Latest news with #BuildingsDepartment
South China Morning Post
14-06-2025
- South China Morning Post
Should Hong Kong hit Redhill Peninsula homeowners with heavier fines for illegal works?
Hong Kong authorities should appeal against the 'light' penalties imposed on two property owners for erecting illegal structures at their luxury Redhill Peninsula homes, experts have said, warning that the fines are not hefty enough to deter offenders. The specialists weighed in after the two property owners were told to pay more than HK$110,000 (US$14,015) in total after admitting to carrying out unauthorised building works. Their convictions are the first among 30 prosecutions made against landlords of the estate in Tai Tam where rampant illegal structures were found. According to the Buildings Department, the two owners pleaded guilty to carrying out unauthorised building works at Eastern Court on Thursday, with one fined HK$30,000 and the other HK$82,980. Lawmaker Andrew Lam Siu-lo said the sentence, from the view of the public, failed to serve any deterrent effect given the widespread nature of unauthorised works at the estate, although no details had been released about the structures found at the two homes. 'This is not a good message sent to the public regarding the government's crackdown on illegal structures,' he said. 'It shows that no matter how severe the maximum penalty can be, in the end the sentence will be light.'
South China Morning Post
13-06-2025
- South China Morning Post
2 owners of luxury homes in Hong Kong fined HK$110,000 over illegal structures
Two owners of luxury homes at Redhill Peninsula have been fined more than HK$110,000 (US$14,015) in total after admitting to carrying out unauthorised building works, the first convictions among 30 prosecutions taken against the landlords of the estate on Hong Kong Island where rampant illegal structures were found. Advertisement A spokesman for the Buildings Department said on Friday evening the two owners pleaded guilty at Eastern Court to carrying out unauthorised building works on Thursday. They were convicted, with one fined HK$30,000 and the other HK$82,980 The maximum penalty for commencing or carrying out building works without first obtaining approval and consent from the department is a fine of HK$400,000 and two years' imprisonment, plus a further fine of HK$20,000 for each day that the illegal structure continues standing. The department revealed the two cases were the first convictions out of 30 prosecutions of owners at the estate in Tai Tam. The spokesman said the owners of the two detached houses concerned were found to have conducted building works without prior approval or consent from the department during a large-scale inspection in September 2023. Landslides triggered by a record-breaking downpour earlier that year had drawn attention to extensive illegal additions at the seaside community, ranging from swimming pools to basement on public slopes.
New York Times
06-06-2025
- Business
- New York Times
Roof Collapse Kills Worker at Construction Site That Lacked Permits
A construction worker died in Brooklyn on Thursday after a roof collapsed at the site of a former steakhouse where demolition work was being conducted without the required permits, according to the New York City Department of Buildings. Around 8:50 a.m., someone at the scene called 9-1-1 about a partial building collapse, the police said. Emergency medical workers found a 43-year-old man trapped under the fallen roof, unconscious. He was in critical condition when he was taken to Brookdale Hospital, where he later died, the police said. The worker's name had not been released Thursday evening pending notification of his family. The work site was at the corner of Quentin Road and East 33rd Street in Brooklyn's Marine Park neighborhood. A two-story structure there once housed a restaurant called T Fusion Steakhouse, which has closed. The structural failure happened in a concrete extension behind the building, which had been used for storage, according to the Buildings Department, which is investigating the incident. Workers had been demolishing a walk-in freezer and commercial kitchen, the department said, but no permits for the work had been filed with the city. Utility service to the building was shut off after the collapse, and inspectors with the Buildings Department ordered that the building be vacated and all work ceased. The Fire Department has requested an inspection to determine the building's structural stability, according to public records. The building was bought in 2020 for $1.1 million by LA3223 LLC, which is owned by Larry Leiby Ackerman, according to property records. Since then, the only complaint on file with the Buildings Department about the site before Thursday was one filed last April, warning that balcony doors on the second floor of the vacant building were open to birds and trespassers, and that the backyard was full of garbage. The problems were resolved before inspectors arrived, according to department records, and the complaint was closed. A person who answered the phone at a number listed for Mr. Ackerman hung up when reached on Thursday evening. Alain Delaquérière contributed research.
