9. Obstruction of public places (Section 4A Summary Offences Ordinance)

Anyone who sets out or leaves anything which obstructs, inconveniences or endangers any person or vehicle in a public place shall be liable to a fine of $5,000 or to imprisonment for 3 months.

Where the obstruction in question results from a peaceful demonstration the court should recognize citizen’s constitutional rights to peaceful demonstration and give it substantial weight in the balancing exercise. What is reasonable must not be so narrowly defined as to devalue, or unduly impair the ability to exercise, the constitutional right.