Qualified person prohibited by disciplinary board from certifying prescribed inspection and repair of windows for six months
The Registered Contractors' Disciplinary Board (the Board) has completed a disciplinary inquiry under the Buildings Ordinance (BO) and decided that a registered minor works contractor (RMWC) appointed as a qualified person (QP) under the Mandatory Window Inspection Scheme (MWIS) should be disciplined for failing to discharge the duties or abide by the requirements imposed on a QP under the BO.
The Board ordered the RMWC to be prohibited from certifying any prescribed inspection, or certifying or supervising any prescribed repair of windows, for six months with effect from the date of the Gazette, and to pay a total of $46,900, being the costs of the Board and the Buildings Department (BD) for conducting the inquiry.
The Board's written decision and order issued on October 9 was published in the Gazette today (October 25). Details are available at the following link:
www.gld.gov.hk/egazette/pdf/20242843/egn202428436296.pdf.
The RMWC submitted a certificate to the BD in July 2020, certifying that a prescribed inspection had been carried out on the windows of a residential unit in Mongkok, and that those windows were safe and no prescribed repair was required. Subsequently, the BD conducted an audit inspection and found that the rivets and screws of some windows showed greyish white powder or rust.
The RMWC was later prosecuted, convicted and fined $7,000 in total at the Kowloon City Magistrates' Courts in January 2022, pursuant to sections 40(2A)(c) and 40(2B)(b) of the BO, for knowingly misrepresenting a material fact in the certificate submitted to the BD and carrying out a prescribed inspection in a manner likely to cause a risk of personal injury or property damage.
In view of the convictions and investigation results, the BD notified the Board for its consideration of disciplinary action against the RMWC under the provisions of section 13(1) of the BO.
A spokesperson for the BD reiterated that in order to ensure building safety, the BD attaches great importance to the quality of the prescribed inspection and repair of windows by a QP under the MWIS. Any QP who contravenes the relevant provisions of the BO in carrying out a prescribed inspection and repair of windows under the MWIS is not only liable to criminal prosecution but also disciplinary action under the BO.
The BD will continue to conduct audit inspections to ensure the quality of prescribed inspections and repairs under the MWIS, he added.
Ends/Friday, October 25, 2024