FEHD conducts joint operations with Police to fortify enforcement actions against illegal shop front extension activities (with photos)

     A spokesman for the Food and Environmental Hygiene Department (FEHD) said today (October 5) that the FEHD and the Hong Kong Police Force (the Police) have started a series of stringent enforcement actions since October 3 in which joint operations have been conducted in Kowloon City, Sham Shui Po, Tsuen Wan and Kwun Tong against shop owners and other stakeholders illegally placing goods or articles in public places or on carriageways, thereby causing obstruction to pedestrian and vehicular flow.

     The spokesman said that, during the joint operations against shop front extension activities in Kowloon City, Sham Shui Po and Tsuen Wan on October 3, the FEHD issued 26 fixed penalty notices or summonses against obstruction in public places, cleanliness offences as well as contravention of Food Business Regulation. Meanwhile,the FEHD had removed about 4.25 tonnes of waste.

     The FEHD and the Police also conducted joint operations in Kwun Tong and Sham Shui Po today, and will also adopt such enforcement mode gradually this month in other districts so as to fortify the effectiveness of enforcement actions against shop front extension.

     The main focus of the second month of the Government Programme on Tackling Hygiene Black Spots is to combat hygiene black spots with illegal shop front extensions leading to street obstruction. Under the joint enforcement mode, if obstructions in a public place or carriageways were caused by articles illegally extending from shops, the offenders concerned would be prosecuted. Apart from that, the Police would issue warning notice under section 32(1) of the Summary Offences Ordinance (Cap. 228) specifying the time limit for removal of the obstructions (including goods). If the offenders failed to remove the obstructions within the time limit as specified by the Police, the FEHD would then remove the items for temporary storage.

     The spokesman appeals to shop operators and other stakeholders not to extend business areas illegally by placing goods or articles in public places or on carriageways causing obstructions to pedestrian and vehicular flow. The FEHD and the Police will continue to closely monitor and to take stringent enforcement actions to tackle the shop front extension problem.