'Govt is working on buildings needing urgent repairs'
Development Secretary Bernadette Linn said on Sunday that officials have identified around a thousand buildings in urgent need of repairs, and that they'll complete the works first and ask owners to pay later.  This comes after a recent spate of incidents of concrete falling from blocks, with people hurt in some cases.  The minister said the Buildings Department has started working on some of the dilapidated buildings, and it would take a matter of months for the works to be completed. "If the building owners don't have the ability to do it themselves, or the delay's [in doing repairs] been too long so that situation is unsatisfactory, the Buildings Department will come in," Linn told reporters after attending an event. She sidestepped questions on whether the government would be unable to recoup the money in the event that building owners refuse to pay up afterwards. Linn said the department has issued some 2,700 mandatory inspection notices to building owners, and 1,800 of them have appointed personnel for inspection. She warned if there are no signs that the owners are hurrying to start repair work, officials may consider prosecuting them by the end of the year.  For the 900 who have not complied with the mandatory notices, Linn said they will get warning letters but officials will also look to provide help to them where possible. A piece of concrete measuring 50cm by 30cm fell onto Nathan Road in Mong Kok on Saturday morning. A car in Yau Ma Tei was also damaged after being hit by concrete that fell from a building at the junction of Temple Street and Pak Hoi Street. No one was injured in either incident.