Author Archives: hksar gov

     Police will implement special traffic arrangements this Sunday (March 31) to facilitate a public order event to be held on Hong Kong Island. A. Road closure      The following roads will be i… read more

     Police will implement special traffic arrangements this Saturday (March 30) to facilitate a public order event to be held on Hong Kong Island. A. Road closure      The following roads will be… read more

     â€‹A renovation company and a male staff member of the company were convicted of engaging in wrongly accepting payment, in contravention of the Trade Descriptions Ordinance (TDO), on March 14 at West Kowloon Magistrates’ Courts. The renovation company was fined $30,000 on the same day while the male staff member was sentenced to 80 hours of community service order today (March 28). This is the first successful prosecution in which a trader had wrongly accepted payment in the sale of renovation service.

     Hong Kong Customs earlier received information alleging that a male staff member of a renovation company had engaged in unfair trade practices in the sale of demolition service. 

     After investigation, it was revealed that during a site inspection, the male staff member was aware that the materials of the rooftop structures were under statutory control and a notice was required to be submitted 28 days prior to the commencement of the works. However, at the time of accepting payment from two consumers, the staff member promised to complete the works on a schedule which would last for less than 28 days. The staff member eventually failed to complete the demolition works on schedule.  

     Customs reminds traders to comply with the requirements of the TDO and consumers to procure services at reputable shops. 

     Under the TDO, any trader commits an offence if at the time of acceptance of payment, the trader intends not to supply the product or intends to supply a materially different product, or there are no reasonable grounds for believing that the trader will be able to supply the product within a specified or reasonable period. The maximum penalty upon conviction is a fine of $500,000 and imprisonment for five years. 

     Members of the public may report any suspected violation of the TDO to Customs’ 24-hour hotline 2545 6182 or its dedicated crime-reporting email account (crimereport@customs.gov.hk). read more

     The effective exchange rate index for the Hong Kong dollar on Thursday, March 28, 2019 is 103.4 (up 0.1 against yesterday’s index). read more

     A Registered Inspector (RI) was convicted and fined at Kwun Tong Magistrates’ Courts last week for contravention of the regulation under the Mandatory Building Inspection Scheme (MBIS). This is the first prosecution case against an RI in committing an offence of failing to provide proper supervision of building repair under the scheme.
 
     The RI concerned was appointed in 2015 to carry out inspection of the common area of a building at Parkes Street, Kowloon, and to supervise the required repair. In January 2017, the RI submitted a certificate to the BD, certifying that the building had been rendered dangerous or was liable to become dangerous, and a prescribed repair was required to be carried out to render the building safe. According to the record of the BD, a notice of commencement and certificate of completion of the minor works for the required prescribed repairs were received in April and October 2017 respectively.
 
     Later in December 2017, in response to a report on the collapse of a signboard from the building, inspection by the staff of the BD revealed defects at the soffit of the canopy on the first floor of the building. Further investigation revealed that the supervision of the prescribed repair works of the building was not provided properly by the RI, contravening the requirement under section 30D(4) of the Buildings Ordinance (BO). The RI was subsequently prosecuted for the offence under section 40(2AE) of the BO. He pleaded guilty to the charge and was fined $3,000 at Kwun Tong Magistrates’ Courts on March 19.
 
     A spokesperson for the BD reiterated that contravention of regulations under the MBIS is a serious offence. Upon receipt of reports or when irregularities are found during audit checks, the BD will take appropriate action against the relevant persons, including instigating prosecution and/or disciplinary action.
 
     Pursuant to section 40(2AE) of the BO, an RI who fails to provide proper supervision of the carrying out of the prescribed repair commits an offence and is liable on conviction to a fine of $250,000. read more