Two property owners fined over $400,000 in total for not complying with removal orders
Two owners were convicted and fined $401,600 in total at the Kowloon City Magistrates' Courts yesterday (March 11) for failing to comply with removal orders issued under the Buildings Ordinance (BO) (Cap. 123).
The Kowloon City Magistrates' Courts, the Kowloon City Law Courts Building
The two cases involved four unauthorised structures with a total area of about 1 140 square metres on the roof of an industrial building on Sze Mei Street, Wong Tai Sin. As the unauthorised building works (UBWs) were carried out without prior approval and consent from the Buildings Department (BD), removal orders were served on the two owners respectively under section 24(1) of the BO.
The Buildings Department (BD), Photo source: reference image
Failure to comply with the removal orders, the two owners were prosecuted by the BD four times and were fined a cumulative total of $417,845 and $432,545 respectively upon convictions by the court. As they persisted in not complying with the removal orders, they were prosecuted for the fifth time and each was fined $200,800, of which $70,800 was the fine for the number of days that the offence continued, upon convictions at the court.
A spokesman for the BD said today (March 12), "UBWs may lead to serious consequences. Owners must comply with removal orders without delay. The BD will continue to take enforcement action against owners who fail to comply with removal orders, including instigation of prosecution, to ensure building and public safety."
Failure to comply with a removal order without reasonable excuse is a serious offence under the BO. The maximum penalty upon conviction is a fine of $200,000 and one year's imprisonment, and a further fine of up to $20,000 for each day that the offence continues.
HKSAR Government actively aligns with National 15th Five-Year Plan and presses ahead with high-quality development
The fourth session of the 14th National People's Congress today (March 12) approved the "Outline of the 15th Five-Year Plan for National Economic and Social Development of the People's Republic of China" (the 15th Five-Year Plan). A spokesman for the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region (HKSAR) Government expressed sincere gratitude to the Central Authorities for their support in consolidating and enhancing Hong Kong's competitive edge across various key areas, facilitating Hong Kong's better integration into and service of the overall national development.
The Chief Executive, Mr John Lee, said, "The 15th Five-Year Plan is the blueprint and action agenda for the social and economic development of the country in the next five years. The major objectives for this period include significant achievements in high-quality development, substantial improvements in scientific and technological self-reliance and strength, fresh breakthroughs in further deepening reform comprehensively, notable cultural and ethical progress across society, further improvements in quality of life, major new strides in advancing the Beautiful China Initiative and further advances in strengthening the national security shield. The HKSAR is greatly encouraged by this and will proactively align with the 15th Five-Year Plan Outline, contributing Hong Kong's strength to further deepening reform comprehensively and advancing Chinese modernisation.
"I extend my sincere gratitude for the country's steadfast support and care for Hong Kong as demonstrated by the inclusion of multiple provisions in the 15th Five-Year Plan to promote Hong Kong's long-term prosperity and stability, and to deepen the development of the Guangdong-Hong Kong-Macao Greater Bay Area. I will lead the HKSAR Government to earnestly fulfil its role in bearing the primary responsibility for the governance of Hong Kong, unite various sectors of the community to actively support and proactively align with the National 15th Five-Year Plan. Through formulating a systematic policy framework, we will map out strategic initiatives of greater comprehensiveness, higher precision and in finer detail for key development areas, and draw up a macroscopic, strategic and forward-looking five-year plan for the first time for Hong Kong. The preparatory groups set up earlier by various bureaux under my instruction have been converted into the formulation teams for the alignment with the 15th Five-Year Plan, which will work full speed to complete the Hong Kong five-year plan within this year.
"The first Hong Kong's Five-year Plan, aligned with the National 15th Five-Year Plan, will have far-reaching implications. Serving as the collective action framework for the HKSAR, it will outline Hong Kong's development vision, core objectives, key areas and major initiatives over the next five years. This plan will provide clear guidance for Hong Kong's socio-economic and livelihood development, driving Hong Kong's deeper integration into and contribution to the overall national development. The most direct benefit of the Hong Kong's Five-Year Plan stems from the robust backing of national development. As the world's second-largest economy, the country's comprehensive capabilities provide Hong Kong with immense market momentum and development opportunities. As the country has surged to global leadership in various fields including innovation and technology, artificial intelligence, big data, and infrastructural development, Hong Kong can leverage the country's industrial ecosystem and progress to achieve leapfrog development in our own emerging industries. For instance, in the financial sector, Hong Kong can build upon the country's strategy to promote the internationalisation of the Renminbi to strengthen our function as a global offshore Renminbi business hub, and to enhance the mutual market access regime and consolidate our status as an international financial centre. In the area of innovation and technology, Hong Kong can accelerate collaboration and transformation among the industry, academic and research sectors through the development of the Northern Metropolis. As regards industrial upgrading, Hong Kong can also integrate into national strategies, such as the 'Artificial Intelligence Plus (AI+) Initiative', to empower its traditional competitive industries, thereby strengthening its new productive forces amid the new round of scientific and technological revolution as well as industry transformation.
"To ensure the smooth progress of the formulation work, I will take the lead in this endeavour, with the Constitutional and Mainland Affairs Bureau assuming primary responsibility. All Secretaries of Bureaux shall fully commit to driving forward and jointly participating in this initiative. I am confident that with our concerted efforts and collective wisdom, the first Hong Kong's Five-year Plan will serve as a guiding framework for pioneering new horizons and achieving a new leap forward for Hong Kong. It will lay a more concrete foundation for our long-term prosperity and stability, enabling Hong Kong to demonstrate renewed commitment and achievements in the journey of integrating into and serving the overall national development."
