| To provide for the licensing of pawnbrokers and for the regulation and control of certain pawnbroking transactions; to make certain provisions in respect of goods pawned; to provide for matters connected with or incidental to the foregoing; and to repeal the Pawnbrokers Ordinance 1930. [24 August 1984] L.N. 284 of 1984 (Originally 10 of 1984) Cap 166 s 1 Short title This Ordinance may be cited as the Pawnbrokers Ordinance. Cap 166 s 2 Interpretation In this Ordinance, unless the context otherwise requires- "Commissioner" (处长) means the Commissioner of Police; "duplicate ticket" (当票复本) means a duplicate ticket delivered under section 14; "general book" (总登记册) means the general book kept by a pawnbroker under section 12; "goods" (物品) means any goods, article or other thing which may be given as security; "licence" (牌照) means a licence granted under section 5; "lunar month" (农历月) means a Chinese lunar month; "pawnbroker" (当押商) means a person carrying on business by advancing on interest, or for or in expectation of profit, gain or reward, any sum of money on the security of goods taken by such person in pawn; "prescribed" (订明) means prescribed by regulations made under section 26; "proof of identity" (身分证明文件) has the meaning assigned to it in section 17B of the Immigration Ordinance (Cap 115); "ticket" (当票) means a ticket delivered under section 13. Cap 166 s 3 Application of Ordinance (1) Nothing in this Ordinance shall apply to a loan by a pawnbroker of more than the sum specified in the First Schedule or to the goods pawned as security for that loan, or to the pawnbroker or borrower in relation to that loan or the goods so pawned. (2) Where- (a) 2 or more loans are made by a pawnbroker to a borrower on the security of the same goods pawned; and (b) the total amount of the principal outstanding on all such loans at any time exceeds the sum specified in the First Schedule, nothing in this Ordinance shall apply to any of such loans, or to the goods pawned as security therefor, or to the pawnbroker or borrower in relation to any such loan or the goods so pawned. (3) Notwithstanding anything in this Ordinance a person shall not be deemed a pawnbroker by reason only of the fact of his paying, advancing or lending any sum of more than the sum specified in the First Schedule. Cap 166 s 4 Pawnbrokers to obtain licence (1) No person shall carry on business as a pawnbroker except under and in accordance with a valid licence. (2) Any person who contravenes subsection (1) commits an offence and is liable to a fine of $50000 and to imprisonment for 2 years. Cap 166 s 5 Licences (1) The Commissioner may, upon application made to him in the prescribed form and manner and upon payment of the prescribed fee, grant a licence to a person to carry on business as a pawnbroker. (2) The Commissioner shall not grant a licence unless he is satisfied- (a) that the applicant is a fit and proper person to carry on business as a pawnbroker; (b) that the applicant has complied with the provisions of this Ordinance and any regulations relating to the application; and (c) that in all the circumstances the grant of such licence is not contrary to the public interest. (3) Every licence shall be in the prescribed form and shall authorize the person to whom it is granted to carry on business as a pawnbroker at the premises specified therein for a period of 12 months from the date on which it is granted. (4) The Commissioner may, upon application made to him in the prescribed form and manner and on payment of the prescribed fee, renew a licence, and the provisions of section 9 shall have effect in respect of any such application to renew. (5) Any person who makes any false or misleading statement or furnishes any false or misleading information in connection with any application to obtain or renew a licence under this section commits an offence and is liable to a fine of $20000 and to imprisonment for 1 year. Cap 166 s 6 Transfer of licence and substitution of premises (1) Except as provided in this section a licence shall not be transferable. (2) The Commissioner may, on application to him in writing by any person, and on sufficient cause being shown to his satisfaction, permit the transfer of an existing licence until its expiration to another person, and such transfer shall be endorsed on the licence. (3) Where a licence is transferred under subsection (2), a reference in section 8 or 9 to a person to whom the licence was granted shall be construed as a reference to the person to whom the licence has been transferred. (4) Where a pawnbroker intends to transfer his business as a pawnbroker from the premises specified in his licence to premises not so specified, he may apply to the Commissioner, in writing, to have the premises to which he intends to transfer such business endorsed on his licence in substitution for the first-mentioned premises. |
