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Following is a question by the Hon Albert Chan and a written reply by the Secretary for Security, Mr Ambrose S K Lee, in the Legislative Council today (May 3):
Question:
In reply to my question at the Council meeting on December 8, 2004, the Government advised that it would continue to combat illegal practices employed by debt collection agencies (DCAs). However, I have learnt that there is a deteriorating trend in the harassment of members of the public by DCAs in recovering debts. Apart from banks, finance companies and telecommunications companies, recently some beauty service companies and tutorial teachers have also hired DCAs to collect money owed by their customers, causing many people to suffer harassment. In this connection, will the Government inform this Council:
(a) of the number of cases reported by the public to the police since December 2004 about harassment by DCAs, and how the figure compares to those in the preceding two years;
(b) whether the authorities will reconsider accepting the Law Reform Commission's recommendations in 2002 on creating an offence of harassment of debtors and others and introducing a statutory licensing system; if so, of the details; if not, the reasons for that; and
(c) whether it will consider stepping up law enforcement actions to curb the harassing practices of DCAs; if so, of the details; if not, the reasons for that?
Reply:
Madam President,
(a) In 2004, there were 1,988 crime reports and 20,429 non-crime reports relating to debt collection. In 2005, there were 2,355 crime reports and 18,255 non-crime reports in relation to debt collection activities. For the first quarter of 2006, the figures are 482 and 3,877 respectively.
The figures above should be considered against the fact that there was a change in the classification of "crime" and "non-crime" cases since mid-2004 with the aim to better streamline and utilise existing resources. Some borderline cases that were previously classified as "non-crime reports" are now classified as "crime reports", and all such cases would be investigated by the Criminal Investigation Team, thus ensuring more thorough examination of the cases from the criminal investigation angle. While this has resulted in an increase of crime reports, the total number of debt collection related reports in 2005 (20,610) has in fact decreased by 1,807 cases or 8 per cent compared to 2004 (22,417). When compared to the first quarter of 2005, the first quarter of 2006 has also recorded a decrease of 1,048 cases or 19.4 per cent.
(b) The Administration has thoroughly studied the findings and recommendations of the Law Reform Commission (LRC) Report on the Regulation of Debt Collection Practices. In September 2005, we issued to the Panel on Security of Legislative Council our response to the Report. In formulating its response, the Administration has taken into account a number of factors and considerations, as well as developments subsequent to the publication of the Report. At present, a number of legislative provisions are already in place to combat abusive practices employed by debt collection agencies. These include, inter alia, the criminal offences of blackmail, criminal intimidation, criminal damage and common assault. The Administration will continue to enforce existing laws to combat illegal practices in debt collection. The question of stalking that may be associated with debt collection is being considered in the context of the study on the LRC Report on Stalking.
The Administration will continue to adopt a multi-disciplinary mode in providing the necessary infrastructure, support, service and statutory safeguards to deal with abusive practices associated with debt collection.
(c) The Police accord a high priority to tackling unscrupulous debt collection practices. Since June 2004, internal procedures have been streamlined such that greater resources are provided to debt collection malpractices. These include the new classification system for such cases into crime and non-crime reports, with the latter further sub-divided into "high-threat" and "low-threat" reports. The Police will take the necessary follow up action on the reports. The Police will instigate prosecution where there is sufficient evidence.
Ends/Wednesday, May 3, 2006
Issued at HKT 15:32
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