Property owner fined over $39,000 for failing to comply with fire safety direction

     An owner was convicted and fined $39,600 at the Eastern Magistrates' Courts on November 16 for failing to comply with a fire safety direction issued under the Fire Safety (Buildings) Ordinance (FS(B)O) (Cap. 572).

     The Buildings Department (BD) issued a fire safety direction under section 5(2)(a)(ii) of the FS(B)O to the owner of a unit in a 51-year-old composite building at Tang Lung Street, Causeway Bay, requiring the owner to comply with the fire safety construction requirement by providing a fire-rated door at the unit entrance.

     Failing to comply with the statutory direction, the owner was prosecuted by the BD and was convicted and fined by the court.

     "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 (November 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.