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Show compassion when enforcing hawking laws
Arrest of a 75-year-old woman for selling HK$1 worth of cardboard underlines the need for clearer rules to guide frontline officers
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As if arresting a 75-year-old who made a meagre HK$1 for selling cardboard without a hawker licence wasn’t absurd enough, the authorities went further still and forced the cash-strapped woman to pay HK$30 in bail, leaving her with just HK$4 to get home. The incident instantly became the talk of the town, prompting more than 15,000 people to sign an online petition that forced the government to drop the charge ahead of the court hearing and to review enforcement guidelines. This is yet another example of overly rigid enforcement by the Food and Environmental Hygiene Department.
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The woman, surnamed Chu, gave a few pieces of cardboard to a domestic helper for a dollar in Central on June 11. She immediately found herself surrounded by six officers and was later charged with hawking without a licence. Officials only made a U-turn following the public outcry.
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Chu could apply for comprehensive social security payment; instead, she collects cardboard on the streets to supplement her meagre earnings from a part-time cleaning job. She is just one of the many elderly citizens who prefer standing on their own feet.
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