Lai See | Jaywalkers nabbed but police walk away from real problems

Passing through Central earlier this week we were struck by the strong uniformed presence around the junction of Pedder Street and Des Voeux Road. This appeared to be a co-ordinated operation with at least six traffic wardens, and six uniformed branch police and a sprinkling of traffic police. What was going on, we wondered? Had there been an incident, were the authorities expecting one, another protest perhaps?

On inquiring we learned that a road safety enforcement operation was under way. The operation was targeting that awful crime that affects so many of us in the course of everyday life and absolutely justified the crackdown we were observing. This took the form, for the 12 to 16 officers involved, of spending a couple of hours watching people cross the road.

The offence to which we refer is, of course, jaywalking. Indeed, we observed one lady, who looked like a tourist, receiving a ticket. Meanwhile, while all this was going on, 80 yards up the road it was clear that the usual illegal car parking was occurring outside Prince's Building, as the tai-tais went about their business. But when we pointed this out, the police sergeant smiled and said: "Oh, we'll deal with that another day."

So jaywalkers get ticketed while illegal car parkers, which is a major scourge in Central and elsewhere, do not. This arbitrary choice by the police as to which of Hong Kong's laws it chooses to enforce is hardly an encouragement to observing the law. Jaywalkers have every reason to feel aggrieved when the far greater menace of illegal parking goes virtually unpunished.

The hand-wringing by the authorities over the Occupy Central movement is laughable. Central has already been occupied by a major irritant to everyday life - the seven-seaters. They are a far greater pain than Occupy Central will ever be.