A fatal industrial accident occurred at the Yuen Wo Playground in Sha Tin late on April 22, where two workers were suspected of inhaling marsh gas and fell unconscious inside a manhole, leading to their tragic deaths. Another two workers managed to escape and were rescued from the manhole. In a television program, the Director of Development Bureau, Han-ho Ning, revealed plans to include new clauses in contracts that would require workers to undergo training before entering manholes for work.
Previously, the Water Supplies Department stated that workers did not need to enter manholes, but some unions raised concerns that even working outside a manhole, opening the cover could potentially lead to accidents if the methane concentration is too high. Han-ho Ning responded today, stating that working outdoors should dilute the concentration, minimizing the risks. However, she agreed on the need to enhance safety measures for workers cleaning manholes and is considering adding two new requirements to cleaning contracts in the short term, regardless of whether they are new or existing.
The new requirements include specifying that there should be no workers expected to enter manholes for work, but if cleaning pipelines requires entering a manhole, prior notification and approval from the Water Supplies Department are necessary. Workers needing to enter manholes for work must undergo specific training. Additionally, all workers responsible for cleaning pipelines, including those working on the ground, will need to be familiar with cleaning procedures inside manholes, requiring them to attend an additional day of training to raise safety awareness among employees.
Addressing the safety issues of old buildings exposed by the recent Jordan Wah Fung Building fire, Han-ho Ning disclosed that the authorities will present the direction of amendments to the Building Ordinance in the fourth quarter of this year. They are currently studying the introduction of progressive fines for mandatory building inspection and illegal building issues, streamlining prosecution procedures. Once illegal structures are found, immediate prosecution will take place without the need for prior demolition orders. They will also explore whether all buildings reaching a certain age limit, such as 30 years, should undergo inspections without government pre-selection.
The authorities are considering implementing fixed fines to avoid the lengthy process of prosecution taking several months or even a year. The maximum fixed fine is only 10,000 yuan, lower than the current fine; however, if owners have not taken action after several months, the government will prosecute, and the new fine will exceed the current maximum fine of 50,000 yuan, determined based on the scale and severity of the illegal construction.
Furthermore, they will consider removing the provision that increases fines only in cases of willful misconduct, as well as eliminating excuses such as changing the corporation as a reason for skipping building inspections. Explaining that the current “willful misconduct” provision leaves many loopholes for individuals to claim ignorance or pre-existing conditions upon purchasing the property. Therefore, the authorities are studying legislative changes to allow the government to prosecute whenever unauthorized constructions are discovered.