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Officer grade receive training in the USD Training School or attend lessons, they are clearly and specifically told the correct action to be taken in certain circumstances, for which there are codes of law enforcement. As situations may vary greatly, it is very difficult for me to give a clear-cut answer to Ms. Ada WONG. Nevertheless, I can tell you that we have given them the power to take prosecution action under one ordinance such as the one on illegal hawking or the other, depending on the circumstances then, such as the area of extension. I consider that the prevailing circumstances should dictate the kind of action to be taken.
I wish to add one point. Apart from the Department, the Police may also take prosecution action under the Summary Offences Ordinance. As far as I know, some District Boards such as the Shamshuipo District Board (to the best of my memory) requested that joint action, such as joint action by the Department and the Police, be taken against illegal hawking or shop extension in the vicinity of the market there. In such cases, we applied the ordinances concerned. Prosecution action is taken or the ordinances concerned are invoked depending on the prevailing circumstances and at the request of local representative bodies. If Ms. Ada WONG wants to know more about the specific situation, I may arrange a discussion between her and the related law-enforcing staff, so that she may have a clear understanding of the actual situation. It is very difficult for me to answer Ms. Ada Wong's question here.
The second question is whether the court has ever dismissed any case for prosecution. According to the information available, the answer is no. So far the court has never dismissed any case for prosecution. Naturally I don't want this happen either. If it does happen, I will be most willing to keep Ms. Ada WONG informed.
MR. MOK YING-FAN (in Cantonese):—I consider that as the managers of the urban streets in Kowloon and on Hong Kong Island, we too hope that most of the shop operators will abide by the law by running their business within the confined area. However, the fact is that when we walk on the street, we often find that for the sake of running business, individual shops extend their area of business illegally. Even big shops do the same. I find one strange thing though. The only complaint received has been the one directed against the shops in the San Po Kong district, which has been lodged with the HCT. It seems that no such reaction has ever been witnessed in other districts. May I ask the Chairman of the Select Committee, is this because the HCT in the San Po Kong district works harder or because the HCTs in other districts have not carried out their duties?
Chairman (in Cantonese):—Mr. Mox, thank you for your views. Regarding the question of whether the present situation is due to the devotedness of our colleagues in the San Po Kong district or the inefficiency of the staff in other districts, as I quoted just now, similar prosecution action has also been carried out in the Shamshuipo district. As far as I remember, the Sham Shui Po
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Officer grade receive training in the USD Training School or attend lessons, they are clearly and specifically told the correct action to be taken in certain circumstances, for which there are codes of law enforcement. As situations may vary greatly, it is very difficult for me to give a clear-cut answer to Ms. Ada WONG. Nevertheless, I can tell you that we have given them the power to take prosecution action under one ordinance such as the one on illegal hawking or the other, depending on the circumstances then, such as the area of extension. I consider that the prevailing circumstances should dictate the kind of action to be taken.
I wish to add one point. Apart from the Department, the Police may also take prosecution action under the Summary Offences Ordinance. As far as I know, some District Boards such as the Shamshuipo District Board (to the best of my memory) requested that joint action, such as joint action by the Department and the Police, be taken against illegal hawking or shop extension in the vicinity of the market there. In such cases, we applied the ordinances concerned. Prosecution action is taken or the ordinances concerned are invoked depending on the prevailing circumstances and at the request of local representative bodies. If Ms. Ada WONG wants to know more about the specific situation, I may arrange a discussion between her and the related law- enforcing staff, so that she may have a clear understanding of the actual situation. It is very difficult for me to answer Ms. Ada Wong's question here.
The second question is whether the court has ever dismissed any case for prosecution. According to the information available, the answer is no. So far the court has never dismissed any case for prosecution. Naturally I don't want this happen either. If it does happen, I will be most willing to keep Ms. Ada WONG informed.
MR. MOK YING-FAN (in Cantonese):—I consider that as the managers of the urban streets in Kowloon and on Hong Kong Island, we too hope that most of the shop operators will abide by the law by running their business within the confined area. However, the fact is that when we walk on the street, we often find that for the sake of running business, individual shops extend their area of business illegally. Even big shops do the same. I find one strange thing though. The only complaint received has been the one directed against the shops in the San Po Kong district, which has been lodged with the HCT. It seems that no such reaction has ever been witnessed in other districts. May I ask the Chairman of the Select Committee, is this because the HCT in the San Po Kong district works harder or because the HCTs in other districts have not carried out their duties?
Chairman (in Cantonese):—Mr. Mox, thank you for your views. Regarding the question of whether the present situation is due to the devotedness of our colleagues in the San Po Kong district or the inefficiency of the staff in other districts, as I quoted just now, similar prosecution action has also been carried out in the Shamshuipo district. As far as I remember, the Sham Shui Po
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