Page 48 of 126
84
HONG KONG URBAN COUNCIL
MS. ANNA TANG KING-YUNG (in Cantonese):—Mr. Chairman, you just told us that the average fine was around $400. In your reply, it is stated that dogs owners are liable to a fine of $2,500 on the first conviction. May I know how the amount of $400 come from?
MR. PAO PING-WING (in Cantonese):—Mr. Chairman, the maximum fine may be $2,500. I agree with Ms. TANG that a fine of $400 is too low a figure. If I were the judge, I would have imposed the maximum fine. It is the judiciary who decides the amount of the fine, so it is not appropriate for me to comment on the level of fines. Certainly I hope that members of the public should bear in mind that if they are left with bad records, heavier fine will be imposed on subsequent convictions.
MR. AMBROSE CHEUNG WING-SUM (in Cantonese):—Mr. Chairman, I have a follow-up question on the overflowing of litter containers. I have read the answer given by Mr. PAO. My impression is that this problem does not merely arise from the size of litter containers. In many old residential areas with a lot of old tenement buildings, the system of refuse collection is not very satisfactory. Often after dinner, people have to take out their garbage and just place them beside litter containers. I understand many people would like to take the rubbish to the refuse collection points nearby but sometimes the locations of the RCPs are not so convenient for them to deposit litters there. Besides, the opening hours of these refuse collection points are so restricted that residents are unable to deposit their rubbish in time. I would like to ask Mr. Pao whether the Public Health Select Committee would follow up on the issue of extending the opening hours of the refuse collection points so that some self-disciplined residents can take the garbage to these RCPs themselves.
MR. PAO PING-WING (in Cantonese): Mr. Chairman, Mr. CHEUNG has made a very good suggestion. In fact, the Public Health Select Committee has already discussed this issue and we hope that the USD District Offices would consider extending the opening hours of these refuse collection points. However, this involves a lot of problems including deployment of staff, the scheduling of staff's working hours and transport of these garbage bags. In other words, the change of opening hours of the refuse collection points not only involves various RCPs but also all UC refuse collection vehicles and the working hours of our staff. This is a rather complicated issue but on the whole I agree with Mr. CHEUNG that if the RCPs can provide a more convenient service to our residents, the problem of overflowing litter containers can be lessened. But I don't think it is easy to solve the problem once-and-for-all. Another point raised by Mr. CHEUNG that overflowing litter containers may not have a direct bearing on the size of the containers and as people tend to deposit a lot of garbage bags close to the containers is true. According to law, residents are entitled to deposit their waste inside litter containers instead of putting them to the RCP although the definition of waste is very wide, which does not include bulky objects of furniture. This gives rise to a lots of problems mentioned by Mr. CHEUNG especially in some old residential buildings. Many residents just deposit their garbage bags close to litter containers. In the long term that not only through the improvement of our policy but also those of Central Government including the strengthening of laws of building management, the work of USD can be carried out smoothly. I hope that when time is right, we can discuss this issue at our Select Committee meeting.
MR. WONG SHUI-LAI (in Cantonese):—Mr. Chairman, I have several follow-up questions. The first point concerns litter containers. Litter containers on street are mostly made of iron. Mr. PAO has just told us that a lot of household rubbish are deposited inside and outside litter containers. I think it is a very common phenomenon especially in old districts such as Central and Western. The question is when the household garbage is deposited within the containers, some dirty waste will flow out and create odour smell. I wonder whether the Council or the Department can solve this problem of bad smell coming out from litter containers. Can the materials of these litter containers be changed so that the smell would not come out so easily? The second point is about dog faeces. Mr. PAO told us that 59 prosecutions were taken out in the past six months. I think this is a terribly low figure. I remember I asked a similar question but the previous reply was that since the enforcement staff of USD were off duty, they were unable to prosecute those who were in breach of the law in their absence. I think they are taking advantage of the loophole of staff's working hours. I wonder whether the Department can do anything to take action against such dog owners. Can we not change the working schedule of our staff so that people letting their dogs foul the streets at night will also be prosecuted. If dog owners are prosecuted for once, I wonder whether there is any record similar to that of hawkers which can be submitted to the Court on the second or subsequent convictions. I wonder whether the Department has considered this proposal or not?
MR. PAO PING-WING (in Cantonese): Mr. Chairman, Mr. WONG has made two suggestions which I think are very good. The suggestion of using alternative materials and design of litter containers will be relayed to the Department for further examination to see whether any improvement can be made in this regard. The second point is about prosecution problem concerning these dog owners. You mentioned that dogs owners are taking their dogs for walks only at night when our staff are off duty. Certainly, I will also relay your views to USD to see whether they can strengthen the prosecution procedure. I can't tell you whether your suggestion of having a shift duty system for staff is workable or not, certainly this will be relayed to the Department for further consideration. Finally, concerning the prosecution record of people who have been fined or prosecuted, and whether we can forward the record to the Court, the USD is currently keeping records on all prosecutions including litter bugs or illegal hawkers and will forward these records to the Judiciary for reference if required.
MR. CHAN TAK-CHOR (in Cantonese):—Thank you, Mr. Chairman. I would also like to ask questions concerning the overflowing of litter containers and
Page 48 of 126
85
HONG KONG URBAN COUNCIL
Page 48 of 126
Page 48 of 126
84
HONG KONG URBAN COUNCIL
MS. ANNA TANG KING-YUNG (in Cantonese):—Mr. Chairman, you just told us that the average fine was around $400. In your reply, it is stated that dogs owners are liable to a fine of $2,500 on the first conviction. May I know how the amount of $400 come from?
