bodyType

customContents

entityId

entityUuid

articlePageQuery

filter

article

articleBaseAdvertisingInfoArticle

articleListArticle

articleSeoArticle

helpersCheckIsPostiesArticle

hooksArticleAcknowledgementGateOverlayArticle

hooksTrackPageViewArticle

hooksContentInterestArticle

articleLinkingDataContent

articleSchemaContent

liveArticle

advertZone

sentiment

contentLock

topics

types

sections

moreOnThisArticles

urlAlias

commentCount

sponsorType

authorLocations

authors

paywallTypes

corrections

displaySlideShow

multimediaEmbed

printHeadline

seriesContainer

socialHeadline

headline

flag

firstTopic

glossary

flattenTypeIds

publishedDate

additionalInfoBoxes

images

image

relatedLinks

relatedNewsletters

__typename

createdDate

sponsor

factSheets

series

disableOffPlatformContent

published

updatedDate

summary

subHeadline

body

keywords

copyrighted

customTimezone

liveContents

Linda Choy

LEGISLATORS and environmentalists called for harsher penalties to be imposed on polluters, after figures revealed their lenient treatment in court.

  The Legislative Council's environmental affairs panel heard that the average fine for causing pollution was only 10 per cent of the maximum laid down in various ordinances.

  The chairman of Green Power, Dr Simon Chau Siu-cheong, said he doubted the legislation would deter polluters, because fines were so low.

  ''When the fines are being set so low and seldom used to the full, I do not think they can really threaten polluters,'' he said.

  Dr Chau said the fines were so low that people tended to make them part of their operation costs.

  ''For instance, it is much cheaper to pay the average penalty for air pollution at $5,000 than get a new chimney, it actually encourages manufacturers to opt for paying the fine.''   Figures from the Environmental Protection Department (EPD) showed that the average fine for a first offence under the Water Protection Control Ordinance in 1992 was only $10,081, against the upper line of $100,000 stated in the ordinance.

  The largest fine imposed last year was $50,000.

  The average fine imposed for breaches of the Marine Dumping Control Ordinance, which has been in force since 1986, was $6,201.

  Air Pollution Control Ordinance offenders, who are major contributors to the territory's environmental problems, were fined an average of $4,410, also less than 10 per cent of the $50,000 maximum penalty.

  The Government imposed an average fine of $17,500 on first offenders for breaches of the Ozone Layer Protection Ordinance. The maximum fine is $1 million.

  A total of 545 prosecutions were made last year.

  Officials from the EPD and the Planning, Environment and Lands branch admitted the existing legislation needed amendment but said they need the co-operation of the judiciary to impose harsher penalties.

 Mr Franklin Chung Moon-kum, the principal environmental protection officer, agreed that fines under the present legislation were outdated and disjointed from the inflation rate.

 The department is proposing to increase fines and add jail terms to strengthen the regulations. The final reading of the amendment in the council is scheduled for February 10.

  Environmental panel convenor Mr Peter Wong Hong-yuen said legislators were concerned by the low level of maximum fines in the legislation, as well as the fact that the penalties imposed by the courts were often lenient.

  Mr Wong said some of the laws were already out of date and that the fines were often too low to deter people from polluting the environment.

  ''The Government is trying to revise the current legislation and trying to impose heavier penalties,'' he said.

  ''But it will still be useless if judges continue to be so lenient to the offenders.''   The panel will seek discussions with the Chief Justice, but Mr Wong said the legislature must be careful not to interfere with the decisions made by the judiciary.



Fines 'fail to deter polluters'