Is Hong Kong a wild frontier for drones? Lack of rules prompts fears over privacy and safety

One recent weekend, I was lounging in a Hung Hom hotel's rooftop pool with friends from out of town when we noticed a silent visitor: hovering about three metres above us, its rotors whirring, a matt-black creature was slowly manoeuvring to keep the camera attached to its undercarriage trained on our group below.

My friends, on holiday from the US, were taken aback - "Whoa. Look. A drone!" - but I was unfazed. Although not a daily occurrence, a drone darting in and out of the Hong Kong skyline is fairly common sight. FlyCamHK, a specialist drones retailer, estimates that there are now more than 5,000 drone users in the city.

As the popularity of drones continues to grow among hobbyists and businesses, Hong Kong is often being described as a wild frontier for the radio-controlled aerial devices.

The extreme contrasts between the city's tower blocks, rural greenery and rugged coastline, along with its compact size and accessibility, make it an ideal place for flying drones and recording breathtaking aerial videos. Further fuelling the drone explosion are the relaxed regulatory climate and low entry barrier (cheap quadcopters can cost as little HK$250, although more sophisticated models for the ambitious hobbyist easily run to about HK$10,000).

However, some industry insiders and critics worry about the potential for injuries from out-of-control quadcopters, invasion of privacy from snooping cameras and the devices getting in the way of planes in the current freewheeling environment.

Civil Aviation Department regulations classify drones - and model aircraft - weighing less than 7kg as unmanned aircraft systems (UAS) and do not require users to have any special licence to fly them.