The 15th Five-Year Plan explicitly points out that the principles of "One Country, Two Systems", "Hong Kong people administering Hong Kong" and a high degree of autonomy should be implemented with unwavering commitment; the principle of "patriots administering Hong Kong" should be put into practice; and the efficacy of governance in accordance with the law should be ensured to promote Hong Kong's economic and social development, and give full play to Hong Kong's unique advantages and important role of maintaining close connections with both the Mainland and the world. The 15th Five-Year Plan supports Hong Kong in consolidating and enhancing its status as an international financial, shipping and trade centre and an international aviation hub. It aims to strengthen Hong Kong's functions as a global offshore Renminbi business hub, an international asset management centre, and an international risk management centre. The plan also supports Hong Kong in developing into an international innovation and technology hub, while deepening its development as an international legal and dispute resolution services centre, a regional intellectual property trading centre, and the East-meets-West centre for international cultural exchange. The 15th Five-Year Plan also further incorporates, for the first time, support for Hong Kong in establishing a commodity trading ecosystem and a high value-added supply chain service centre. It also explicitly backs Hong Kong in accelerating the development of the Northern Metropolis and building an international hub for high-calibre talents. A spokesman for the HKSAR Government said that the Government is deeply encouraged by the Central Government's staunch support. Hong Kong will definitely seize the opportunity to proactively align with the requirements of national strategies, effectively translating the new positioning, functions and tasks entrusted by the Central Government into tangible outcomes that will drive high-quality economic development and improve people's livelihoods. The Government is accelerating the advancement of the Northern Metropolis, a crucial strategic development zone for Hong Kong, through innovative collaborative models, including large-scale land disposal and preferential policies. Multiple measures will be implemented with a view to attracting more leading enterprises to establish their operations there, thereby transforming this piece of land which is connected to the Mainland by mountains and sea into a new engine for Hong Kong's economic growth.
The 15th Five-Year Plan stated that co-operation between Hong Kong and the Mainland in the areas of economic, trade, technology and culture should be strengthened; policies and measures facilitating Hong Kong residents' development and life on the Mainland should be improved; and the mutual market access regime between Hong Kong and Mainland financial markets should be advanced in an orderly manner. The 15th Five-Year Plan also clearly proposed for the first time to deepen innovation collaboration between industry, academic and research sectors with the Mainland; to drive breakthroughs continuously in priority areas of co-operation; to promote the co-ordinated development of ports, airports and rail transit; to advance the preparatory work for the Hong Kong-Shenzhen Western Rail Link; and to develop major co-operation platforms including the Loop to high standards. It also called for improving mechanisms for Hong Kong to assume a greater role in the country's opening up to the world, supporting Hong Kong's deep involvement in the high-quality co-operation under the Belt and Road Initiative, leveraging its strengths in professional service to assist enterprises in going global, and harnessing Hong Kong's role as an important window for exchange and mutual learning between the Chinese and Western cultures.
The Government spokesman said that Hong Kong enjoys the advantage of connecting the Mainland and the world under the "one country, two systems" principle. It will fully leverage its international and market-oriented characteristics to promote connectivity with the Mainland. The HKSAR Government has established the Task Force on Supporting Mainland Enterprises in Going Global to connect the robust productivity of the Mainland, Hong Kong's world-renowned professional services and the keen demand of global buyers. Hong Kong will facilitate the efforts of quality enterprises in going global and bringing in international capital, steadfastly advancing high-quality development of the economy. Regarding the development of the Guangdong-Hong Kong-Macao Greater Bay Area, the HKSAR Government will proactively engage with relevant platform initiatives, continuously deepen the harmonisation of rules and mechanisms with Greater Bay Area cities, and facilitate the convenient cross-boundary flow of innovation elements.
The fourth session of the 14th National People's Congress also adopted the National Development Planning Law, marking for the first time that a dedicated piece of legislation concerning national development planning has been enacted at the top level. This provides a robust legal foundation for formulating development plans. The Government spokesman said that the National Development Planning Law established principles for national support in Hong Kong's proactive alignment with national development planning. It clearly affirmed the country's upholding of the "One Country, Two Systems" principle, supporting the HKSAR's proactive integration into and service of the overall national development. This fully reflected the staunch support of the Central Authorities for Hong Kong's alignment with national development planning, providing robust legal safeguards for Hong Kong to better integrate into and serve the overall national development. It will enable Hong Kong to better leverage its unique advantages under the principle of "One Country, Two Systems" and achieve deep alignment with the overall development strategy of the country, thereby giving full play to Hong Kong's strengths to serve the country's needs and facilitating Hong Kong's enhanced integration into and service of the overall national development.
The Government spokesman concluded, "This year marks the beginning of the country's 15th Five-Year Plan and represents a critical year for Hong Kong as it advances from stability towards prosperity. With the robust support of the National 15th Five-Year Plan, we shall continue to consolidate and enhance our international competitiveness, deepen international exchanges and co-operation, strengthen our bridging role between the Mainland and the world, and pioneer a new phase of high-quality development for Hong Kong. This will enable us to better integrate into and serve the overall national development, thereby making Hong Kong's contributions to the nation's endeavours in building a great country and achieving national rejuvenation."
Source: AI-found images
