### Pyramid Schemes Prohibition Ordinance 《禁止層壓式計劃條例》

1. Short title
(Amended E.R. 2 of 2012)(1) This Ordinance may be cited as the Pyramid Schemes Prohibition Ordinance.
(2) (Omitted as spent—E.R. 2 of 2012)

2. Interpretation
In this Ordinance—
goods (貨品) includes all chattels personal and things in action;
new participant (新參與者) includes a person who has applied, or been invited, to participate in a pyramid scheme;
participant (參與者) means a person who participates in a pyramid scheme;
participate (參與) means to take part in a pyramid scheme in any capacity other than as a promoter of the scheme;
participation payment (參與費)—see section 3(1)(a);
promote (推廣) means establish, advertise, manage or assist in the management of a pyramid scheme;
promoter (推廣者) means a person who promotes a pyramid scheme;
recruitment payment (招募得益)—see section 3(1)(b).

3. What is a pyramid scheme
(1) A pyramid scheme is a scheme with all of the following characteristics—
(a) to participate in the scheme, any or all new participants must provide either of the following (participation payment

4. Matters to be considered by court in schemes involving marketing of goods or services
(1) To determine, for the purpose of this Ordinance, whether a scheme that involves the marketing of goods or services (or both) is a pyramid scheme, a court must have regard to the following matters in determining whether a participation payment under the scheme is entirely or substantially induced by the prospect held out to a new participant of entitlement to a recruitment payment—
(a) whether the participation payment bears a reasonable relationship to the value of the goods or services that the new participant is entitled to be supplied with under the scheme, having regard to the price of comparable goods or services available elsewhere;
(b) the relative emphasis given in the promotion of the scheme to the new participant’s entitlement—
(i) to the supply of goods or services; and
(ii) to a recruitment payment.
(2) Subsection (1) does not limit the matters to which the court may have regard in determining whether a participation payment is entirely or substantially induced by the prospect held out to a new participant of entitlement to a recruitment payment.

### Pyramid Schemes Prohibition Ordinance 《禁止層壓式計劃條例》

5. Offences in relation to pyramid scheme
(1) A person who knowingly promotes a pyramid scheme commits an offence.
(2) A person who—
(a) participates in a pyramid scheme;
(b) knows or ought reasonably to know that any benefit that the person may get from participating in the scheme would be entirely or substantially derived from the introduction to the scheme of new participants; and
(c) induces or attempts to induce another person to participate in the scheme, 
commits an offence.
(3) A person who commits an offence under subsection (1) or (2) is liable on conviction on indictment to a fine of $1,000,000 and to imprisonment for 7 years.

6. Liability of directors, partners, etc.
(1) If an offence under this Ordinance is committed by a body corporate or by a person as a member of an unincorporated body, and it is proved that the offence has been committed with the consent or connivance or is attributable to the neglect of a person specified in subsection (2), that person also commits the offence and is liable to be proceeded against and punished accordingly.
(2) The person referred to in subsection (1) is a person who, at the time of the offence, was—
(a) (in the case of a body corporate) a director, secretary, principal officer or manager of the body corporate;
(b) (in the case of a member of an unincorporated body) a partner or office holder in or a member or manager of the unincorporated body; or
(c) (in either case mentioned in paragraph (a) or (b)) purporting to act in the capacity of a person referred to in that paragraph.

7. Power to award compensation
(1) If a person is convicted of an offence under this Ordinance, the court may, in addition to passing any sentence that may otherwise be passed by law, order the person to pay an amount of compensation that it thinks reasonable to any person who has suffered financial loss resulting from that offence.
(2) An amount of compensation ordered to be paid to a person under subsection (1) is recoverable as a civil debt.

8. Saving of rights and claims
This Ordinance does not limit, restrict or otherwise affect any rights or claims a person would have had if this Ordinance had not been enacted.

### Communications Authority Ordinance 《通訊事務管理局條例》

1. Short title and commencement
(1) This Ordinance may be cited as the Communications Authority Ordinance.
(2) (Omitted as spent—E.R. 2 of 2012)

2. Interpretation
In this Ordinance—
Authority (管理局) means the Communications Authority established by section 3;
Broadcast Complaints Committee (廣播投訴委員會) means the Broadcast Complaints Committee appointed under section 10(1) of the Broadcasting (Miscellaneous Provisions) Ordinance (Cap. 391);
Broadcasting Authority (廣播事務管理局) means the Broadcasting Authority established under section 3 of the pre-amended Ordinance;
#commencement date (生效日期) means the day appointed under section 1(2);
Director-General (總監) means the Director-General of Communications;
former authority (前主管當局) means the Broadcasting Authority or the Telecommunications Authority, as may be appropriate;
former department (前部門) means the Television and Entertainment Licensing Authority or the Office of the Telecommunications Authority, as may be appropriate;
function (職能) includes power and duty;
OFCA (通訊辦) means the Office of the Communications Authority;
pre-amended Ordinance (未經修訂條例) means the Broadcasting Authority Ordinance (Cap. 391) as in force immediately before the commencement date;
Telecommunications Authority (電訊管理局局長) means the Telecommunications Authority appointed under the repealed section 5 of the Telecommunications Ordinance (Cap. 106);
trading fund (營運基金) means the Office of the Communications Authority Trading Fund renamed by section 25.
Editorial Note:
# Commencement date: 1 April 2012.

3. Establishment of Authority
(1) There is established a body corporate with the name “Communications Authority” in English and “通訊事務管理局” in Chinese.
(2) The Authority—
(a) has perpetual succession under its corporate name;
(b) must provide itself with a common seal; and
(c) may sue and be sued in its corporate name.
(3) The Authority is not a servant or an agent of the Government nor does it enjoy any status, immunity or privilege of the Government.