Govt too lenient with building owners: Bernadette Linn
Development Secretary Bernadette Linn on Saturday said the authorities have been "too lenient" with building owners who did not comply with mandatory inspection notices, after a recent spate of incidents involving falling concrete sparked safety concerns.  Speaking on a radio programme, Linn said the government has set a year-end deadline for such building owners, and will prosecute if they fail to comply.   Linn cited efforts already under way to help owners with repair work, such as setting up an interdepartmental mechanism to provide support for so-called "three-nil buildings" - buildings without owners' corporations, residents' organisations or management companies.  "We can share information. For example if the Buildings Department can pass on the list of buildings which have already received this mandatory building checks notices but not yet complied with, we share the list with the Home Affairs Department so they can target those buildings and help them form the owners' corporations," she told reporters after appearing on the programme. "The Urban Renewal Authority can also approach the buildings and introduce to them various funding schemes available to help their building maintenance work."  The minister said the Buildings Department has identified 1,100 buildings for emergency inspection, of which 400 buildings are under inspection, and another 600 are undergoing maintenance work. She added that it will take around one and a half years to complete the maintenance work.  Linn also said the government is studying the possibility of hiring people from professional bodies to help with inspection work and ease a staffing shortage.  "We would like to seek the help of the professional bodies to see whether they can join up their efforts with the Buildings Department to do some urgent inspection of the external walls."