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Offences and penalties – Offences and Evidence

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Offences and penalties
Any person who—
(a)having been summoned by an inquiry committee to attend as a witness or to produce a document or other thing under section 24 without reasonable excuse refuses or fails to do so;
(b)attends as a witness before an inquiry committee and, without lawful excuse, refuses or fails to answer any question put to him by the inquiry committee;
(c)fraudulently obtains registration as a registered professional engineer for himself or any other person;
(d)obtains registration as a registered professional engineer for himself or any other person by means of any misleading, false or fraudulent representation or statement, either orally or in writing;
(e)makes or causes to be made any falsification in the register;
(f)impersonates or falsely represents himself as being the person referred to in any certificate or document presented to the Board or an inquiry committee in connection with its functions under this Ordinance;
(g)falsely takes or uses any name, initials, title, addition or description implying that his name is entered in the register;
(h)not being a registered professional engineer, knowingly permits the use of or uses in connection with his business or profession the description—
(i)“registered professional engineer”;
(ii)“registered professional engineer” with reference to a discipline;
(iii)“R.P.E.”;
(iv)“R.P.E.” with reference to a discipline; or
(v)initials or abbreviations of words intended to cause, or which may reasonably cause, any person to believe that the person using them is on the register;
(i)not being on the register, advertises or represents himself as a registered professional engineer or knowingly permits himself to be so advertised or represented;
(j)holds himself out to be ordinarily resident in Hong Kong at the time of making an application for registration when he is not so ordinarily resident,
commits an offence and is liable to a fine at level 5 and to imprisonment for 1 year.
(Amended E.R. 5 of 2020)

Use of Title

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Use of title
(1)A person whose name does not appear on the register shall not be entitled to describe himself as a “registered professional engineer” with or without a qualifying discipline or to use the initials “R.P.E.” with or without a qualifying discipline.
(2)A person shall not use the description of “registered professional engineer” or the initials “R.P.E.” unless the person includes in the description the qualifying discipline either in full or by an abbreviation approved by the Board.
(3)The Board may apply to a judge for an order restraining any person whose name is not on the register or on the part of the register which applies to a particular discipline from describing himself as a “registered professional engineer” or using the initials “R.P.E.” whether used with or without a qualifying discipline or with a discipline for which he is not registered.
(4)A person, including a firm or company, shall not use the description of “registered professional engineers” or the initials “R.P.E.” unless—
(a)at each place where the person carries on the business of engineering, that business is conducted under the supervision of a registered professional engineer of the appropriate discipline who does not act at the same time for any other person other than for a firm or company that has substantially the same beneficial ownership and management as the person (where the person is a firm or company);
(b)where the person carries on a multidisciplinary practice, that business, so far as it relates to engineering, is under the full time control and management of a registered professional engineer of the appropriate discipline who does not act at the same time in a similar capacity for any other person other than for a firm or company that has substantially the same beneficial ownership and management as the person (where the person is a firm or company).
(5)The Board may apply to a judge for an order restraining any person who holds himself out to be providing engineering consultancy services at a professional level from so doing if the name of the person does not appear on the register or if the person has not complied with the requirements set out in subsection (4)(a) or (b).

Appeal to Court of Appeal – Appeals

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Appeal to Court of Appeal
(1)Any person who is aggrieved by any decision or order made in respect of him under section 14(1), 15(5) or 23(1) may appeal to the Court of Appeal. (Amended 33 of 1997 s. 14)
(2)The Court of Appeal may affirm, reverse or vary the decision or order appealed against. (Amended 10 of 2005 s. 90)
(3)Where a person appeals against an order of an inquiry committee, the Court of Appeal shall consider the reasons of the inquiry committee and submissions upon the findings of fact and law of the inquiry committee made on behalf of the parties to the inquiry and may call for the original record of the evidence taken and any document put in evidence before the inquiry committee. (Amended 10 of 2005 s. 90)
(4)The Court of Appeal may, upon special grounds being shown, consider any additional evidence not adduced before the inquiry committee.
(5)(Repealed 10 of 2005 s. 85)
(6)The practice in relation to any appeal shall be subject to any rules of court made under the High Court Ordinance (Cap. 4). (Amended 57 of 1999 s. 3)
(7)The Court of Appeal shall not have power to hear any appeal against a decision or order made under section 14(1), 15(5) or 23(1) unless—
(a)in the case of a decision made under section 14(1) or 15(5), notice of such appeal is given within 3 months after the applicant is notified in writing of the decision;
(b)in the case of an order made under section 23(1), notice of such appeal is given within 3 months of the service of the order under section 26. (Replaced 33 of 1997 s. 14)
(8)In deciding any appeal under this section, the Court of Appeal may make such order for payment of costs as it considers reasonable. (Amended E.R. 5 of 2020)

