Three property owners fined nearly $230,000 in total for not complying with statutory orders
Three owners were convicted and fined $225,320 in total at the Tuen Mun Magistrates' Courts last Friday (June 12) for failing to comply with statutory orders issued under the Buildings Ordinance (BO) (Cap. 123).
Tuen Mun Magistrates' Courts, Tuen Mun Law Courts Building
The first case involved an unauthorised structure with an area of about 32 square metres on the roof of a village house on a lot at D.D. 115, Yuen Long. Since the Lands Department would not issue a certificate of exemption for the unauthorised building works (UBWs) and the UBWs were carried out without prior approval and consent from the Buildings Department (BD), a removal order was served on the owner under section 24(1) of the BO. Failing to comply with the removal order, the owner was prosecuted by the BD and was convicted and fined $102,600 in total, of which $62,600 was the fine for the number of days that the offence continued.
The second case involved alteration of two adjoining units into mini-storage units in an industrial building on San On Street, Tuen Mun. As the alteration and addition works obstructed the means of escape and means of access for firefighting and rescue, contravening the Building (Planning) Regulations, two removal orders and two repair orders were served on the two owners under section 24(1) and section 26 of the BO. Failing to comply with the statutory orders, the owners were prosecuted by the BD and were convicted and fined $122,720 in total, of which $62,720 was the fine for the number of days that the offence continued.
A spokesman for the BD said today (June 15), "UBWs, including the unauthorised alterations causing obstruction to the means of escape and means of access for firefighting and rescue, or affecting the fire-resisting construction of a building, 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 and repair 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. Moreover, failure to comply with a repair order without reasonable excuse is also a serious offence. The maximum penalty upon conviction is a fine of level 5 ($50,000 at present) and one year's imprisonment, and a further fine of up to $5,000 for each day that the offence continues.
Buildings Department, Photo source: reference image
CE meets Governor of Hainan Province
The Chief Executive, Mr John Lee, today (June 17) met with the Governor of Hainan Province, Mr Liu Xiaoming, at Government House to exchange views on further deepening co-operation between Hong Kong and Hainan. The Secretary for Commerce and Economic Development, Mr Algernon Yau; the Secretary for Culture, Sports and Tourism, Miss Rosanna Law; the Secretary for Constitutional and Mainland Affairs, Miss Janice Tse Siu-wa; and the Director of the Chief Executive's Office, Ms Carol Yip, also attended the meeting.
Mr Lee welcomed Mr Liu and his delegation to Hong Kong for a Hainan Free Trade Port tourism and culture promotion event. Mr Lee said he was delighted to meet Mr Liu again following the Boao Forum for Asia Annual Conference in Hainan this March. Hong Kong has long been the major source of external investment in Hainan and an important trading partner. The Memorandum of Cooperation signed between the two sides last year covers five areas, namely trade and investment, finance, safe and orderly flow of data, tourism and talent exchanges, which have taken co-operation between the two places to a new level. Mr Lee noted that with the full implementation of the island-wide special customs operations at the end of last year, the Hainan Free Trade Port has rolled out free and facilitative measures for cross-border flows. As both Hong Kong and Hainan are free trade ports, he said he looks forward to further leveraging their complementary advantages and promoting synergistic development, thereby contributing to the country's high-level opening up.
Mr Lee said that Hong Kong enjoys the unique advantages of having strong support of the motherland and being closely connected to the world under the "one country, two systems" principle, ranking No. 1 globally in economic freedom. Hong Kong has risen to become the world's largest cross-boundary wealth management centre, and is also the world's largest offshore Renminbi (RMB) business hub. The Hainan Provincial People's Government has issued offshore RMB bonds in Hong Kong multiple times since 2022, and a Hainan enterprise was listed in Hong Kong last year. These fully demonstrate Hong Kong's advantages in fundraising and financing as an international financial centre. Mr Lee welcomed more Hainan companies to make good use of Hong Kong's capital market, and professional and high value-added services for fundraising and business expansion. Hong Kong plays its roles as a "super connector" and "super value-adder", and is proactively supporting Mainland enterprises, including those in Hainan, in going global and attracting overseas capital through the Task Force on Supporting Mainland Enterprises in Going Global, to jointly contribute to regional economic prosperity and better integrate into and serve the overall national development.
Mr Lee said that Hong Kong is committed to developing itself into an international tourism hub and a core demonstration zone for multi-destination tourism, capitalising on its position as an East-meets-West centre for international arts and cultural exchanges to build a city offering high-quality tourism experiences. With rich tourism resources in both places, Hong Kong and Hainan can jointly develop a wider array of tourism products. Mr Lee said he looks forward to attracting more high-value-added international visitors to travel to both places through multi-destination itineraries, and joining hands to contribute to the country's goal of building a tourism powerhouse.
CE meets Governor of Hainan Province Source: HKSAR Government Press Releases
