Last Monday (5/9) residents of Lakeside Gardens were shocked when they heard loud explosions and strange blue lights coming from a vacant factory site in Hong Tin Road/Hong Tin Path. The noise started at 9:30 pm and continued till around midnight. No previous warning had been given to the residents.
During the evening a number of armoured cars also appeared on the scene. Residents representatives who went to the area to complain found a film production company shooting at the site. After an altercation between residents and the film unit it was learned that the production had been commissioned by the police, who also had members taking part.
A local Sai Kung District Councillor questioned why the shooting was close to residential buildings and loud noise were still being heard after 11:00 pm, which violated the requirements of the Environmental Protection Department’s Noise Control Ordinance. One of the police officers on the scene called the police station, and uniformed officers arrived at the scene to mediate, and agreed that the person in charge of the crew should not have allowed explosions at the scene without informing local residents.
In response to media enquiries, the police stated that they had rented a temporarily vacant factory in Sai Kung through a production company on Monday to film police footage, in which special effects materials had been used. The filming obtained a permit issued by the relevant government department, and the approved period of use is 11:59 pm that night. The police also stated that the film crew had tried their best to reduce the noise during the filming, and after receiving feedback from nearby residents, they immediately stopped using special effects materials for filming, and that the filming work at the relevant locations had been completed. In addition, when responding to media enquiries, the Environmental Protection Department stated that it had received three noise complaints the night before. It also said that the department had sent staff to the residential buildings near the factory to assess the noise. No one was found in the factory when they arrived.
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