Controversy over Hong Kong’s mandatory seat belt rule has deepened after a former lawmaker said a government statement neglected to specify that the measure applied only to buses registered from January 25 this year, and urged authorities to clarify enforcement plans amid public concern about unwittingly breaking the law. She was referring to the new regulation that took effect on Sunday, which requires passengers on public buses to put on seat belts. AdvertisementKong said lawmakers who scrutinised the proposal last September had been told that the new rule would only apply to new vehicles registered on or after January 25 this year, and that the government’s January 8 press release had “wrongly interpreted” the law. “The press release was wrong in saying that ‘drivers and passengers occupying the seats of these vehicles (whether newly registered or not), where seat belts are fitted, are required to wear them.’ It obviously does not match the clauses [in the law],” Kong said. Advertisement“People will have to ask those who wrote this press release why they did this.