HONG KONG - The Hong Kong government is considering amending relevant laws by this year to increase penalty to punish non-compliant building owners following the New Lucky House fire last Wednesday that claimed five lives and left six critically injured, the city’s leader said on Tuesday.

It’s the shared responsibilities of the building owners to reduce fire hazards and ensure building safety and maintenance, John Lee Ka-chiu said while talking to the media ahead of the weekly Executive Council meeting.

“We need to get our priorities right with our enforcement efforts as there are many old buildings. I have asked the Fire Services Department and the Buildings Department to review and streamline certain procedures,” he said when asked about the government’s follow-up work.

There will be legislative proposals to empower the government to carry out the necessary works to improve fire safety and fire installation and to increase the penalty for non-compliance with, for example, directions issued by the Buildings Department, Lee said

Many units failed to comply with government instructions to enhance fire safety installations and improve building structures for a long time, he said.

“We will strengthen the law to introduce stiffer penalty and empower departments to conduct effective enforcement actions and achieve greater deterrence," the chief executive said.

"We will be enhancing our enforcement action by making the procedure more efficient. We will be trying to shorten the duration of time that will be taken for actual action against those who have not complied. We will also set priorities on prosecution," he said.

There will be legislative proposals to empower the government to carry out the necessary works to improve fire safety and fire installation and to increase the penalty for non-compliance with, for example, directions issued by the Buildings Department, Lee said. 

The government had ordered the Security Bureau to submit a bill amendment proposal two to three months earlier and aims to place the proposal before the Legislative Council for scrutiny within this year, he added.

For some cases which warranted government interventions, the authorities would execute improvement orders before imposing the relevant fees and penalties on building owners, said the CE.

There were various subsidy schemes and a one-stop platform established by the Urban Renewal Authority for owners, he said. There was a sudden rise in the fees of some building improvement works for one’s own benefit, which members of the public would not accpet and should seek assistance from relevant departments, he added.

Lee also urged residents to report illegal instances to the authorities.

MTR fare adjustment

Asked about a review of the MTR fare adjustment mechanism as the lone railway operator had announced a fare increase of 3.09 percent from June, the CE said the mechanism was put in place after years of discussions, with price increases, salaries and other factors taken into consideration.

The government would continue to listen to different views, as the city needed a stable transportation system and every mechanism had its advantages and shortages, he said.

Family office

Regarding the family office of a Dubai prince, Lee stressed the government would do its best to strike a balance between risks and benefits and attract them to set up their businesses in the city, as family offices are super-valued asset owners and could create financial benefits.