Few complaints against dodgy service providers in Hong Kong make it to court, watchdog finds
Agencies say frequent withdrawal of complaints and high threshold of proof needed for conviction account for low prosecution rate
The prosecution rate against dishonest service providers in Hong Kong was as low as about 2.5 per cent over a 4½-year period since the trade descriptions law was changed, prompting the government spending watchdog to call for a full review of enforcement work.
But law enforcement agencies attributed the low rate to the high threshold of proof needed for a criminal conviction and also the frequent withdrawal of complaints.
The amended Trade Descriptions Ordinance against unfair sales practices, such as false and misleading trade descriptions, bait advertising and wrongly accepting payment, came into force in July 2013.
The latest report from the Audit Commission revealed that the Office of the Communications Authority (OFCA) received 2,845 service-related complaints as of December 2017. But the office had only completed detailed investigations in 39 cases, with only one case leading to prosecution, a rate of 2.56 per cent.
Customs officials had also looked fully into 407 of 10,247 service-related complaints, but only 26 cases, or 6.39 per cent, were brought to court. The prosecution rate of complaints against products reached 27 per cent.