Publication of disciplinary orders – Disciplinary Proceedings

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Publication of disciplinary orders
(1)After the expiry of the time within which an appeal may be made to the Court of Appeal under section 28 against an order of an inquiry committee made under section 23(1)(a), (b), (c), (d) or (e) or, if such an appeal has been made, after the appeal is finally determined, the Board— (Amended L.N. 179 of 1991; 33 of 1997 s. 13; 10 of 2005 s. 89)
(a)shall publish a copy of the order or, if the order is varied on appeal, the order as so varied in at least one English and one Chinese language newspaper circulating daily in Hong Kong; and
(b)may publish the order or, if the order is varied on appeal, the order as so varied in any other publication or manner as the Board thinks fit. (Amended 10 of 2005 s. 89)
(2)Where an order is published under subsection (1), the Board—
(a)shall publish with such order sufficient particulars to acquaint the public with the nature of the matter to which the order relates; and
(b)may publish with such order an account of the proceedings of the inquiry committee.
(3)No action in damages for defamation shall lie against any person as a result of publishing an order and other particulars required or permitted under this section.

Service of orders of inquiry committee – Disciplinary Proceedings

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Service of orders of inquiry committee
(1)The Registrar shall serve a copy of any order made under section 23(1), together with a copy of the inquiry committee’s reasons, or serve notice that the inquiry committee has not found that the registered professional engineer concerned committed a disciplinary offence, upon the registered professional engineer who was the subject of the complaint, either personally or by registered post addressed to his registered address immediately when the Registrar receives— (Amended 33 of 1997 s. 12)
(a)the report of the review committee, unless the inquiry committee is to reconsider its decision; or
(b)any order of the inquiry committee reviewed under section 25(4)(d).
(2)The Registrar shall not remove the name of the registered professional engineer from the register before the expiry of a period of 3 months after the date of service of the order under subsection (1) or, in the case of an appeal made to the Court of Appeal against the order under section 28, before the appeal is finally determined. (Amended 10 of 2005 s. 88)
(3)Any person whose name has been removed from the register under this Ordinance may apply to the Board for the restoration of his name to the register, and the Board may, after such inquiry and subject to such conditions as it may consider desirable, allow or refuse the application.
(4)If the Board allows an application under subsection (3), it shall order the Registrar to restore the name of the applicant to the register on payment by the applicant of the prescribed fee.

Review of disciplinary orders – Disciplinary Proceedings

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Review of disciplinary orders
(1)When an inquiry committee completes its hearing in respect of a disciplinary offence and makes a finding that a disciplinary offence has been committed, the Registrar shall forthwith forward the inquiry committee’s decision and details of any order proposed to be made by the inquiry committee under section 23 to the Board for review.
(2)The Board shall appoint 3 of its members, one of whom shall be qualified in the discipline, or, in the opinion of the Board, a discipline similar to the discipline, of the registered professional engineer concerned to sit with the Chairman as a review committee to review the decision of the inquiry committee.
(3)The Board shall not appoint a member of the inquiry committee to be a member of the review committee.
(4)The review committee may—
(a)confirm the decision and any proposed order of the inquiry committee;
(b)reverse a finding of guilt of the inquiry committee;
(c)recommend that any proposed order made by the inquiry committee be varied; or
(d)remit the decision or any proposed order of the inquiry committee to the inquiry committee with directions to reconsider the decision or proposed order or both.
(5)The inquiry committee shall comply with the directions and recommendation, if any, of the review committee.

Powers in regard to obtaining of evidence and conduct at inquiry – Disciplinary Proceedings

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Powers in regard to obtaining of evidence and conduct at inquiry
(1)An inquiry committee shall have power—
(a)to hear, receive and examine evidence on oath;
(b)to summon any person to attend the inquiry either as the person whose conduct is the subject of the inquiry or to give evidence or produce any document or other thing in his possession and to examine him as a witness or require him to produce any document or other thing in his possession, subject to all just exceptions;
(c)to admit or exclude the public or any member of the public from the inquiry;
(d)to admit or exclude the press from the inquiry;
(e)to award any person summoned to attend the inquiry as a witness such sum, to be paid from the funds of the Board, as in the opinion of the inquiry committee have been reasonably expended by him in connection with his attendance.
(2)The Registrar shall sign summonses to witnesses.
(3)No person shall be required to answer any question or produce any document or other thing which, in the opinion of the inquiry committee, may tend to incriminate him.
(4)A witness shall, in respect of any evidence given by him before the inquiry committee, be entitled to the same privileges to which he would be entitled if he were giving evidence in court.

