'Singapore is stricter': Hong Kong government admits asking MTR to crackdown on big bags and instrument cases
Rising number of passengers meant action was necessary, transport minister tells lawmakers
The recent increase in enforcement action against commuters carrying oversized luggage on MTR trains stemmed from a request by the government, the transport minister told lawmakers yesterday.
Frontline MTR staff executed the policy according to the corporation's by-laws without exercising discretionary power, Secretary for Transport and Housing Professor Anthony Cheung Bing-leung said.
Cheung was responding to a question from legislator Ma Fung-kwok about whether the government was aware of the reasons why the MTR had been enforcing luggage size restrictions more stringently.
"Because of a rise in the number of passengers carrying large objects in recent years, including parallel-goods traders at some of the stations, there are strong calls in society to address that, and the government asked the MTR Corporation to carry out the by-laws strictly," Cheung said.