Mission

To serve the community through enforcing pollution control laws to safeguard people's health and welfare.

Hong Kong people have become much less tolerant of polluters in recent years. This is reflected in pollution complaints, which have risen substantially since the mid-1990s. The Environmental Protection Department (EPD) shares these concerns and is working successfully with companies to help them reduce their pollution, as described in the Partnership chapter of this report. But a hard core of offenders still remains. Effective enforcement action is needed to pull them into line. The department therefore has taken steps to improve its policing of polluters.

New technology is being adopted to enable faster and more effective response to complaints. Prosecution actions are being enhanced through training and the setting up of a dedicated prosecution unit in the department. Government policy is also supporting the tougher line on offenders by penalising persistent convicted companies when they bid for government contracts. The message is clear. The government will do all it can to help and encourage companies to behave responsibly towards the environment. But those that do not will be dealt with firmly.
Renovation work has been a source of complaint from the public
Like any city, Hong Kong has thousands of potential polluters. It would be physically impossible for the EPD to police each of them. Instead, the public is encouraged to act as the anti-pollution watchdog. About 20 000 calls were made to the department in 2002, averaging 55 a day, with the main sources of complaint being air and noise pollution. Each of these complaints is investigated by the department's inspectors, who may issue operators with advice, warnings or legal notices to stop polluting. Prosecution action may also be taken.

Complaints have dropped over the past two years from a peak of about 26 000 in 2000, but they still remain much higher than in the 1990s. There are several reasons for the recent decrease. Smoky vehicle complaints have dropped by about 57 per cent because of the EPD's programme to replace some diesel vehicles with cleaner liquefied petroleum gas and to control emissions from the rest.

The partnership programme is also having an effect, as more companies are complying with the law. The EPD has also given technical advice on reducing pollution to 17 000 participants in more than 130 seminars in the past three years. Another reason for fewer complaints may be the economic downturn, which has resulted in less construction activity, a major source of complaint. Nonetheless, noise complaints have risen due to day-time renovation work for which there are no legal controls.

The EPD aims to deal with complaints as efficiently as possible. In October 2002 it opened a Customer Service Centre equipped to gather detailed information about complaints and thus improve the EPD's response. The centre's telephone operators are trained to deal with certain types of pollution problems and callers are directed to the appropriate operator for their complaint. A geographical information system enables the operator to pinpoint the exact location of the problem on a map. The operator can also find out whether previous complaints have been made, if an abatement notice has been issued, if prosecution action is underway and what the laws are regarding different offences. This means the caller can be made better informed about the situation. More importantly, the EPD's inspectors have more information for responding to complaints.

A new Customer Service Centre has been set up to improve response to complaints
A geographical information system helps to pinpoint the exact location of a pollution complaint


Inspectors receive all information about a complaint by e-mail. With the Customer Service Centre, this information is much more comprehensive than in the past. Inspectors can save time looking up sites on maps and past records about a site, because all of that information is included in the e-mail. They can use details of the complaint and the complainant's distance from the problem to prioritise the most serious cases. The new system also enables managers to analyse data so staff resources can be directed to the geographical areas where they are most needed.

The inspectors work out of six Local Control Offices. These offices are spread out around Hong Kong to enable staff to develop an understanding of the needs and problems in each community. A total of 66 630 inspections were carried out in 2002, including both complaints response and routine inspections.

Technology and Enforcement
Mobile computing equipment is starting to be used by staff on site
New technology is helping to reduce paperwork and enable inspectors to concentrate on investigating cases and gathering evidence. Portable Digital Assistant devices are being tried out in chemical waste and marine dumping controls. Inspectors can download records of a company they are inspecting before they visit the site. They can refer to this at the site and input new information. This information can then be uploaded onto computers at their office. The system not only saves time, it saves paper and reduces waste. It is hoped to extend the palm-held devices to other types of inspection. Mobile downloading is also being explored so inspectors can download information using a mobile phone and Internet link. This would be especially useful in emergencies.

Webcams are another technological tool being explored for use in inspections. These are required to be mounted on-site for all major projects. An Internet link provides the public - and the EPD - 24-hour access to images of the site. Any wrongdoing can be followed up immediately. Project proponents are also required to monitor and audit their environmental impacts and post the data on specially-created websites at regular intervals.

Each inspection involves a lot of paperwork. Evidence of a possible offence must be gathered and recorded, along with information about the company and past offences or complaints. This work is being streamlined with technology. Palm-held devices are starting to be used, in which inspectors input information on-site then upload it onto a computer at the office, rather than typing in notes. Preliminary trials have been made in marine dumping and chemical waste control work with very promising results (see Box on Technology and Enforcement). Plans are underway to explore the use of palm-held devices in other routine enforcement areas and in complaints investigations.

Webcams are another technological tool that may help in the inspection process, in particular in monitoring construction sites. In December 2002, all major development projects were required to mount webcams on-site, enabling operations to be observed over the Internet. The initiative was made under the Environmental Impact Assessment Ordinance, which Local Control Offices have been enforcing since mid-2002. The first site to install a webcam was the Disney reclamation site on Lantau Island (http://www.pennysbaycontract2.com/default.htm), which received more than 450 hits in its first three days of operation.
A barrister has been appointed to head the EPD's Central Prosecution Section
Apart from gathering evidence, EPD staff are also expected to prosecute offenders - an increasingly difficult task. As more offenders plead not-guilty, these cases are taking more time. The enforcement officers responsible for prosecution have, in the past, had little or no formal legal training. There may also have been a possible conflict of interest in having staff responsible for investigation and prosecutors in the same office.

