Inspectors order immediate correction on subdivided flats

Paul Chan Mo-po, the city's head of development, said on Tuesday that his wife has promised to rectify unlawful building works (UBWs) identified in two subdivided units in which she has interests, following the issuance of removal orders by the department of which he is the top man.

Both units are owned by Harvest Charm Development Limited. Chan's wife, Frieda Hui Po-ming, holds a stake in Harvest Charm through other companies.

Enforcement of building laws is one of Chan's duties as the secretary for development, but he highlighted in Tuesday's statement that he learned the progress on the case by the way of a press release sent out by the Buildings Department on Tuesday afternoon.

The subdividing of the apartments was not unlawful on its own, unless the work undermined the structural integrity of the premises, caused obvious drainage defects or blocked the means of escape from the building.

Inside a unit at the Hoi Hing Building in Tai Kok Tsui, however, the inspectors noted a balcony had been transformed into an enclosure as part of a suite, and the floor of the balcony was reinforced, creating what inspectors believed to be an overload of the "cantilevered slab" structure.

In the presence of reporters, inspectors had also observed that an approved fire escape had been removed from another unit located on 136 Shanghai Street. In that case, the department confirmed in its statement that the subdivision of the suite had "obstructed the means of escape" from the building.

The department said circumstances of both unlawful building works justified priority enforcement action. Removal orders were issued to the owner of both premises, requiring rectification within 60 days.

Later on Tuesday, a spokesperson for the Development Bureau said Paul Chan had called his wife once he learned of the outcome of the probe through the press statement.

"Harvest Charm stated that once the units were taken back, the rectification of the irregularities will commence as soon as possible, to fulfill the removal order," the bureau's spokesperson said, adding that a lawyer had been engaged to handle the matter.

The Buildings Department is directly supervised by Chan's bureau, but Chan had declared that building inspectors in the case will not report progress to him to avoid conflict of interest.

Chief Executive Leung Chun-ying reiterated on Tuesday that all property owners are responsible for rectifying any offenses in accordance with the law. "I believe the owner will handle the matter properly," Leung said.

He maintained that Chan, who had returned to work from a week-long leave on Monday, had already elaborated on the issue extensively.

kahon@chinadailyhk.com

(HK Edition 08/22/2012 page1)