Hong Kong court orders schoolchildren to be quieter at play
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Hong Kong - A Hong Kong court put a gag on schoolchildren Tuesday ordering them not to make too much noise at playtime.
The Lantau International School was told by Hong Kong's High Court to make sure its children kept their playground noise level to below 60 decibels between 7 am and 11 pm.
Failure to do so will result in a fine of 100,000 Hong Kong dollars (12,900 US dollars) for the first offence for the school, and 200,000 Hong Kong dollars for each subsequent conviction.
The school supervisor Serge Berthier said it was wrong for the government to cap the noise level of schoolchildren in a bid to try to overturn an earlier decision by the Noise Control Appeal Board.
But his argument, that children's right to engage in play and recreational activities was enshrined in international conventions, was rejected.
The original complaint had been made by a neighbour in whose bedroom playground noise levels of 62 decibels were recorded: less than a chainsaw at 70 decibels but more than normal talking which is around 60 decibels.//DPA