MR. PAO PING-WING (in Cantonese):—Mr. Chairman, the maximum fine may be $2,500. I agree with Ms. TANG that a fine of $400 is too low a figure. If I were the judge, I would have imposed the maximum fine. It is the judiciary who decides the amount of the fine, so it is not appropriate for me to comment on the level of fines. Certainly I hope that members of the public should bear in mind that if they are left with bad records, heavier fine will be imposed on subsequent convictions.
MR. AMBROSE CHEUNG WING-SUM (in Cantonese):-Mr. Chairman, I have a follow-up question on the overflowing of litter containers. I have read the answer given by Mr. PAO. My impression is that this problem does not merely arise from the size of litter containers. In many old residential areas with a lot of old tenement buildings, the system of refuse collection is not very satisfactory. Often after dinner, people have to take out their garbage and just place them beside litter containers. I understand many people would like to take the rubbish to the refuse collection points nearby but sometimes the locations of the RCPs are not so convenient for them to deposit litters there. Besides, the opening hours of these refuse collection points are so restricted that residents are unable to deposit their rubbish in time. I would like to ask Mr. Pao whether the Public Health Select Committee would follow up on the issue of extending the opening hours of the refuse collection points so that some self-disciplined residents can take the garbage to these RCPs themselves.
MR. PAO PING-WING (in Cantonese): Mr. Chairman, Mr. CHEUNG has made a very good suggestion. In fact, the Public Health Select Committee has already discussed this issue and we hope that the USD District Offices would consider extending the opening hours of these refuse collection points. However, this involves a lot of problems including deployment of staff, the scheduling of staff's working hours and transport of these garbage bags. In other words, the change of opening hours of the refuse collection points not only involves various RCPs but also all UC refuse collection vehicles and the working hours of our staff. This is a rather complicated issue but on the whole I agree with Mr. CHEUNG that if the RCPs can provide a more convenient service to our residents, the problem of overflowing litter containers can be lessened. But I don't think it is easy to solve the problem once-and-for-all. Another point raised by Mr. CHEUNG that overflowing litter containers may not have a direct bearing on the size of the containers and as people tend to deposit a lot of garbage bags close to the containers is true. According to law, residents are entitled to deposit their waste inside litter containers instead of putting them to the RCP although the definition of waste is very wide, which does not include bulky objects of furniture. This gives rise to a lots of problems mentioned by
Page 48 of 126
HONG KONG URBAN COUNCIL
Page 48 of 126
85
Mr. CHEUNG especially in some old residential buildings. Many residents just deposit their garbage bags close to litter containers. In the long term that not only through the improvement of our policy but also those of Central Government including the strengthening of laws of building management, the work of USD can be carried out smoothly. I hope that when time is right, we can discuss this issue at our Select Committee meeting.
MR. WONG SHUI-LAI (in Cantonese):-Mr. Chairman, I have several follow-up questions. The first point concerns litter containers. Litter containers on street are mostly made of iron. Mr. PÃO has just told us that a lot of household rubbish are deposited inside and outside litter containers. I think it is a very common phenomenon especially in old districts such as Central and Western. The question is when the household garbage is deposited within the containers, some dirty waste will flow out and create odour smell. I wonder whether the Council or the Department can solve this problem of bad smell coming out from litter containers. Can the materials of these litter containers be changed so that the smell would not come out so easily? The second point is about dog faeces. Mr. PÃO told us that 59 prosecutions were taken out in the past six months. I think this is a terribly low figure. I remember I asked a similar question but the previous reply was that since the enforcement staff of USD were off duty, they were unable to prosecute those who were in breach of the law in their absence. I think they are taking advantage of the loophole of staff's working hours. I wonder whether the Department can do anything to take action against such dog owners. Can we not change the working schedule of our staff so that people letting their dogs foul the streets at night will also be prosecuted. If dog owners are prosecuted for once, I wonder whether there is any record similar to that of hawkers which can be submitted to the Court on the second or subsequent convictions. I wonder whether the Department has considered this proposal or not?
MR. PAO PING-WING (in Cantonese): Mr. Chairman, Mr. WONG has made two suggestions which I think are very good. The suggestion of using alternative materials and design of litter containers will be relayed to the Department for further examination to see whether any improvement can be made in this regard. The second point is about prosecution problem concerning these dog owners. You mentioned that dogs owners are taking their dogs for walks only at night when our staff are off duty. Certainly, I will also relay your views to USD to see whether they can strengthen the prosecution procedure. I can't tell you whether your suggestion of having a shift duty system for staff is workable or not, certainly this will be relayed to the Department for further consideration. Finally, concerning the prosecution record of people who have been fined or prosecuted, and whether we can forward the record to the Court, the USD is currently keeping records on all prosecutions including litter bugs or illegal hawkers and will forward these records to the Judiciary for reference if required.
MR. CHAN TAK-CHOR (in Cantonese):-Thank you, Mr. Chairman. I would also like to ask questions concerning the overflowing of litter containers and
Page 48 of 126
No comments yet.
Private notes are available after approval.