EditorialVibrant Hong Kong needs to get balance right on noise from vendors

Vibrant street life is one of the many elements that makes Hong Kong unique. But the hustle and bustle can be overwhelming at times, especially for those who have to literally live with it. While several statutory controls have been in place over the years to help strike a balance, their effectiveness is another matter.

The government is well aware of the inadequacies of the Noise Control Ordinance. Enacted in 1989, the law covers a wide range of sources, including noise from domestic units, public places, construction sites as well as commercial and industrial premises. But it has not been updated following a review in 1994, and penalties still range from HK$10,000 to HK$200,000, with the maximum jail term being from three months to six months. There is a need to ensure the scope of the law can keep up with the times and sanctions remain an effective deterrent.

The proposed ban on the use of loudspeakers by peddlers in the latest review is a step in the right direction. It targets not only shops and hawkers that promote their goods and produce with pre-recorded messages via loudhailers, but also noise from street booths, roadside publicity vans and outdoor electronic advertising displays. The proposed issuing of on-the-spot fixed-penalty tickets, instead of the current lengthy process of gathering evidence for use in court, would also make enforcement easier. The penalties for breaching the law and repeated violations would also be raised.

The moves are justified by an Environmental Protection Department survey in 2021 that found about 30,000 people were persistently affected by such noise. The number of relevant complaints nearly tripled, from 197 in 2017 to 544 last year. Officials said problems prevailed despite more vigorous enforcement action, including the doubling of inspections from 600 in 2017 to more than 1,300 last year, and some 170 prosecutions and convictions over the past six years.

There are concerns that tightening will deal a blow to vendors struggling to recover from the pandemic. But that does not mean they can do business at the expense of other people’s suffering. They are already liable to prosecution for making excessive noise under the current law, but evidence gathering and long legal proceedings have made convictions difficult.