Disciplinary orders of inquiry committee and costs – Disciplinary Proceedings

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Disciplinary orders of inquiry committee and costs
(1)Where an inquiry committee finds that a registered professional engineer committed a disciplinary offence, on confirmation by a review committee of the finding, or on the variation of the finding or any proposed order based on the recommendation of the review committee, the inquiry committee may make any one or more of the following orders— (Amended 33 of 1997 s. 11)
(a)order the Registrar to remove the name of the registered professional engineer from the register;
(b)order the Registrar to remove the name of the registered professional engineer from the register for such period as the inquiry committee may think fit;
(c)reprimand the registered professional engineer in writing and order the Registrar to record the reprimand on the register;
(d)order that an order made under this section be suspended, subject to such conditions as the inquiry committee may think fit, for a period not exceeding 2 years;
(e)order that the Board shall not accept an application from the registered professional engineer for registration as a registered professional engineer either for a fixed period or until the registered professional engineer satisfies the Board that he should be registered;
(f)order that the Chairman admonish the registered professional engineer orally; (Amended 33 of 1997 s. 11)
(g)order the registered professional engineer to pay all or part of the costs of any of the Registrar, the Board or the inquiry committee arising from the case if, but only if, the inquiry committee is satisfied that in all the circumstances of the case it would be unjust and inequitable not to do so. (Added 33 of 1997 s. 11)
(2)Costs payable by virtue of an order under subsection (1)(g) shall be recoverable as a civil debt. (Added 33 of 1997 s. 11)
(3)The inquiry committee may—
(a)assess the amount of any costs to be payable by virtue of an order under subsection (1)(g); or
(b)order that those costs be taxed on the basis of any one of the scale of costs specified in Part I of Schedule 1 to Order 62 of the Rules of the District Court (Cap. 336 sub. leg. H), (Amended 25 of 2008 s. 15)
and the Schedules to Order 62 of the Rules of the High Court (Cap. 4 sub. leg. A) shall, with all necessary modifications, apply to the taxation and recovery of costs. (Added 33 of 1997 s. 11. Amended 57 of 1999 s. 3)
(4)For the purposes of this Ordinance (including sections 25 and 28), any assessment or order under subsection (3) shall be deemed to be part of the order under subsection (1)(g) to which it relates. (Added 33 of 1997 s. 11)

Inquiry committee and rules of conduct – Disciplinary Proceedings

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Inquiry committee and rules of conduct
(1)The Board may refer any complaint concerning a disciplinary offence to an inquiry committee for decision, and for that purpose the Board may establish an inquiry committee of not less than 3 members of the Institution in the same or a similar discipline as the registered professional engineer in respect of whom the complaint is made, to determine whether or not he has committed a disciplinary offence.
(2)The Board may make rules providing for the conduct of its inquiries by an inquiry committee and for other matters relating to the investigation of an alleged disciplinary offence.
(3)The inquiry committee shall not proceed to hear evidence of a complaint concerning a disciplinary offence unless the registered professional engineer in respect of whom the complaint is made is given 28 days’ notice of the complaint and the date, time and place of the hearing.
(4)The registered professional engineer referred to in subsection (3) shall be entitled to attend and hear all evidence produced at the hearing and shall be provided with a copy of this Ordinance and any rules made under this section.
(5)The Board may make rules for the rehearing of an inquiry by an inquiry committee.
(6)Where a registered professional engineer is alleged to have committed a disciplinary offence under section 20(1)(b) or (g), the inquiry committee—
(a)shall not be required to inquire whether the registered professional engineer was properly convicted of the alleged offence; and
(b)may consider any record of the case in which a conviction was recorded and any other evidence which is relevant as showing the nature and gravity of the offence.
(7)The inquiry committee may, in deciding whether a person has committed a disciplinary offence, have regard to any code of professional conduct or practice promulgated by the Board or currently in use by the Institution.