A woman checks her mobile phone while riding a tram through Central in Hong Kong on Oct 3, 2020. (JAYNE RUSSELL / AFP)

HONG KONG - Hong Kong is canvassing public opinion over a real-name registration system for mobile phone SIM cards in a bid to fight crime in the financial hub.

Currently only mobile users on SIM service contracts must register actual personal details in Hong Kong, though anyone can buy a pre-paid SIM card from most convenience stores.

The rule aims to keep criminals from concealing their identities and put a stop to a “common tool used...in committing serious and violent crimes that threaten public safety,” the government said in a statement.

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It has set a Feb 28 deadline for comment on the proposed compulsory registration, which would require users to furnish full names and an identity document. 

Anonymous pre-paid SIM cards are used in telephone deception, e-shopping scams, employment fraud and investment fraud, according to the statement. They are also exploited by criminals in planning and committing serious crimes such as human smuggling and drug trafficking, the government said.

Pre-paid SIM cards have been deployed to detonate homemade bombs remotely, blatantly putting the community at risk, according to the government 

Pre-paid SIM cards have also been deployed to detonate homemade bombs remotely, blatantly putting the community at risk, it added. 

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“There is a pressing need to plug this loophole by implementing a real-name registration program to facilitate the prevention and detection of crimes related to the use of pre-paid SIM cards so as to maintain people’s confidence in the integrity of telecommunications services in Hong Kong," the statement quoted the city's Secretary for Commerce and Economic Development Edward Yau Tang-wah as saying.

Among serious crimes involving local SIM cards, over 70 percent involved the use of anonymous pre-paid SIM cards, according to Undersecretary for Security Sonny Au Chi-kwong.

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Hong Kong has one of Asia’s highest smartphone penetration rates, at almost 80 percent of its population of 7.5 million. Its only regional peers are other developed economies, such as Singapore and South Korea.

In 2019, Hong Kong had about 14.5 million pre-paid SIM card subscribers, an increase of 16.6 percent on the year, says German database firm Statista.

With inputs from Agencies