Four property owners were convicted and fined over $104,000 in total at the Eastern Magistrates' Courts on October 17 for failing to comply with fire safety directions issued under the Fire Safety (Buildings) Ordinance (FS(B)O) (Cap. 572).
The Buildings Department (BD) issued fire safety directions under section 5(2)(a)(ii) of the FS(B)O to the respective owners of four domestic flats in a 70-year-old composite building on Lockhart Road, Causeway Bay, requiring them to comply with the fire safety construction requirements by providing fire-rated doors at the unit entrances, which open directly to staircases.
Failing to comply with the statutory directions, the four owners were prosecuted by the BD and were convicted by the court. Each of them was fined $26,120.
"According to the FS(B)O, failing to comply with a statutory direction issued under the ordinance without reasonable excuse is a serious offence. The BD may instigate prosecution proceedings against the owner", a spokesman for the BD said today (October 30).
Pursuant to section 5(8) of the FS(B)O, any person who, without reasonable excuse, fails to comply with a statutory direction, commits an offence and is liable on conviction to a fine at level 4 ($25,000 at present) and to a further fine of $2,500 for each day of non-compliance. Upon conviction, an application may also be made to the court for a Fire Safety Compliance Order against the owner under section 6(1) of the FS(B)O directing the owner to comply with the requirements of the direction.
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