Prosecutors get suspected breaches of flat sales from watchdog 'weekly'
Authority for new home sales defends itself against criticism over zero prosecutions
The watchdog that oversees sales of new flats says it files at least one case each week to government lawyers so they can consider prosecuting developers over suspected violations of sales rules.
Many of the cases were related to false representations in advertisements and problems with price lists that the watchdog, the Sales of First-hand Residential Properties Authority, did not specify yesterday.
Nor did it disclose how many cases it had referred to the Department of Justice, or speculate on when the first case could be brought to court.
Authority director Eugene Fung Kin-yip defended his 18-month-old agency against Consumer Council criticism, released on Tuesday, saying that no charges had been laid so far.
Fung said they had done a lot of inspections, investigations and public education.
Up to Monday, the authority had checked 630 brochures, 1,400 price lists, 800 sales arrangement documents and 4,700 advertisements.
But it was not "appropriate timing" to reveal the number of cases in which investigations were completed, Fung said.
He called for patience, saying the cases required months for evidence collection and other work that could lengthen the probe to up to a year before being passed to the department.
"Time will tell we have done our job," Fung said. "At the end of the day, our job will be judged by a successful trial in court."
The department declined comment on the issue.
The Residential Properties (First-hand Sales) Ordinance, in effect since April last year, governs the ways developers disseminate sales and flat information to clients, including the use of brochures, price lists and ads.
The authority can hold developers and related parties criminally liable over offences that warrant a fine of up to HK$5 million and seven years in jail.
Developers had not been uncooperative, Fung said, as they were legally bound to assist in the investigations.
He also said there was no pressing need to review the law, which embodied a consensus reached among various stakeholders and lawmakers after a long consultation.
Fung said it was natural for the consumer watchdog to seek changes favourable to buyers, such as ensuring all flats shown on the price list were open for sale and lowering the percentage of deposit forfeited if buyers pulled out of their deal within a specified time.
He agreed with the council's concerns that the law gave developers flexibility to devise sales methods that suited their commercial needs, but said those methods should be fair and transparent.
