With the approach of the Mid-Autumn Festival, the Housing Department (HD) reminds tenants that burning wax in the common areas of public rental housing (PRH) estates may cause their households to be allotted penalty points without warning under the Estate Management Marking Scheme and a fine of $1,500 for littering.
"Parents should stop their children burning wax as it is a hazardous act which may cause fires and severe burns," an HD spokesman said today (September 19).
Family members of children committing the misdeed would have their tenancy jeopardised. "Although wax burning and littering caused by tenants celebrating the Mid-Autumn Festival abated last year, we will continue to step up our patrolling this year. If minors refuse to stop the misdeed despite verbal warning from our patrol staff, we will turn to their parents. The household will be subject to allotment of penalty points. The tenancy will be terminated if 16 points or more have been allotted within two years," the spokesman stressed.
Apart from routine checks by estate offices, from Sunday to Tuesday (September 23 to 25), staff from the department's Regional Patrol Teams and Mobile Operations Unit will be deployed to patrol PRH estates beyond midnight. Additional cleaning workers will also be deployed to clean up early in the morning following the festival day.
A total of two fixed penalty notices for littering or wax-burning in PRH estates were issued during the Mid-Autumn Festival last year. About 170 verbal warnings were given and one household was allotted penalty points.
To caution tenants against wax-burning, the messages have been publicised through posters and the Housing Channel.
The spokesman called for PRH tenants' support by reporting any misdeeds to estate offices or the Housing Authority Hotline 2712 2712.
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