Air pollution fines too low, says EPD

FINES imposed on restaurants and factories breaking the air pollution ordinance are too low to stop them repeating the offence, the Government admits.

Of 48 convictions in July, nine were for smoke emissions from restaurants and four were for smoke emissions from factories.

The highest factory fine was $20,000 for a sixth offence by the Fat Kee Bean Curd Factory in a village near Sheung Shui, with the Winsure Restaurant in Nathan Road, Kowloon, being hit with a $10,000 fine, the highest for a restaurant.

'A few thousand dollars is not a lot,' said Environmental Protection Department (EPD) urban east officer in charge, Betty Cheung Miu-han.

'The level of fines has been raised but it's up to the magistrate. We try to tell the magistrate that this is really a problem for our officers and the environment but we can't always convince them. It's their decision.' A company owner could be jailed for up to three months for subsequent offences but no one ever had been even though this was an effective deterrent, Ms Cheung said.

A maximum water pollution fine of $80,000 was imposed for a second offence on Mingai Dyeing and Printing Factory in Tuen Mun, which had discharged blue jeans dye into a river.