Public consultation on proposed updates to safety standards for toys and children's products launched
The Government launched a public consultation today (December 2) on the proposed updates to Schedules 1 and 2 to the Toys and Children's Products Safety Ordinance (Cap. 424) to implement up-to-date safety standards promulgated by the relevant standardisation bodies for toys and children's products listed in Schedule 2 (Schedule 2 products).
The Ordinance stipulates that a person must not manufacture, import or supply a toy or a Schedule 2 product unless it complies with all the applicable requirements contained in any one of the safety standards (international standards or standards adopted by major economies) specified in Schedule 1 (applicable to toys) or Schedule 2 (applicable to Schedule 2 products) to the Ordinance. The Government keeps in view any updates or amendments to the safety standards so as to apply up-to-date and operative versions of the standards to toys and Schedule 2 products supplied in Hong Kong.
As the safety standards specified for toys and for seven classes of Schedule 2 products, namely (i) babies' dummies; (ii) baby walking frames; (iii) bottle teats; (iv) bunk beds for domestic use; (v) carry cots and similar handled products and stands; (vi) children's paints; and (vii) wheeled child conveyances have been updated, the Government proposes to adopt the up-to-date versions of those safety standards under the Ordinance. Details of the proposals are available on the website of the Commerce and Economic Development Bureau at www.cedb.gov.hk.
Members of the public are welcome to send their views on the proposals in writing to the Commerce and Economic Development Bureau at 23/F, West Wing, Central Government Offices, 2 Tim Mei Avenue, Tamar, Hong Kong, or by fax to 2869 4420, or by email to tcpso_standards_updates@cedb.gov.hk, on or before January 2, 2025.
Property owner given suspended jail sentence for persistently not complying with removal order
A property owner was convicted and sentenced to 14 days' imprisonment suspended for 18 months, and fined over $31,000 at the Tuen Mun Magistrates' Courts on November 15 for persistently failing to comply with a removal order issued under the Buildings Ordinance (BO) (Cap. 123).
The case involved unauthorised building works (UBWs) at a unit of a three-storey building on Yu Chui Street, Tai Lam, Tuen Mun, which included the removal of a slope, the erection of walls and a staircase, the removal of a protective barrier and the construction of unauthorised structures at the garden on the first floor of the building, with a total area of about 70 square metres. As the UBWs were carried out without prior approval and consent from the Buildings Department (BD), a removal order was served on the owner under section 24(1) of the BO.
Failing to comply with the removal order, the owner was prosecuted by the BD in 2022 and was fined $10,000 upon conviction by the court. Although the owner subsequently removed the unauthorised structures at the garden on the first floor of the building, the owner failed to fully comply with the requirements of the removal order, including the failure to reinstate the slope and protective barrier in accordance with the approved plans and remove the remaining UBWs. The BD then instigated prosecution again in 2023; and the owner was convicted and fined more than $10,600 by the court. As the owner persisted in not fully complying with the removal order, the BD instigated the third prosecution. The owner was convicted again and sentenced to 14 days' imprisonment suspended for 18 months, and fined a total of $31,020 at the Tuen Mun Magistrates' Courts on November 15.
A spokesman for the BD today (December 2) said, "UBWs may lead to serious consequences. The owners concerned must comply with the removal orders without delay. The BD will continue to take enforcement actions and consider instigating prosecution against the owners again if they persist in not complying with the orders, to ensure building safety."
Failure to comply with a removal order without reasonable excuse is a serious offence under the BO. The maximum penalty upon conviction is a fine of $200,000 and one year's imprisonment, and a further fine of $20,000 for each day that the offence continues.
