Noise law in effect, low awareness of the legislation

The Prevention and Control of Environmental Noise Law (the Noise Law) came into effect yesterday. As of 4 p.m., the Public Security Police and the Environmental Protection Bureau had received a total of 26 complaints and made two successful prosecutions.
PSP figures show that the authority has issued advice in response to five of the 25 complaints received. As for the rest of the objections, the authorities said that they could not confirm the cases. They included situations in which the complainants did not show up when the PSP officers arrived at the scene.
However, some residents told TDM on Saturday that they had no awareness of the implementation of the new legislation. One resident pointed out that he did not see any promotion or advertisement of the new law. Another resident complained that she has always heard noise from her neighbors because they kept a pet dog. She was concerned with how stringently the authorities would implement the law. “The dog [belonging to my neighbor] was always barking. We do not know how to file a complaint… Although there is a law, who knows if [the authorities] would follow it through. They might only ‘talk the talk’,” she said.
Meanwhile, lawmaker Ho Ion Sang has asked the Macau government to educate residents on the law’s importance. “The regulation focuses on domestic noise and the noise emitted from piled drivers (…) The real focus of the regulation is that residents have to observe the law consciously. The relevant authorities should also step up in enforcing the law and patrolling the community, as well as putting more effort into promoting the law and educating the public,” he said.
As for the issues concerning residents who lit firecrackers on their balconies or who even threw them onto the street, Mr Ho said that there is already legislation to tackle these kinds of issues.
On the other hand, the Public Security Police (PSP) announced that it intends to cooperate with the Environmental Protection Bureau in enforcing the law more efficiently. The PSP also called on residents to observe the law and cooperate with the authorities.
PSP Intendant Chan Man Tak said that they need to collaborate with the complainants. After receiving a complaint regarding noise, the PSP officers who arrive at a given scene will stay for a period of time, even if they do not hear any noise when they first arrive. He said that this will cause no inconvenience to residents, and can effectively determine whether they need to prosecute anyone there who continues to make excessive noise.
Intendant Chan also warned citizens not to make excessive noise during Chinese New Year, or else they may be fined between MOP1,000 and MOP2,000 if successfully prosecuted. He welcomed residents to call 28573333 to file a complaint regarding noises if necessary, and said that PSP officers will arrive at the location as soon as possible. JPL