By The SUN
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| Stills from a video show the grimy and greasy food sold openly in Victoria Park (The Standard photo) |
A Hong Kong lawmaker has called on the government to stop the
illegal hawking of cooked food at Victoria Park, targeting Indonesian domestic
workers who hang out there on their days off.
The call by Doreen Kong of the Election Committee constituency
which was published in The Standard online on Monday, Jul 4, was said to be based
on her observation that many of the hawkers cook by the roadside, using
ingredients that are uncovered and placed near discarded trash.
Kong was quoted as saying the operation created environmental
health hazards, and could also lead to fire. Besides, they could potentially
help in the spread of the coronavirus.
"It's ridiculous to tighten quarantines on the one hand,
but being so dirty on the other hand,” Kong reportedly said.
The article came with a video of about a dozen hawkers selling
food to passersby on the sidewalk of Victoria Park. The food is contained in
overflowing pots and pans placed inside dirty-looking carton boxes.
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| FEHD agents seized 48 kilos of food abandoned by illegal hawkers in Victoria Park in January |
Kong’s call was picked up a Filipino resident who is a keen observer of migrant workers’ activities especially on Sundays. She said she noticed some Filipinos doing the same thing near the outlying island piers or under some bridge in Central, and was concerned.
“It is not really hygienic,” she said. “And it is risky.”
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| PINDUTIN PARA SA DETALYE |
She noticed that the stove used by the hawkers for cooking the food they sell out in the open is often placed inside greasy cardboard boxes – presumably for easy getaway when law enforcers are in the vicinity- so the possibility of fire breaking out is high.
Hawking without a license is punishable with a fine of up to
$10,000 and imprisonment for up to six months. Obstruction of a public place
while hawking is also an offence, for which the maximum penalty is $5,000 fine
and three months’ imprisonment.
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| PINDUTIN PARA SA DETALYE |
And even is a hawker has a fixed-pitch or itinerant licence, he or
she is prohibited from cooking or heating any food without specific permission.
On top of this, every hawker is obliged to maintain cleanliness
at all times, including providing enough bins to hold all the refuse generated
by his business.
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| HOW? PINDUTIN LANG ANG PICTURE |
With the surge in coronavirus cases in the first half of the
year, the Food and Environmental Hygiene Department has stepped up its
enforcement of the hawking and hygiene regulations.
In a report published on Jun 6, the FEHD said that from the start
of the year until the day before, a total of 180 fixed penalty notices each
costing $5,000 were issued to persons who breached public cleanliness offences
or caused obstruction in public places.
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| Press for details |
In addition, nine persons were arrested and prosecuted for illegal hawking in public places, and 162 seizures of articles abandoned by hawkers, including cooked food, were effected.
Reports published on the government website indicated that between
34 to 48 kilos of food items were seized on each day of the operation.
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| PRESS FOR MORE DETAILS |
The seizures of abandoned food items were carried out mainly in
Victoria Park while those prosecuted for illegal hawking also included
offenders rounded up in the vicinity of Chater Road in Central.
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| PADALA NA! |
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