The EPD recognised these problems and, in 2001, established a Central Prosecution Section. Headed by a barrister who is also a chartered building surveyor and an Authorised Person, the section is staffed by six lay prosecutors, all drawn from existing EPD staff. The section deals with almost all of the department's trial cases and provides training on evidence and case preparation for front-line staff.

The Central Prosecution Section co-ordinates the EPD's work on trial cases

The large number of prosecutions has kept the section busy. Prosecutions rose sharply in the late 1990s, to a peak of 1 824 cases in 2000. The figure has dropped recently thanks to the partnership programme and the construction industry's growing compliance with a 1998 construction dust regulation. But the number of not-guilty pleas has held steady over the past two years. They accounted for 173 of the 842 prosecutions in 2002, and many proved difficult to prosecute.


See Data

Case in Point: Salad Dressing

Pollution comes in many forms and one of the most unusual environmental cases to reach the High Court in 2002 concerned salad dressing. At a warehouse in Fo Tan, a palette of salad dressing bottles was being loaded. The palette was dropped and its contents spilled on the ground. It was cleaned up mainly by hosing the area down. Unfortunately, that action polluted a nearby stream.

The defendant lost the case in the magistrate's court and appealed to the High Court. The defence counsel argued the hosing was necessary to prevent danger to life, in case people fell and hurt themselves. It was also argued that the law allowed for streets and thoroughfares to be cleaned in this manner. But the High Court upheld the magistrate's decision, pointing out the warehouse yard was a private area and not a street or thoroughfare and that salad dressing was not considered a danger to life. The defendant could have used cloth or sand to clean up the mess and blocked off the area to prevent access, rather than polluting the stream.

Defendants are increasingly using technicalities and points of law to escape conviction. They have a strong financial reason for doing so. Under a Works Bureau circular adopted in 2002, companies that have environmental (or indeed other) convictions on their record lose points when tendering for government works contracts. In the past offenders would employ solicitors to defend them, but a growing number are bringing in experienced barristers to make their cases. They no longer see anti-pollution fines simply as a cost of doing business.

The Department of Justice can meet the challenge on behalf of the EPD in the higher courts, but in the magistrates' courts - where most environmental cases are heard - the work is being carried out primarily by staff from the Central Prosecution Section. The lay prosecutors have been trained in such things as the law of evidence, basic criminal law and how to handle problems that arise in magistrates' courts. During their first full year, polluters were acquitted in only six per cent of cases proceeding to trial, an encouraging record for the section. The aim of prosecutors is not so much to convict, but to prosecute fairly, independently and objectively. But the results show the EPD is going into court properly prepared to present its cases. The risk of losing on technicalities has been greatly diminished.
The EPD enforces several ordinances


Enforcement against pollution is two-pronged: it needs a carrot and a stick. The partnership programme provides positive encouragement for companies to comply with environmental laws. Good laws that are properly enforced provide a deterrent.

It might be tempting to see the drop in complaints and prosecutions as a sign that the stick can be softened. But the increasing complexity of cases means there is no room for complacency. A firm enforcement system is still needed to deal with offenders and prevent them from slipping into the mentality that anti-pollution fines are just a cost of doing business. The public can be a partner in this respect, by alerting the EPD to pollution problems and giving a clear indication that they will not tolerate a polluted environment.

Case in Point: Wasting Court Time

A road contractor appeared in magistrate's court, accused of carrying out works not in accordance with his noise permit. The contractor was represented by legal counsel, but failed to provide the lawyer with details of why he was there. The magistrate reluctantly allowed the case to be adjourned so the lawyer could be brought up to date, but he pointed out the prosecution - being the EPD - was prepared and had brought witnesses.

Unusually, the EPD asked whether costs for the government could be considered in the final decision on the case. Costs are usually only an issue for defendants, but the magistrate agreed that they should be reserved, pending the outcome of the trial. The defendant subsequently returned to court for trial, without counsel, and was convicted and fined $35,000. He was also ordered to pay almost $5,000 in attendance costs for the EPD's witnesses. The case helped to highlight that in pollution cases, as in any case, defendants are expected to show respect to the court and to court procedures.

Highlights of 2002
• Established the Customer Service Centre to enhance the handling of pollution complaints and public enquiries.
• Implemented a GIS-based complaint information database module for improving the response to pollution complaints.
• Conducted 55 seminars to provide technical advice to more than 7 400 participants.
• Responded to 19 449 pollution complaints, undertook 842 prosecutions and conducted 66 630 inspections.

Looking Ahead
• Continue to develop a centralised database system to streamline the processing of enforcement data.
• Continue the clean-up programme at Shing Mun River to reduce odour from the sediment.
• Implement a new Complaint Management Policy to streamline the handling of pollution complaints.
• Explore the use of Portable Digital Assistant devices in routine enforcement work.
• Develop a departmental Prosecution Policy.