Hong Kong looks to double fines for litterbugs

The SAR government on Wednesday proposed doubling the fine for littering to HK$3,000, as part of the measures announced in Chief Executive John Lee Ka-chiu’s maiden policy address reviewing penalties concerning environmental hygiene.

According to documents submitted to Legco, the Food and Environmental Hygiene Department said the fine has remained unchanged at HK$1,500 since 2003.

The department also proposed that the heavier penalty will apply to offenses such as spitting, allowing pets to make a mess in public, and displaying posters without permission.

Meanwhile, authorities are considering raising the fine for illegal shop extensions and depositing construction waste unlawfully from the current HK$1,500 to HK$6,000 as the belief is that the current fixed penalty is not enough of a deterrent.

"We notice that some non-compliant shop operators treat the fixed penalty as rental and operating costs for using the space outside their shops illegally, which is unfair to compliant operators," the department wrote in the Legco document.

The HK$1,500 fine for illegal shop extensions has remained unchanged since 2016.

The department said it plans to table the proposed changes to Legco in the second quarter of next year at the earliest, with a public consultation to be conducted soon.