Press
Releases - 2000
Record
fine for violating Noise Control Ordinance
A record
fine was handed down by court last Friday on a construction
firm for violating the Noise Control Ordinance.
Chevalier
(Construction) Company Limited was found guilty of carrying
out hammering, erection of scaffolding and handling of rubble
on a construction site in Area 29, Phase I, Tuen Mun on Sunday,
April 25, 1999 without a construction noise permit.
The company
was ordered to pay the maximum fine of $200,000 under the
Ordinance.
This
has been the first time a company is ordered to pay the maximum
fine since the Ordinance came into effect in 1989.
The company
was also fined $100,000 for using powered mechanical equipment
for carrying out construction work without a construction
noise permit at the same site on the same day.
It was
ordered to pay a cost of $30,000 for each conviction.
A spokesman
for the Environmental Protection Department (EPD) said today
(Tuesday): "The violations were spotted by the EPD during
an inspection following complaints by nearby residents against
construction noise."
In fact,
the company has been convicted six times before for violating
the Noise Control Ordinance on the same construction site
between July 14, 1998 and April 24, 1999.
"The
EPD would continue its efforts with a view to deterring such
violations and protecting the interests of the public," the
spokesman noted.
End/Tuesday,
January 25, 2000
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