It will come as no surprise to be told that illegal parking continues unabated. But it is slightly disappointing to see it being encouraged by senior government officials.
Our picture shows a government car illegally parked on Gloucester Road during rush hour, forcing a bus to wait in the road, thereby causing traffic congestion. This sort of thing just encourages a culture of low-level law breaking.
Meanwhile, the police have taken to the air waves, notably in two episodes of RTHK's Police Report several months ago in which it points out the inconvenience that illegal parking causes. Maybe the government official should be encouraged to watch the two episodes of Police Report, even though one episode stretches reality by showing a car being towed away for illegal parking.
On a related matter, we remarked recently on the derisory efforts to enforce the engine idling law and noted that in the 14 months to July 31 a total of only 47 tickets were issued for idling engines. We learned recently that 45 of these tickets were issued by environmental protection officers, and two by traffic wardens.
We continue to hear of more aggravation from HSBC customers trying to extract their money from ATMs under the new arrangements.