Prosecution
- The Authority can instigate direct prosecution under sections 20(7) and 20(8) and 21 and 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 $100,000.
Prosecution Statistics under the Town Planning Ordinance
| Year | 2019 | 2020 | 2021 | 2022 | 2023 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| No. of Prosecution Cases * (No. of Summons) |
95 (271) |
154 (404) |
70 (168) |
52 (102) |
61 (147) |
| Total Fine # (HK$) | 13,651,000 | 13,156,000 | 7,303,000 | 4,279,000 | 5,786,000 |
Fine on a quarterly basis (HK$)
| Quarter | Q1 2023 | Q2 2023 | Q3 2023 | Q4 2023 | Q1 2024 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Total # | 1,110,000 | 1,543,000 | 1,950,000 | 1,107,000 | 1,373,000 |
| Fine per case | 24,000–229,000 | 22,000–508,000 | 43,000–419,000 | 38,000–242,000 | 35,000–279,000 |
Remarks:
| * | Included cases with a conviction record. | ||
| # | The total fine includes cases imposed with a daily fine and is rounded to the nearest thousand. Cases pending a sentence are not included. | ||
Cases recently sentenced by Court
Non-compliance with Enforcement Notice Cases (Q4 2023 and Q1 2024)
| Sentence Date | Location | Zoning* | Unauthorized Development | Fine per case# |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 11/10/2023 | Various Lots in D.D. 101, Mai Po |
O, V | Storage | 92,000 |
| 22/11/2023 | A Lot in D.D. 102, Ngau Tam Mei |
GB | Storage | 61,000 |
| 29/11/2023 | Various Lots in D.D. 104, Nam Sang Wai |
OU(CDWRA), V | Storage | 242,000 |
| 29/11/2023 | Various Lots in D.D. 19, Lam Tsuen |
AGR, V | Parking | 98,000 |
| 27/12/2023 | A Lot in D.D. 102 | GB | Storage | 132,000 |
| 27/12/2023 | Various Lots in D.D. 80, Ta Kwu Ling North |
REC | Storage | 195,000 |
| 17/1/2024 | A Lot in D.D. 105 | GB | Storage | 38,000 |
| 17/1/2024 | Various Lots in D.D. 46 | AGR | Storage | 279,000 |
| 24/1/2024 | Various Lots in D.D. 105, San Tin |
R(D) | Storage, Parking | 221,000 |
| 31/1/2024 | Various Lots in D.D. 257 | V | Storage | 57,000 |
| 21/2/2024 | Various Lots in D.D. 76 | AGR | Storage, Parking | 85,000 |
| 6/3/2024 | A Lot in D.D. 96, Kwu Tung North |
GB | Storage, Parking | 92,000 |
| 13/3/2024 | Various Lots in D.D. 113 | AGR, CA | Filling of Land | 78,000 |
| 27/3/2024 | Various Lots in D.D. 80, Ta Kwu Ling North |
REC | Storage | 132,000 |
| 27/3/2024 | A Lot in D.D. 80 | REC | Storage | 163,000 |
| 27/3/2024 | A Lot in D.D. 80 | REC | Storage | 139,000 |
Non-compliance with Reinstatement Notice Cases (Q4 2023 and Q1 2024)
| Sentence Date | Location | Zoning* | Unauthorized Development | Fine per case# |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 25/10/2023 | A Lot in D.D. 109 | AGR | Filling of Land | 38,000 |
| 25/10/2023 | A Lot in D.D. 109 | AGR | Filling of Land | 38,000 |
| 6/12/2023 | Various Lots in D.D. 129, Lau Fau Shan |
CPA | Filling of Land | 122,000 |
| 13/12/2023 | Various Lots in D.D. 104 | OU(CDWRA) | Filling of pond | 44,000 |
| 20/12/2023 | A Lot in D.D. 87 | AGR | Storage, Parking | 46,000 |
| 28/2/2024 | Various Lots in D.D. 209, Shap Sz Heung |
CPA | Filling of land | 53,000 |
| 27/3/2024 | A Lot in D.D. 46 | AGR,V | Parking | 36,000 |
| * | The following are abbreviations of the respective land use zoning of the relevant outline zoning plans: | ||
| "AGR" | - | "Agriculture" | |
| “CA” | - | “Conservation Area” | |
| "CPA" | - | “Coastal Protection Area" | |
| "GB" | - | "Green Belt" | |
| "MRDJ" | - | “Major Road and Junction" | |
| "O" | - | “Open Space" | |
| "OU(CDWRA)" | - | "Other Specified Uses annotated Comprehensive Development to include Wetland Restoration Area" | |
| "REC" | - | "Recreation" | |
| “R(A)” | - | "Residential (Group A)" | |
| “R(B)” | - | "Residential (Group B)" | |
| “R(C)” | - | "Residential (Group C)" | |
| "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)
