Property Owner Fined $255,800 for Ignoring Building Removal Order in Tai Lam

Property owner fined over $250,000 for persistently not complying with removal order

An owner was convicted and fined $255,800 in total, of which $155,880 was the fine for the number of days that the offence continued, at the Tuen Mun Magistrates' Courts last Friday (October 16) for persistently failing to comply with a removal order issued under the Buildings Ordinance (BO) (Cap. 123).

The Tuen Mun Magistrates' Courts, the Tuen Mun Law Courts Building

The case involved unauthorised building works (UBWs) at a detached house on Yu Chui Street, Tai Lam, comprising illegal site formation works for constructing an unauthorised platform of about 122 square metres on a slope adjoining an approved garden, the erection of a floor slab over a void adjacent to an approved dining room, the removal of parts of external walls and the construction of unauthorised structures to extend the floors at different levels of the building with a total floor area of about 57 sq m. As 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 had been prosecuted by the BD seven times and was fined and had sentenced to four months' imprisonment suspended for two years upon convictions by the court. As the owner persisted in not complying with the removal order, the owner was prosecuted for the eighth time.

A spokesman for the BD said today (October 20), "UBWs may lead to serious consequences. Owners must comply with removal orders without delay. The BD will continue to take stringent enforcement action and instigate prosecutions against owners again if they persist in not complying with removal orders, so as 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.

Source: Ai-created image

Hong Kong Customs seizes suspected counterfeit goods worth about $10 million

Hong Kong Customs on September 18 and 21 seized about 20 000 suspected counterfeit goods with a total estimated market value of about $10 million at the Tuen Mun River Trade Terminal.

Through intelligence analysis and risk assessment, Customs inspected two 40-foot containers arriving in Hong Kong from the Mainland on the above-mentioned days. After inspection, Customs officers found two batches of suspected counterfeit goods totaling about 20 000 items, including mobile phones, mobile phone parts, watches and footwear from the containers.

An initial investigation revealed that the suspected counterfeit goods would have been transshipped to overseas regions.

The investigation is ongoing.

Customs will continue to take stringent enforcement action against counterfeit goods and smuggling activities through risk assessment and intelligence analysis.

Under the Trade Descriptions Ordinance, any person who imports or exports any goods to which a forged trademark is applied commits an offence. The maximum penalty upon conviction is a fine of $500,000 and imprisonment for five years.

Members of the public may report any suspected counterfeiting activities to Customs' 24-hour hotline 182 8080 or its dedicated crime-reporting email account(crimereport@customs.gov.hk) or online form (eform.cefs.gov.hk/form/ced002).

Hong Kong Customs seizes suspected counterfeit goods worth about $10 million Source: HKSAR Government Press Releases

Hong Kong Customs seizes suspected counterfeit goods worth about $10 million Source: HKSAR Government Press Releases