Hong Kong government officers constantly target cardboard collectors, making their lives even harder, concern group says
Scavengers regularly endure hardships similar to experience of 75-year-old woman who was recently charged for selling cardboard without a licence, group says
Hong Kong government officers are constantly targeting scavengers who collect and sell cardboard for a living, leading to them enduring ordeals similar to that recently experienced by a 75-year-old woman who was charged for selling cardboard without a licence, a concern group has said.
The group, Mission To New Arrivals, made the remarks on Tuesday after the city’s Food and Environmental Hygiene Department withdrew the charges against her on Monday.
The department’s decision followed public pressure – a petition garnered more than 15,000 signatures, and around 30 people joined a protest on Sunday. Activists have denounced the department’s officers for their “merciless behaviour” as the woman had sold the cardboard without a hawker licence for a mere HK$1.
A member of the concern group, Tang Wing-him, said it was common for cardboard collectors in many places across Hong Kong to encounter problems with the food and environmental hygiene officers.
The recent case of the elderly woman just happened to catch the public’s attention, he said.