After the reopening of the borders with mainland China in early 2023, the sight of beggars making their rounds on the streets of Hong Kong became increasingly active. In response to a question from the Legislative Council, Secretary for Security Chris Tang Pink-keung said that 79 people had been arrested for begging in the past five years, 57 of whom had entry-exit permits to China, and three had Chinese passports. Those arrests were mainly made in 2019 (30) and 2023 (42).
According to information provided by the Security Bureau, in the past five years, as of Nov. 30, 2023, the police arrested a total of 79 people suspected of begging activities under Section 26A of the Summary Offences Ordinance. Of these, 57 people held travel permits for traveling to and from Hong Kong and Macao or China, 18 people held Hong Kong ID cards, three people held Chinese passports, and one person held a Russian passport. Of these, 75 people were prosecuted, and as of Sep. 30, 2023, 65 of them had been convicted, of which 28 were sentenced to immediate imprisonment, nine were sentenced to probation, and 28 were fined.
If grouped according to years, the police arrested more beggars in 2023 and 2019, with 42 and 30 people, respectively; divided by police district, the number of beggars arrested in Wan Chai District far exceeded that of other places, with 29 people.
Mr. Tang said that if police officers find someone begging while on patrol or receive relevant reports from the public, they will investigate, arrest, and prosecute the beggar based on the evidence. The police will also assess the situation and cooperate with other government departments as necessary, including jointly stepping up patrols and law enforcement in black spots in various districts and on roads with heavy traffic.
Legislators are concerned about the “begging gangs,” which are suspected of being controlled by gangsters behind the scenes. Mr. Tang said the police have been using intelligence to continuously monitor whether there are groups that orchestrate and control visitors to beg in Hong Kong. If they are found, strong law enforcement measures will be taken. In addition, the Immigration Department will add the information of beggars reported by the police to its monitoring list for begging by non-residents in Hong Kong.
When such persons try to re-enter Hong Kong, immigration officers will stop them and conduct detailed inquiries if they do not meet the general entry requirements, such as whether they have a valid visa or endorsement that matches the purpose of their visit to Hong Kong, and whether they have any known criminal records. If the Immigration Officers believe that the purpose of their visit to Hong Kong is suspicious, the person concerned will be refused entry into Hong Kong.
The Immigration Department will also provide, on a regular basis, relevant information to the mainland authorities on mainlanders with bad records in Hong Kong, to enable the mainland licensing authorities to strictly review and approve the relevant persons’ applications for re-entering Hong Kong.