RTHK
23-05-2025
- Business
- RTHK
Call to minimise fallout from builder's projects ban
A lawmaker says the government had "no choice" but to pull the plug on a major contractor in charge of several public construction projects, saying work-site safety must come first when renewing the registration of Wai-kwok, who represents the engineering sector, also said he hopes authorities would do their best to ensure that existing subcontractors and staff can stay on when projects being handled by the major contractor are passed on to new made the call following an announcement by Secretary for Development Bernadette Linn on Thursday that Aggressive Construction will be removed from the government's list of approved general building contractors from June firm was involved in multiple construction incidents between 2020 and 2023, resulting in five on RTHK's Hong Kong Today programme on Friday, Lo explained why it took the government years to make up its mind."The time taken seems to be quite long, but we have to understand that to deal with such an application is indeed not an easy task," he said."The Buildings Department and the Contractor Registration Committee had to verify all the data submitted and analyse the incidents and the track record of the company, their submission."And they have to interview the authorised signatories and the project directors these really take time and it's not an easy decision."Aggressive Construction has been given one month to wrap up its said the firm is in charge of six public projects, including four housing estates."This, unfortunately, will cause delays for these projects, but I think we've got no choice," he speed up the transition, the lawmaker expects the government to directly engage "trustworthy" contractors, instead of inviting interested firms to lodge tenders.
HKFP
23-05-2025
- Business
- HKFP
Hong Kong anti-graft watchdog arrest 10 in suspected bribery case linked to CK Asset building project
Hong Kong's anti-graft watchdog has arrested 10 men in a suspected bribery case linked to real estate giant CK Asset's residential project in Kwun Tong, in which sub-contractors allegedly offered incentives in exchange for lax oversight of steel reinforcement works. The Independent Commission Against Corruption (ICAC) said on Wednesday that the 10, aged between 29 and 52, included an employee of the main contractor, five proprietors, operators or employees of subcontractors, and four site supervisors of a consultancy firm. They were arrested on suspicion of bribery, conspiracy to defraud, and using false documents. In an emailed reply to HKFP on Thursday, CK Asset said it was 'highly concerned' about the alleged bribery at the Anderson Road project site. The company said it supported the ICAC's operation and had completed 'preliminary inspection' of the project concerned, adding that it was in touch with the Buildings Department for follow-up actions. The Anderson Road project in Kwun Tong consists of six residential buildings, offering a total of 2,926 units, of which at least 1,000 will be sold at 80 per cent of market value under the government's 'starter homes' scheme for Hong Kong residents. CK Asset won the tender with a HK$4.9 billion bid in May 2020. Matthew Chang, principal investigator at the ICAC, said at a press conference on Wednesday that the ICAC suspected that some sub-contractors were hoping to increase their profits by not following the approved building plan, thereby cutting costs. 'They dangled carrots in front of site supervisors in exchange for their lax supervision and tolerance of construction works that did not meet regulations,' Chang said in Cantonese. Cash, coupons, fine-dining Lui Kar-chung, chief investigator at the ICAC, said during the same press conference that the watchdog received a complaint about the alleged bribery last year. At first, the complaint involved only one of the six buildings under construction, Lui said. But the investigation was expanded, and the ICAC found that all six buildings had installed steel rebars that did not match the approved construction plan. The problems 'included rebars having wider gaps in between, being fewer in numbers, thinner, absent, not linked, or offset in positions,' Lui said. In some locations, rebars – a type of steel reinforcement – were 530 millimetres off their positions in the approved building plan, he said. The ICAC investigation found that the sub-contractors had offered the main contractor and site supervisors cash between thousands to tens of thousands of dollars as well as mooncake vouchers, Lui said. They also visited fine dining restaurants that 'charge thousands of dollars per head' and night clubs, he added. Bon Ko, the chief structural engineer at the Buildings Department, said in the same press conference that the department also launched its own inspections at the Anderson Road project last September following a complaint it received about suspected violations of the Buildings Ordinance last August. Following four inspections, the department ordered the developer to stop construction after finding insufficient steel rebars at some roofs of the six buildings, Ko said. She added that subsequent concrete opening-up work revealed that steel rebars in all six buildings had shown 'serious deviations' from the approved plan. But the department concluded that the buildings did not show immediate danger after considering the size of the problematic areas and surrounding structures, she said. On average, the load-bearing rebars were 10 per cent fewer in number than specified in the approved plan, Ko said. The Buildings Department is consulting the Department of Justice on potential prosecutions, she added.
