular reference to defaulters.
"There is no attempt to exclude defaulters from auctions for the following reasons. Firstly, there is the physical difficulty of recognizing defaulters in the crowd at an auction. Secondly, the re-appearance of the defaulter provides an excellent opportunity for the recovery of any licence fee payable. It is also questionable whether legally we can exclude anybody from a publicly announced auction.
At the same time, I would stress the thorough safeguards which are adopted by the department in leasing stalls. All successful bidders at any auction are now required to put up, on the last fall of the hammer, a month's rent deposit against failure to offer one month's notice of discontinuance of lease (A deposit was not required before 1957 and therefore about two-thirds of the stallholders are not so covered. It should however be remembered that few, if any, of the well-established stallholders will become defaulters). At the same time, all stallholders are also required to pay the quarterly stall rents in advance.
Three weeks before the end of any quarter, demand notes for the next quarter's rents are issued, which gives stallholders fourteen days in which to pay. If he fails to pay by due date, a reminder is then sent to him asking him to pay before the quarter expires. Should he still fail to pay, then his lease is suspended and his business stopped until the rent is paid. If the rent is not paid within 14 days of the beginning of the quarter, then his deposit is forfeited, his stall licence cancelled, and his stall put up for auction. Should, for any reason, a stall be given up after due notice early in any quarter and there is no question of succession, then the balance of the quarter's rent would be forfeited, but the deposit would be returnable.
There is thus every probability that the defaulter in such cases will have, in fact, been of financial benefit to Government as he will have forfeited either the deposit of a month's rent or the balance of the quarterly rent.
An auction of a vacated stall takes place as soon as possible after vacation. In addition, there is a regular monthly auction of stalls which have been vacant for some time
HONG KONG URBAN COUNCIL
and not taken up at previous auctions. There is never any loss to Government unless any stall is unpopular and there are no bids for it."
MR. A. DE O. SALES and Mr. Y. K. Kan asked the following question:-
"(a) Would the Chairman please inform this Council whether it is true or not that the Police have either relaxed their supervision or even abandoned their effort to control hawkers in the whole or part of Kowloon?
(b) To what extent does this unilateral change of policy prejudice the control over the hawking of contaminated food?
(c) Is his Department, without Police assistance, able to enforce the provisions of the Hawkers and the Public Health (Food) Ordinances and the relevant By-laws in a manner deemed satisfactory by the Council?
(d) Was the Chairman consulted before this change of policy was put into effect?
(e) Why was the appropriate Select Committee not informed in advance and consulted as to the wisdom of the move?
THE CHAIRMAN replied as follows:
This concerns an apparent relaxation of control by the Police over Hawkers in Kowloon.
"(a) This is not true. However, the Police, for about fourteen days towards the end of January, did modify their action in certain fields towards hawkers in Kowloon. This was by way of being an experiment with a view to better control in certain specified areas and a limitation of prosecutions mainly through enlisting the cooperation of the Hawkers through their associations.
(b) It is not the intention of the Police in any way to minimize action against food hawkers, who will continue to be prosecuted as heretofore, possibly in even greater numbers.
(c) As regards the ability of the Department to enforce provisions, it is very definitely not at this stage able to do so pending the full operation of the Hawker Control Section. Existing staff for hawker and market duties in Kowloon at present consist of 1 Senior Health Inspector; 3 Health Inspectors; 20 Overseers; 1 Foreman Class II; 4 Foremen Class III; 15 Gangers; 2 Watchmen; 1 Office
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HONG KONG URBAN COUNCIL
THE CHAIRMAN replied as follows:
www...........
This question concerns the procedure relating to the auction- ing of stalls with particular reference to defaulters.
"There is no attempt to exclude defaulters from auctions for the following reasons. Firstly there is the physical difficulty of recognizing defaulters in the crowd at an auction. Secondly the re-appearance of the defaulter provides an excellent opportunity for the recovery of any licence fee payable. It is also questionable whether legally we can exclude anybody from a publicly an- nounced auction.
At the same time, I would stress the thorough safeguards which are adopted by the department in leasing stalls. All successful bidders at any auction are now required to put up, on the last fall of the hammer, a month's rent deposit against failure to offer one month's notice of discontinuance of lease (A deposit was not required before 1957 and therefore about two thirds of the stall- holders are not so covered. It should however be remembered that few if any of the well-established stallholders will become defaulters). At the same time, all stallholders are also required to pay the quarterly stall rents in advance.
Three weeks before the end of any quarter, demand notes for the next quarter's rents are issued which gives stallholders fourteen days in which to pay. If he fails to pay by due date, a reminder is then sent to him asking him to pay before the quarter expires. Should he still fail to pay, then his lease is suspended and his business stopped until the rent is paid. If the rent is not paid within 14 days of the beginning of the quarter, then his deposit is for- feited, his stall licence cancelled and his stall put up for auction. Should, for any reason, a stall be given up after due notice early in any quarter and there is no question of succession, then the balance of the quarter's rent would be forfeited, but the deposit would be returnable.
There is thus every probability that the defaulter in such cases will have, in fact, been of financial benefit to Government as he will have forfeited either the deposit of a month's rent or the balance of the quarterly rent.
An auction of a vacated stall takes place as soon as possible after vacation. In addition, there is a regular monthly auction of stalls which have been vacant for some time
HONG KONG URBAN COUNCIL
185
and not taken up at previous auctions. There is never
any loss to Government unless any stall is unpopular and there are no bids for it."
MR. A. DE O. SALES and Mr. Y. K. Kan asked the following question:-
"(a) Would the Chairman please inform this Council whether it is true or not that the Police have either relaxed their supervision or even abandoned their effort to control hawkers in the whole or part of Kowloon?
(b) To what extent does this unilateral change of policy prejudice the control over the hawking of contaminated food?
(c) Is his Department, without Police assistance, able to enforce the provisions of the Hawkers and the Public Health (Food) Ordinances and the relevant By-laws in a manner deemed satisfactory by the Council?
(d) Was the Chairman consulted before this change of policy
was put into effect?
(e) Why was the appropriate Select Committee not informed in advance and consulted as to the wisdom of the move?
THE CHAIRMAN replied as follows:
This concerns an apparent relaxation of control by the Police over Hawkers in Kowloon.
"(a) This is not true. However, the Police, for about fourteen days towards the end of January, did modify their action in certain fields towards hawkers in Kowloon. This was by way of being an experiment with a view to better control in certain specified areas and a limitation of prosecutions mainly through enlisting the cooperation of the Hawkers through their associations.
(b) It is not the intention of the Police in any way to minimize action against food for man hawkers, who will continue to be prosecuted as heretofore possibly in even greater numbers.
(c) As regards the ability of the Department to enforce provisions it is very definitely not at this stage able to do so pending the full operation of the Hawker Control Section. Existing staff for hawker and market duties in Kowloon at present consist of 1 Senior Health Inspector; 3 Health Inspectors; 20 Overseers; 1 Foreman Class II; 4 Foremen Class III; 15 Gangers; 2 Watchmen; 1 Office
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