More action needed on falling windows
- The recent death of a tourist and revelation that a pane plunges every five days shows there is no room for complacency; it is time for mandatory inspections and prosecutions to be stepped up
Skyscrapers are such a familiar part of urban life in Hong Kong, those living and working in them give little thought to the threat they sometimes pose to safety.
The government’s revelation that a window pane falls from a building an average of once every five days is, therefore, cause for concern.
The danger of falling windows was tragically highlighted in January, when a 24-year-old tourist was killed by a pane that fell from the 16th floor of the Mira Hong Kong hotel in busy Tsim Sha Tsui.
The Buildings Department received 216 reports of falling windows involving private buildings aged 10 years or older between 2016 and 2018, the Legislative Council was told. The department does not keep figures on any casualties caused.
These statistics do not appear to be much of an improvement on the position more than a decade ago, when a spate of falling windows prompted the government to introduce a mandatory inspection scheme.
There were, for example, at least 75 reported cases in 2005, when almost a window a day fell from a tall building in one month of high rainfall.
The inspection scheme is not working as effectively as it should.
The latest report reveals that 12 per cent of the 500,000 notices sent out requiring building owners to arrange an inspection of their windows by a qualified person has not been complied with.
This is not satisfactory. The penalty for failure to comply, if any is imposed, is not much of a deterrent. Only 3,700 fixed penalty notices have been issued, for a fine of HK$1,500.
It also emerged in the wake of the tourist’s death that hotels often escape mandatory inspections of their windows because they are regarded as being better managed than other buildings and therefore not a priority.
Resources are needed to ensure that inspections are stepped up and prosecutions must follow if owners of buildings fail to comply.
There is no room for complacency. More must also be done to improve the quality of windows in Hong Kong, which are susceptible to oxidisation in our humid, coastal climate.
Urban Hong Kong is a city of windows. The potential danger they pose is clear. We should not have to wait for another tragic accident before action is taken.
