Basic Legal Knowledge
Procedures during criminal hearings
Juvenile Court
Arresting procedure, my rights and obligations
Free or subsidized legal assistance
Protection for victims
Punishment and sentencing options
Criminal records and the Rehabilitation of Offenders Ordinance
Fixed Penalty Tickets
Fixed-penalty notices, for littering or illegal parking, for example, are a fact of contemporary life. They are designed to reduce paperwork and expense by allowing police officers and certain other public officers to deal with certain low level anti-social behaviour with on-the-spot penalties. The fixed-penalty notice is not a fine or a criminal conviction.
Section 2(3) of the Rehabilitation of Offenders Ordinance (Cap. 297) ("RHO") provides that the payment or recovery of a fixed penalty, or any additional penalty, under the Fixed Penalty (Traffic Contraventions) Ordinance(Cap. 237), the Fixed Penalty (Criminal Proceedings) Ordinance (Cap. 240), the Fixed Penalty (Public Cleanliness Offences) Ordinance (Cap. 570), the Fixed Penalty (Smoking Offences) Ordinance (Cap. 600) or theMotor Vehicle Idling (Fixed Penalty) Ordinance (Cap. 611) is not a conviction for the purposes of section 2(1) or2(1A) of the RHO.