Replies to LegCo questions

LCQ11: Obstruction caused by illegal hawking or unauthorized extension of business by shops

Following is a question by the Hon Lee Wing-tat and a written reply by the Secretary for Health, Welfare and Food, Dr York Chow, in the Legislative Council today (June 6):

Question:

Regarding the problems of obstruction and noise nuisance caused by unauthorized extension of shops in Kwai Fong Circuit, will the Government inform this Council:

(a) in each of the past five years, of the number of complaints received by the Government about the above problems, broken down by the subject of such complaints; what clearance operations the Government had carried out regarding such complaints, and whether it has assessed the effectiveness of such operations; if it has, of the results of the assessment; and

(b) given that the Government had successfully curbed unauthorized extension of shops in Lo Tak Court of Tsuen Wan, whether the Government will make reference to the relevant experience and measures adopted in resolving the above problems in Kwai Fong Circuit?

Reply:

Madam President,

(a) At present, many government departments take enforcement actions against shops for unauthorized extension of business and illegal hawking. The Food and Environmental Hygiene Department (FEHD) mainly takes action against shops hawking illegally in the public area or extending its business without authorization, thus obstructing scavenging services, or food premises carrying on food business illegally by setting out tables and chairs beyond the confines of their premises. For cases involving unauthorized occupation of government land of a permanent nature, such as building a terrace or installing a curtain outside the shops without authorization, they will be referred to the relevant departments (e.g. the Buildings Department and the Lands Department) for appropriate actions. If circumstances warrant, FEHD will request the District Officer concerned to coordinate the efforts of various departments in tackling the problems.

Regarding those licensed food premises that repeatedly carry on business illegally outside the confines of their premises, apart from instituting prosecution under Section 34C of the Food Business Regulation (Cap. 132 sub. leg.), FEHD may also suspend or cancel the licences of those premises which have accumulated a prescribed number of demerit points under the Demerit Points System implemented by the department. If the shops have obstructed scavenging services by hawking illegally or extending its business without authorization, FEHD may prosecute under Section 22 of the Public Health and Municipal Services Ordinance (Cap. 132). Besides, FEHD and other concerned departments may also act under Section 4A of the Summary Offences Ordinance (Cap 228) to prosecute shops for unauthorized extension of business.

The numbers of complaints received by FEHD in each of the past five years against obstruction caused by illegal hawking or unauthorized extension of business by shops in Kwai Fong Circuit (i.e. the area surrounded by Wing Fong Road, Ko Fong Street and Hing Fong Road) are as follows:

Year     No. of Complaints
----         -----------------
2002         59
2003         150
2004         98
2005         94
2006         103

FEHD has been very concerned about the unauthorized extension of business in public area by food premises and illegal hawking by shops in Kwai Fong Circuit. Besides making routine visits, it also conducts blitz operations to prosecute offenders, or sends officers to inspect the location until late night to enhance the effectiveness of enforcement actions.

Kwai Fong Circuit is one of the places in Kwai Tsing District in which FEHD has taken enforcement actions most frequently. Between January 2006 and March 2007, FEHD took more than 570 enforcement actions in the area of Kwai Fong Circuit, resulting in over 370 prosecutions against shops for breaches of the law and the confiscation of over 60 batches of goods. These enforcement actions helped stop illegal hawking by shops in Kwai Fong Circuit. FEHD will review the effectiveness of enforcement actions from time to time and adjust the strength of the actions when necessary and resources permit.

(b) Lo Tak Court of Tsuen Wan is located at the bustling urban centre with a lot of shops and heavy pedestrian flow. In the mid nineties, in order to tackle the serious problem of unauthorized extension of business and to curb the illegal cooked food hawking activities, the former Regional Services Department and the Police launched a special operation to prosecute the persons-in-charge of the shops that had breached the law and the unlicensed hawkers conducting on-street trading there, and confiscated their paraphernalia. After a series of blitz operations, the situation at Lo Tak Court of Tsuen Wan gradually improved. FEHD is currently adopting a similar enforcement strategy against the situation in Kwai Fong Circuit. However, every case has its unique characteristics. We will continue to closely monitor the situation there and adopt suitable strategies accordingly in the light of the circumstances.


Ends/Wednesday, June 6, 2007
Issued at HKT 13:15

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