B. Display of bills or posters

B. Display of bills or posters 

Under section 104A(1) of the Public Health and Municipal Services Ordinance (Cap. 132), it is an offence that a person displays or affixes any bill or poster on private land without the written permission of the owner or occupier, or on Government land without written permission from the Authority (typically the Director of Food and Environmental Hygiene, though this varies by location).  

Penalty and fixed penalty notice 

A person convicted of this offence is liable to a fine of $10,000.  

Alternatively, a public officer can issue a fixed penalty notice at a level of $3,000 to the offender. For more information about the fixed penalty notice, please refer to “Fixed penalty for public cleanliness and obstruction offences”. 

Meaning of “bills” and “posters” 

Bills and posters include any word, letter, model, sign, placard, board, notice, device, or representation, any advertisement painted on any wall, fence, railing, post, rock, roadcutting, or tree, but exclude any structure, apparatus, or hoarding used for the display. 

Meaning of “display” 

The term “display” implies a degree of permanence and habitual regularity. It generally does not apply to the temporary use of banners or placards in mobile or static demonstrations that do not occupy the same spot persistently. 

Persons who may be liable 

Liability extends beyond the individual physically putting up the poster. Under Section 104D, the following persons are deemed guilty of the offence as if they had personally committed it:  

• Any person who uses another person to display or affix the bill or poster. 
• Any person whose goods, trade, business, or other concerns are given publicity by the bill or poster. 

These parties are not guilty if they can prove the display occurred without their knowledge or consent. 

Duty to maintain bills and posters 

Under section 104B, all bills or posters must be maintained in a clean and tidy condition to the reasonable satisfaction of the Authority. A person cannot be convicted for failing to maintain a poster unless the Authority first served a written notice and gave them at least 24 hours to remove it. The penalty is a fine of $10,000 and a further daily fine of $300 for each day the offence continues. 

Power of the Authority to remove bills and posters 

Under section 104C, the Authority has the power to remove any bill or poster displayed in contravention of the law or not maintained properly and any display equipment for the bill or poster, such as “easy-mount frames”. The cost of removal can be recovered from the person displaying it as a civil debt.