Feel strongly about this letters, or any other aspects of the news? Share your views by emailing us your Letter to the Editor at letters@scmp.com or filling in this Google form . Submissions should not exceed 400 words, and must include your full name and address, plus a phone number for verification. In June 2021, the Ombudsman began an investigation into the problem of vehicles being abandoned on government land. However, an Audit Commission report from the year 2000 already highlighted a lack of legislation holding owners responsible for proper disposal of their vehicles. Was the conclusion of the Ombudsman’s investigation known two decades before it even began? In July 2021, I started my own investigation and reported five vehicles – some looked abandoned and some were without valid vehicle licences – to the Sai Kung police and Lands Department. The owners had left their vehicles parked on government land in free parking spaces for some time. The Lands Department and the police replied that a multi-departmental task force was responsible for abandoned vehicles, and final action rested with the Transport Department. In September, the police concluded their investigation: all five vehicles were declared abandoned. I asked the police if they had checked whether a vehicle scrapping certificate had been submitted or the last registered owner contacted; I was informed it was not their role to do so, but that this certificate was the Transport Department’s domain. If a vehicle scrapping certificate has not been submitted, the last registered owner is still legally responsible. Leaving a car parked on the road for more than 24 hours without a valid car licence and possibly no car insurance is an offence committed by the vehicle owner and clearly under the police’s purview. By declaring the vehicles abandoned, the police had no need to take further action against the owners, passing the problem to Home Affairs Department and Transport Department. On December 2, 2021, the Transport Department conducted a routine car park inspection and identified nine suspected abandoned vehicles, including the five I had pointed to. On December 8, the Transport Department placed notices on the vehicles ordering the owners to move them by December 9, or they would be removed. By December 9, all nine vehicles were moved by their owners. The result of my investigation clearly shows what is required: an effective investigation establishing ownership, and a swifter application of the relevant and present legislation to charge vehicle owners who abuse free parking spaces. Finally, as pointed out in the Audit Report from 2000, a penalty should be imposed on irresponsible owners who abandon their vehicles on government land. I wonder how the Ombudsman’s investigation is proceeding? Neil Dunn, Kowloon Tong