On May 8, 2025, the bill Public Health and Municipal Services (Amendment) Bill 2024 was passed in LegCo. This bill addresses environmental hygiene issues in Hong Kong by enhancing the powers of public officers to investigate and abate public health nuisances, increasing penalties for non-compliance, and expanding the scope of offenses.
This article was generated using SAMS, an AI technology by Timothy Loh LLP.
SPOTLIGHT ON
FAMILY OFFICES
On May 8, 2025, the bill Public Health and Municipal Services (Amendment) Bill 2024 was passed in LegCo.
The bill seeks to strengthen the Public Health and Municipal Services Ordinance and the Fixed Penalty (Public Cleanliness and Obstruction) Ordinance. It aims to improve the investigative and enforcement capabilities of public officers to address environmental hygiene problems such as water seepage, vermin infestation, obstruction of public places, and illegal display of advertisements. The bill also aims to enhance deterrence and ensure prompt compliance by increasing penalties and expanding the scope of offenses.
The bill includes provisions to extend the permissible hours for entering premises to investigate nuisances, increase penalties for non-compliance with nuisance notices and nuisance orders, expand the definition of 'litter' to include 'substance or article likely to constitute a nuisance,' empower the Environmental Protection Department ("EPD") to issue notices to persons responsible for management of buildings for vermin removal, shorten the removal time for obstructing articles in public places, introduce a new offense for shopfront extension, empower enforcement officers to remove, destroy, or dispose of display equipment, and increase penalties for illegal display or affixation of bills or posters.
View the full article:Source
