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A property owner was sentenced to one month's immediate imprisonment for failing to comply with a removal order issued under the Buildings Ordinance (Cap.123). The sentence was handed down by the Kwun Tong Magistrates' Court on November 22, 2010.
Inspections conducted by staff of the Buildings Department in 2007 revealed that an unauthorised cockloft had been erected at a ground floor premise of a building in Wan Hon Street, Kowloon. The building works were carried out without prior approval of the plans by the Building Authority (Buildings Department), contrary to s14(1) of the Buildings Ordinance. A removal order was thus issued to the property owner concerned under s24 of the Buildings Ordinance in April 2007.
The Buildings Department later instigated prosecution of the property owner. The owner was convicted and fined HK$46,800 by the court in January 2009 for failure to comply with the removal order without reasonable excuse. Since the unauthorised cockloft had still not been removed after the conviction, the owner was prosecuted for the second time in April 2010. The owner was convicted and sentenced to one month's immediate imprisonment in November 2010 by the court.
"Unauthorised building works may adversely affect the structural and fire safety of a building leading to serious consequences. Building owners should seek professional advice before carrying out any building works in their premises," a spokesman of the Buildings Department said.
"It is also in their own interest to employ a registered contractor to demolish existing unauthorised building works in their premises," the spokesman added.
Failure to comply with a removal order without reasonable excuse is a serious offence under the Buildings Ordinance. The maximum penalty upon conviction is one year's imprisonment and a fine of HK$200,000. The number of convictions for failure to comply with statutory orders in relation to removal of unauthorised buildings works is shown below:
Year No. of convictions
2005 1,862
2006 1,997
2007 2,180
2008 2,163
2009 2,207
2010 (January to October) 1,192
Ends/Monday, December 27, 2010
Issued at HKT 10:01
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