No negligence over inspection of storm damaged Redhill homes, says development secretary

There was no negligence involved in the original inspection of the three luxury homes on the Redhill Peninsula in Tai Tam, said the Development Secretary Bernadette Linn Hon-ho on Saturday, after unapproved building works were uncovered due to the recent heavy rains. 

In a RTHK interview, the minister said authorities are gathering evidence and will file criminal charges based on it. A large-scale inspection of housing estates will also be conducted at its instigation. 

High-end residential estates were not included in proactive inspections, but those near hillsides and the sea will be given priority, Linn added. 

"In terms of these kinds of houses, I think it is logical that for the prioritization, we will accord priority to those facing the sea and on the slope," she said. 

"Because for houses built on the slope, if there are any unauthorized building works, there will be a slope stability angle. So the public safety is an important factor that we have to take into account." 

As a result of unprecedented bad weather, 18 projects have been planned to improve the city's drainage infrastructure in places including Wong Tai Sin and Eastern District. 

"In the design of our drainage system, we have adopted standards which are comparable and, in some areas, exceeded standards adopted by our neighboring jurisdictions," she said. 

"The heavy rainstorm that we had last week and in the past few days in selected locations reminded us that climate change can really be very extreme and can come at a time well before our expectation. This means that we have to proceed earnestly with our study looking ahead to assume different extreme weathers and what we should do." 

A second radio program featured home affairs chief Alice Mak and transport minister Lam Sai-hung discussing the government's mobilization protocol after heavy rain. 

According to Mak, 2,300 applications have already been submitted from residents and merchants who have suffered losses from the storm. These applications will be vetted quickly.