By Alex Liu

Hong Kong, 5 October 2022: After decades of inaction, steps are finally being taken to get tough on citizens who dump unwanted vehicles on roadsides and in public parking spaces. The move follows a damning report by Hong Kong’s Ombudsman which lays bare ineffective government measures and the lack of legislation to punish vehicle owners.

Background

Abandoned cars and motorcycles on government land have long blighted the cityscape, creating eyesores, spoiling the environment and bringing hygiene problems. As long ago as 2000, the Audit Commission pointed out the absence of legislation to hold registered owners responsible for the proper disposal of their vehicles. That same year, the police gave up dealing with discarded vehicles that posed no danger to road safety.

The government tried prosecuting registered owners by invoking the Land (Miscellaneous Provisions) Ordinance (Cap. 28), but this proved fruitless. The Lands Department halted evidence collection and prosecution in such cases in 2007. Since then, the Transport Department has switched its focus to simply removing abandoned vehicles. But the problem has persisted, even after the Home Affairs Department stepped in to coordinate clearance efforts, resulting in more than 1,600 vehicles being removed from government land since 2021.

Ombudsman’s findings

The Ombudsman, Winnie Chiu, found in her report that delineation of powers and responsibilities among the government departments dealing with abandoned vehicles was unclear and the handling approach ineffective. The current measures also failed to deter irresponsible vehicle owners.

She highlighted it had been more than 20 years since the Audit Commission recommended the law be amended to impose penalties on owners who fail to dispose of their vehicles properly, yet the Transport Department had failed to act. It was “inappropriate” for the Transport Department to define occupation of public roads and public parking spaces by abandoned vehicles merely as a land administration problem, she insisted.

“Vehicle owners can wilfully abandon their vehicles. Stepped-up efforts by the government to remove vehicles abandoned on the roadside have in effect helped owners dispose of their vehicles for free. The crux of the problem is that the government has yet to establish the legal responsibility of owners to dispose of their vehicles properly and hold them liable for non-compliance. The Transport Department should promptly amend the legislation to hold owners responsible for the proper disposal of their unwanted vehicles.

“Before completion of the legislative amendment, the Transport Department should beef up its efforts to remind owners to renew their vehicle licences in a timely manner or dispose of their vehicles properly. The Transport Department and Lands Department should also strengthen their collaboration in evidence collection to enhance prosecution of offenders for a better deterrent effect.”

Recommendations

Ms Chiu identified seven key steps required to deal with the issues raised in her investigation:

• The Transport Department to press ahead with the legislative amendments that would make owners responsible for proper disposal of their vehicles.
• These should include enabling the government to recover removal costs from the owner, or impose a fine.
• The Transport Department to proactively remind owners about expiry of vehicle licences and the requirement to dispose of unwanted vehicles properly.
• The Lands Department to consider relaunching its work on evidence collection and prosecution of abandoned vehicle cases.
• Effective collaboration between the two departments in evidence collection and tracing of owners.
• The two departments to strengthen cooperation with other relevant departments to handle the problem of motorcycles abandoned in public rear lanes.
• The Home Affairs Department to organise joint clearance operations district by district.

Ms Chiu noted that the departments concerned had, in general, accepted all these recommendations.

Moving forward

The Transport Department has pledged to amend the Road Traffic (Registration and Licensing of Vehicles) Regulations (Cap. 374E) to state that, when a vehicle is unlicensed for two years, the owner will commit an offence if they either fail to renew the licence, cancel the registration or obtain an exemption from the Commissioner for Transport.

The department believes the law changes will compel owners to fulfil their responsibilities and properly dispose of their vehicles. It is working with the Department of Justice to set penalties for non-compliance which will have a “strong deterrent effect”. The law amendments are expected to be tabled in the Legislative Council within the next few months and to come into effect in the first half of 2024.

Alex Liu has been a Partner in BC&C since 2000. Among his many official appointments, he is a Chairman of the Transport Tribunal, which hears appeals against decisions made by the Commissioner for Transport on matters such as vehicle registration and licensing, driving licences and car hire permits. He can be contacted at alex@boasecohencollins.com.