Due to the skyrocketing housing rent, unlicensed upstairs bars have abounded recently in Hong Kong. Last month, inspecting bars in Tsim Sha Tsui and Lan Kwai Fong, Secretary for Food and Health Ko Wing-man expressed concern about their safety on upper-floor premises, suggesting that the Liquor Licensing Board might introduce restraints in upstairs bars. Likewise, Commissioner of Police Andy Tsang Wai-hung perceptively pointed out that upstairs bars are a breeding ground for drug trafficking and teen prostitution because their locations are relatively more concealed than those on the street.

The authorities' efforts to tackle the problems with upstairs bars is of course commendable. However, a fact which many usually overlook is that the police is enforcing an unreasonable law to tackle the proliferation of unlicensed upstairs bars. Two years ago, the police raided two illegal pubs in Mong Kok and arrested their operators for selling alcohol without licenses. It was initially an insignificant piece of news to the media. What later turned it newsworthy was the police press release after the raid.

According to the police, by law, it is illegal for the public to buy alcohol in unlicensed pubs. The drinkers, if convicted, will face a fine of HK$2,000. This high-sounding police warning immediately sparked a controversy in the legal field and caused a panic among drinkers. In fact, the law against the purchase of alcohols in unlicensed bars was given little publicity before. Members of the public probably do not know the list of licensed liquor premises on the homepage of the Liquor Licensing Board. As a result, most of the customers of upstairs pubs are not knowledgeable about the legal status of these pubs.

At the core of the controversy are the following questions: how can drinkers tell if the upstairs pubs they visit are unlicensed? When the illegal pubs can display fake licenses to earn customers' trust, how can members of the public authenticate them immediately? Will the pub operators be forthcoming in showing their legal bona fides to customers? When it is not against the law to buy goods and foods from unlicensed hawkers in Hong Kong, what is the rationale for convicting those buying alcohol in unlicensed pubs?

As the well-known lawyer Daniel Wong once pointed out, to prosecute innocent drinkers who are not knowledgeable about the legality of upstairs bars and incapable of authenticating the licenses, is utterly unfair and unreasonable. The onus to get rid of these illegal bars should be on the police, not on the drinkers.

Yet, the authorities over the past two years has failed to calm the controversy that has grown since the release stating that patrons could face fines of HK$2,000 if they were caught drinking in unlicensed bars. A jargon-filled police statement in response to public anxiety about the possible enforcement of the unpublicized law did little to clarify the rationale for prosecuting patrons of unlicensed pubs. "As a law enforcement agency, the police enforce what the law stipulates, in accordance with the Dutiable Commodities Ordinance and the Dutiable Commodities (Liquor) Regulations," the police statement read. "Each case stands on its own merits and any prosecution will be evidence-based. Where necessary the Department of Justice will be approached for advice. In taking enforcement action against any unlicensed liquor premises, the police are committed to ensuring that public interests are protected."

The Food and Environmental Hygiene Department is not very instructive either when it comes to explaining how customers could work out whether the bar they mere drinking in is illegal. The department said: "According to Regulation 26A of the Dutiable Commodities (Liquor) Regulations, a person holding a liquor licence must display his full name and the nature and number of his license in legible and permanent marking in letters and characters at least 75-mm high in a conspicuous place on his licensed premises, whereas a person who is not the holder of a liquor licence is not allowed to do so."

In my view, it is time for our lawmakers to consider amending or scrapping the law against the purchase of alcohol in unlicensed bars in the near future. More importantly, to tackle the abundance of unlicensed bars, I, as a district councilor, would suggest that the authorities should be much more committed to publicizing the list of licensed premises. To do so will benefit the public twofold: First, it will help law-abiding drinkers shun unlicensed bars. Secondly, it will enable the public to spot the illegal upstairs bars and give tip-offs to the police.

Christmas holidays are approaching. Upstairs bars will be appealing to gullible youngsters for their cheap wine during this season. It is in unlicensed upstairs bars that they easily fall prey to drugs and prostitution. It is high time that the police combated the mushrooming illegal bars. Instead of pointing accusing fingers at innocent drinkers, the police should step up manpower to raid the unlicensed upstairs bars

The author is a lecturer at Hong Kong Polytechnic University and a Yau Tsim Mong District Councillor.

(HK Edition 12/13/2012 page3)