The Buildings Department has accepted further plans to demolish illegal structures at Secretary for Justice Teresa Cheng’s other properties in Repulse Bay, Sha Tin and Fo Tan.
The department said it has inspected the premises concerned this week. The Authorized Person hired by Cheng submitted a plan to carry out minor works to remove the structures.
The structures to be removed include:
- At Sea Cliff Mansions in Repulse Bay: a defective protected lobby, altered windows, a balcony railing, small supporting frames for air-conditioners and defective fire resistant doors;
- At Royal Ascot in Sha Tin: a substandard fire resistant door;
- At Kin Ho Industrial Building in Fo Tan: additional partitions, a supporting frame for an air-conditioner, small supporting frames for air-conditioners and defective fire resistant doors.
The rectification work for the Sea Cliff Mansions property will take about three months to complete and the rectification work for other premises will be completed in about a week.
The latest confirmations from the Buildings Department contradict Cheng’s previous stance on the Sha Tin properties. In a statement issued on late Sunday, Cheng said that no rectification was determined to be necessary for her two other properties in Sha Tin, though there were “some doubts about the fire rating of the kitchen door of the residential property,” which she was recommended to change.
It came after the department approved a proposal to remove illegal structures at Cheng’s Tuen Mun house earlier this week.
LegCo questions next week
Cheng saved around HK$6.7 million in stamp duty as she bought the HK$62 million Sea Cliff Mansions flat last year as a first-time buyer, despite owning several other properties.
The scandal-hit justice chief will attend a Panel on Administration of Justice and Legal Services at the Legislative Council on Monday afternoon to answer lawmakers’ question on her illegal structures and the candidacy confirmation of pro-democracy activists in the upcoming Legislative Council by-election.
Since her appointment, she has attracted heavy criticism over the controversy. Cheng, who has degrees in engineering and law, sat on a Buildings Ordinance tribunal and co-wrote a book on construction law – said she failed to notice the structures because she was “very busy” when the house was purchased.
