Prosecution
- The Authority can instigate direct prosecution under section 20(7) & 20(8) and section 21 & 21F against a person who is undertaking or continuing an unauthorized development.
- The Authority can instigate prosecution against the land owner, occupier and person responsible who fail, to comply with the Enforcement Notice, Stop Notice, and Reinstatement Notice under section 23(6), and the Notice to obtain information under section 22(8) of the Ordinance.
Penalty – Maximum Fine $1,000,000
- Failure to comply with the Enforcement Notice, Stop Notice and Reinstatement Notice is an offence under section 23(6) of the Ordinance. The fine for a first conviction is up to $500,000 plus a daily fine of $50,000 after the expiry of the notice. In the case of a second or subsequent conviction, the fine is up to $1,000,000 plus a daily fine of $100,000.
- Any person who fails to provide the information as required under the Notice to Require Provision of Information, provides false information or knowingly omits any particular material commits an offence under section 22(8) of the Ordinance and is liable to a fine up to $100,000.
Prosecution Statistics under the Town Planning Ordinance
| Year | 2018 | 2019 | 2020 | 2021 | 2022 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| No. of Prosecution Cases * (No. of Summons) |
62 (227) |
95 (271) |
154 (404) |
70 (168) |
52 (102) |
| Total Fine # (HK$) | 5,788,000 | 13,651,000 | 13,156,000 | 7,303,000 | 4,279,000 |
Fine in quarterly basis (HK$)
| Quarter | Q2 2022 | Q3 2022 | Q4 2022 | Q1 2023 | Q2 2023 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Total # | 1,650,000 | 1,380,000 | 776,000 | 1,110,000 | 1,543,000 |
| Fine per case | 24,000 - 612,000 | 11,000 - 234,000 | 10,000 - 120,000 | 24,000 - 229,000 | 22,000 - 508,000 |
Remarks:
| * | Included cases with conviction record. | ||
| # | The total fine included cases imposed with daily fine and is rounded to the nearest thousand. Cases pending to sentence are not included. | ||
Cases recently sentenced by Court
Non-compliance with Enforcement Notice Cases (Q1 2023 & Q2 2023)
| Sentence Date | Location | Zoning* | Unauthorized Development | Fine per case# |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 11/1/2023 | A Lot in D.D. 89 | AGR | Storage and Parking | 83,000 |
| 15/2/2023 | A Lot in D.D. 87, Hung Lung Hang |
AGR | Storage and Parking | 60,000 |
| 22/2/2023 | A Lot in D.D. 16, Lam Tsuen |
GB | Storage | 110,000 |
| 22/2/2023 | A Lot in D.D. 87, Hung Lung Hang |
AGR | Storage | 164,000 |
| 1/3/2023 | Various Lots in D.D. 85, Lung Yeuk Tau |
GB | Storage | 24,000 |
| 8/3/2023 | Various Lots in D.D. 101, Mai Po |
O, V | Storage | 117,000 |
| 22/3/2023 | Various Lots in D.D. 78, Ta Kwu Ling North |
AGR | Storage and Parking | 120,000 |
| 22/3/2023 | Various Lots in D.D. 129, Lau Fau Shan |
GB | Storage | 229,000 |
| 19/4/2023 | A Lot in D.D. 39, Luk Keng |
V | Storage and Parking | 55,000 |
| 26/4/2023 | A Lot in D.D. 119, Tong Yan San Tseun |
GB | Storage | 22,000 |
| 26/4/2023 | A Lot in D.D. 119, Tong Yan San Tseun |
U, V | Storage | 40,000 |
| 17/5/2022 | Various Lots in D.D. 129, Lau Fau Shan |
GB | Storage | 86,000 |
| 31/5/2023 | A Lot in D.D. 80, Ta Kwu Ling North |
REC | Storage | 95,000 |
| 31/5/2023 | Various Lots in D.D. 80, Ta Kwu Ling North |
REC | Storage | 111,000 |
| 14/6/2023 | A Lot in D.D. 99, San Tin |
OU(CDWRA) | Parking, Storage, Workshop, Fuel Filling Station |
92,000 |
| 21/6/2023 | Various Lots in D.D. 94, Kwu Tung South |
R(D), V | Parking | 36,000 |
Non-compliance with Reinstatement Notice Cases (Q1 2023 & Q2 2023)
| Sentence Date | Location | Zoning* | Unauthorized Development | Fine per case# |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 8/2/2023 | Various Lots in D.D. 82, Ta Kwu Ling |
AGR | Filling of Land | 73,000 |
| 15/2/2023 | A Lot in D.D. 117, Tai Tong |
AGR | Workshop | 44,000 |
| 15/3/2023 | A Lot in D.D. 123, Ping Shan |
V | Filling of Land | 51,000 |
| 22/3/2023 | Various Lots in D.D. 98, Ngau Tam Mei |
GB | Workshop, Storage and Parking | 35,000 |
| 26/4/2023 | A Lot in D.D. 129, Lau Fau Shan |
GB | Storage | 75,000 |
| 24/5/2023 | Various Lots in D.D. 113, Kam Tin |
AGR | Storage | 508,000 |
| 7/6/2023 | Various Lots in D.D. 78, Ta Kwu Ling North |
AGR, GB | Filling of Land | 424,000 |
| * | The followings are abbreviations of respective land use zoning of the relevant outline zoning plans: | ||
| "AGR" | - | "Agriculture" | |
| "GB" | - | "Green Belt" | |
| "O" | - | "Open Space" | |
| "OU(CDWRA)" | - | "Other Specified Uses annotated Comprehensive Development to include Wetland Restoration Area" | |
| "REC" | - | "Recreation" | |
| "R(D)" | - | "Residential (Group D)" | |
| "U" | - | "Undetermined" | |
| "V" | - | "Village Type Development" | |
# The fine is rounded to the nearest thousand.
Cases previously sentenced by Court
Past prosecution cases (Press Release)
