Fighting in public damages the reputation of the trade

The licences for four estate agents were suspended by the Disciplinary Committee for fighting in public. Another agent in a managerial capacity was warned for ineffective supervision.

To promote a first-sale site on Prince Edward Road, Kowloon, groups of estate agents had gathered at the entrance to the development site to show motorists driving by posters and placards about the property. When cars approached the entrance some of the agents would dash into the driveway in a scramble for customers.

One afternoon agents from two estate agency companies crowded around a vehicle that was slowly driving towards the entrance to the site. The driver, probably upset by the scene, did not stop but drove away. There being a loss of a potential customer, agents from the two companies began to exchange harsh words and the atmosphere became very tense. A little later that afternoon another vehicle approached the site and again the driver was scared away by the multitude of enterprising agents at the entrance. At this time there was some pushing among the agents and fighting ensued. The Police then came to the scene and arrested five who were later prosecuted for fighting in a public place. Each of them was bound over by the court to keep the peace for 36 months in the sum of $3,000 and ordered to pay costs of $1,000.