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THE significant increase in the number of debt
collection related complaints lodged with the police in the first half of this year reflected the
growing confidence of the public in reporting such illegal activities to police said the District
Commander of Tai Po, To Ho-kee.
Reviewing the crime situation in his district in the first six months of this year, Mr To said that 39 cases including criminal damage, blackmail, assault, unlawful detention and lending at excessive rates in Tai Po were found to be connected with debt collection. He said police pursued every case vigorously, adding that some cases might be investigated by a crime squad based at district or divisional level and some, depending on their seriousness and complexity, might be referred to a crime squad at regional level or a unit attached to headquarters. He noted that most complaints were related to nuisance and threatening phone calls, splashing of paint, dumping of urine or excrement outside the debtor's home or office, damage to debtors? belongings including applying glue to key holes, physical assault and a few arson cases. Mr To said that in the Special Administrative Region, a total of 636 complaints related to debt collection were reported to the police in the first half of this year, whereas in the whole of 1997, 447 such complaints were received. In view of the increase in the number of complaints and cases of debt collection by unlawful means and the rise in illegal practices of harassment or intimidation by debt collection agencies, the Government is also taking steps to protect Hong Kong residents who have become targets of unscrupulous "debt collectors". There are plenty of provisions under the present criminal law to deal with various illegal practices employed by debt collection agencies. For instance, debt collectors who resort to intimidation or criminal damage can be prosecuted either under the Crimes Ordinance or the Summary Offences Ordinance. In view of the public concern on this issue and the recent increase in the number of cases of debt collection by illegal means, the Chief Justice and the Secretary for Justice have recently referred the topic of debt collection activities to the Law Reform Commission (LRC) for further study. The LRC will form a sub-committee to consider the adequacy of the existing law and to recommend such changes as appropriate. The Administration will consider the need for legislation to regulate debt collection activities in the light of the findings of the LRC. Authorised institutions (which under the Banking Ordinance include licensed banks, restricted licensed banks and deposit-taking companies) are not required to report to the Hong Kong Monetary Authority (HKMA) how they conduct their debt collection activities, the Hong Kong Association of Banks and the Deposit Taking Companies Association, however, introduced in July 1997 a Code of Banking Practice (the Code) for compliance by their members which was endorsed by the HKMA. The Code requires authorised institutions to establish effective procedures to monitor the performance of their debt collection agencies and prohibit authorised institutions from passing information about the referees or third parties, other than the guarantors, to their debt collection agencies. |
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IN February 1998, the HKMA conducted a
survey on compliance with the Code including those requirements relating to debt collection
activities. The situation was considered satisfactory. Out of the 204 authorised institutions
surveyed, 60 of them indicated that they employ/use the services of debt collection agencies.
All have specified in the relevant contracts or written instructions that the debt collection
agencies must not resort to intimidation or violence.
In April 1996, the HKMA set up a hotline to receive complaints from the public concerning improper debt collection activities of authorised institutions. This serves to alert the HKMA of authorised institutions which are not complying with the Code. In the past 12 months the HKMA hotline received a total of 224 complaints relating to debt collection activities, with 166 of them related to causing nuisance to the complainants, 36 to intimidation, 13 to defamation and 9 to the use of violence. Where complaints have been received, the HKMA follows up with the authorised institutions concerned to ensure that necessary action is taken to rectify the incidents of malpractice identified. The HKMA monitors compliance with the Code as part of its regular supervision of authorised institutions through meetings with their senior management as well as on-site examinations on the control system of the authorised institutions. In considering action to be taken in respect of a breach of the Code, the HKMA takes into account the seriousness of the breach, whether it is deliberate or unintentional and whether it may be detrimental to the interests of depositors. If necessary, the HKMA may consider the use of the powers available under the Banking Ordinance as appropriate. These powers include the commissioning of an auditor's report on the internal systems of control of the authorised institution, the imposition of restrictions on the operations of the authorised institution and in extreme cases, the suspension or revocation of the licence of an authorised institution. |
| AT a ceremony held at
Tsim Sha Tsui Police Station, Yau Tsim District Commander Acting Chief Superintendent
Ku Kin-wah and the Chairman of the Yau Tsim Mong District Fight Crime Committee Chow
Chun-fai presented four civic-minded residents with Good Citizen Awards (and $500) for
helping police fight crime.
Two security guards, Misters Ghale and Gurung, were awarded for detaining a thief at a construction site of the Kowloon Station of the Airport Railway until police arrived. |
 Good citizens Gurung, Ghale, Ma and Chan |
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The third good citizen, Mr Ma, a watchman in Yau Ma Tei, was honoured for calling police after intercepting a man who had robbed a woman at knifepoint in his building's lift. The man was later charged with robbery and was sentenced to six months' treatment at Siu Lam Psychiatric Centre. Mr Chan, the fourth good citizen, spotted a man indecently assaulting a woman on an MTR train. He stopped the man and handed him to police at Tsim Sha Tsui MTR Station. Speaking at the ceremony last month, Mr Chow praised the four good citizens for displaying outstanding courage, alertness and resourcefulness in helping police fight against crime: "They set a good example to the public and deserve the Good Citizen Award." | |
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THE Crime Prevention Bureau continues to
increase crime prevention awareness among Hong Kong residents. The latest initiative is
to print crime prevention messages on electricity bills with the joint co-operation of the
China Light and Power Company.
Since August, 38,000 non-domestic households and 553,000 domestic households in Kowloon and the New Territories have received electricity bills carrying crime prevention messages. "We have already prepared 12 bilingual messages covering home safety, premises security, vehicle protection and personal safety," said CIP A&S Tsang Siu-man. "At present it is still a pilot exercise, but we hope to add more messages to cope with the prevailing crime situation." Said SP CPB Simon Roberts: "In addition to the China Light and Power Company, we would like other utility companies to assist by allowing us to run crime prevention messages on their bills in order to reach as many people living in Hong Kong as possible and raise crime prevention awareness of the community as a whole." |
