Govt to submit fire safety amendment bill in July
Undersecretary for Security Michael Cheuk on Wednesday said the government expects to submit an amendment bill to Legco in July to raise the penalties for people who violate fire safety regulations. Five people were killed in a fire at New Lucky House in Jordan in April, sparking concerns about inadequate safety facilities in old buildings. At a Legco meeting, Cheuk said the authorities propose raising the maximum penalty by four times to HK$100,000 for those who fail to follow a fire safety direction, and to HK$200,000 for those who ignore compliance orders. Roundtable lawmaker Michael Tien said financial penalties alone would be ineffective. "You need to imprison people to serve a deterrent effect because Hong Kong people don't care about fines, but they certainly don't want to be jailed," he said. Cheuk said the authorities were looking into including more provisions, including jail terms. "If someone tries to obstruct the owner's corporation to carry out repair works, is uncooperative or tries to obstruct certain work intentionally, we're considering whether to impose penalties including imprisonment," he said.