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The appointment of Mr Kam Man Kit, a government counsel, as a member of the Town Planning Appeal Board Panel (TPAB Panel) has been revoked as the appointment does not comply with section 17A(2) of the Town Planning Ordinance (the Ordinance) which stipulates that a public officer shall not be appointed to the TPAB Panel, a government spokesman said today (March 8).
When considering Mr Kam for the appointment to the TPAB Panel, the Government has followed the established procedures to ascertain whether the appointment complied with the requirement by the Ordinance. There was no indication in the information provided by Mr Kam that he was a government counsel.
The Government is conducting an investigation into the circumstances leading to the appointment and whether Mr Kam has failed to report the proper information to the Government in accepting the appointment.
The TPAB Panel is appointed under section 17A(1) of the Town Planning Ordinance, from which members will be drawn to form Appeal Boards to hear appeals lodged under section 17B of the Ordinance against decisions of the Town Planning Board on reviews under section 17 of the Ordinance regarding planning applications. The TPAB Panel currently has 67 members including the chairman and four deputy chairmen.
Ends/Thursday, March 8, 2007
Issued at HKT 20:53
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