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Construction
company fined for working on Sunday
A construction
company was convicted and fined $175,000 for carrying out
construction work on Sunday without a construction noise permit.
The hefty fine was handed down at the Eastern Magistracy on
Thursday (April 22, 1999) after the court was told that the
company had 15 previous convictions under the Noise Control
Ordinance at different sites in the last two years.
The offence
came to light on December 6, 1998 when Environmental Protection
Department (EPD) officers carried out a proactive enforcement
check at a construction site in Shau Kei Wan and found workers
there erecting scaffolding, which is one of the types of construction
work specifically controlled by the Noise Control Ordinance.
The company,
Heng Tat Construction Company Limited, was the main contractor
of the construction site at Shau Kei Wan Main Street East,
Shau Kei Wan, Hong Kong. It pleaded guilty for carrying out
work during restricted hours without a permit.
An EPD
spokesman said that this was the second highest fine recorded
under the Noise Control Ordinance. The highest fine was recorded
in 1997 when a company was fined $180,000 for a similar offence.
He hoped
that the hefty fines would help to discourage others from
undertaking similar illegal construction work during restricted
hours (between 7.00 pm and 7.00 am on weekdays or anytime
on a Sunday or Public Holiday).
The Noise
Control Ordinance carries a maximum fine of $100,000 for a
first conviction for this type of offence, and $200,000 for
any subsequent conviction, he said.
END/Saturday,
April 24, 1999
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