The Hong Kong Police Force on Sunday started issuing electronic penalty tickets (ePTs) for illegal parking and speeding violations.

The HKPF said in a statement that it also launched its "eTraffic Ticket Platform" thematic portal and mobile app so that vehicle owners and drivers can verify and manage digital fixed penalty tickets conveniently.

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Police said they will issue the ePTs according to the verified e-contact means (ECM) submitted by offenders to the Transport Department – SMS tickets for those who have provided a Hong Kong mobile phone number, and email tickets for those who have provided an email address.

Police said they will continue to issue printed paper penalty tickets to those that have not submitted verified ECMs.

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At the initial stage of implementation, the HKPF said it will adopt a "dual-track" transitional arrangement. Offenders will receive both ePTs and printed paper tickets but they are encouraged to settle their fines using ePTs.

Members of the public can view and verify penalty tickets thru the eTraffic Ticket Platform, and settle their fines using electronic payment methods on the platform.

Avoid scammers

To avoid scammers, police reminded members of the public that all SMS tickets are issued under the SMS sender name "#HKPF-eTT".

“Therefore, if the purported SMS ticket was not sent under this sender name, it must be fake,” police said.

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The HKPF also said that all SMS or email tickets do not contain any hyperlinks and members of the public should stay vigilant and avoid clicking on any suspicious hyperlinks or providing any personal information.

The eTraffic Ticket Platform’s thematic portal also has a domain ending with ".gov.hk" since websites that do not end with ".gov.hk" are not official government websites, police added.

The HKPF said it will monitor the progress of digitalizing fixed penalty notices and public's adaptation to the new system over time, adding that feedback will be collected to evaluate the effectiveness of the "dual-track" arrangement and the future expansion of the platform's functions.