Property owner fined over $250,000 for persistently not complying with removal order
************************************************************************************
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.
Ends/Tuesday, October 20, 2026
Issued at HKT 11:00
Issued at HKT 11:00
NNNN