​The Authorized Persons', Registered Structural Engineers' and Registered Geotechnical Engineers' Disciplinary Board has completed a disciplinary inquiry and decided that an authorized person (AP) should be disciplined for professional negligence under section 7(1A)(b) of the Buildings Ordinance (BO).
The Board ordered the AP to be reprimanded and to pay $131,800, being the costs of the Board for conducting the inquiry.
The Board's written decision and order issued on December 20, 2024, was published in the Gazette today (January 3). Details are available at the following link: www.gld.gov.hk/egazette/pdf/20252901/egn2025290131.pdf.
The case involved a building construction project on Tai Shu Ha Road West in Yuen Long. Upon investigation by the Buildings Department (BD), it was found that the layout of the clubhouse in the project differed from the approved plans, as an additional floor slab was found between G/F and 1/F of the clubhouse. The AP advised in a letter to the BD in 2018 that one of the reasons for altering the layout of the clubhouse was a request from the Water Supplies Department to enlarge the water meter room, which turned out to be inaccurate. In view of the investigation results, the BD notified the Board for its consideration of disciplinary action against the AP under the provision of section 13(1) of the BO.
A spokesperson for the BD emphasised that persons registered under the BO may be disciplined if they are negligent or engage in misconduct.
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