Law needed to look into safer windows
- The death of a tourist hit by a falling hotel window outside a Hong Kong hotel highlights the need to ensure such installations are better designed and made of stronger material
Hong Kong’s law enforcement likes to go after the small fry but rarely the big fish.
True to form, when a window from the 16th floor of The Mira hotel fell and killed a 24-year-old mainland tourist and injured her boyfriend in Tsim Sha Tsui, they arrested the cleaner.
Just as catching drug mules rather than going after drug bosses hardly deters trafficking, so detaining the cleaner but not someone from hotel management will not send a signal to other hotels and commercial buildings to clean up their act and step up inspection.
Admittedly, there is a case for the arrest of hotel staff responsible for window safety and maintenance.
Under Section 4B of the Summary Offences Ordinance, if anything is dropped from a building that could or did cause danger or injury to people, the person who dropped or allowed it to fall has committed an offence and is liable to a fine of HK$10,000 and be jailed for up to six months.
Now that hotel cleaners know they are criminally liable for such things, they should demand higher wages and/or better insurance.
While the tragic incident may have been a freak accident, falling windows is a common occurrence in Hong Kong.
I once inspected a flat for rent. When the property agent pushed open a window, it fell five floors to the ground. Luckily, no one was there. Needless to say, I didn’t rent the place. I have moved five or six times since the 1990s and every building I moved in, one or more windows, usually the hinges, needed to be replaced at some point. I assume my experience is not unique among Hong Kong people. The problem is systemic.
All my adult life, I have had to use aluminium windows and hinges. They may be cheap but seem to me very unsafe. As the Buildings Department’s own website warns, they can corrode and oxidise under the city’s high humidity. Wear and tear completes the damage. Yet, department officials still blame the problem on insufficient inspection and maintenance.
That may be so but how about mandating better design and material? Have you ever seen a car door or its hinges fall off? I never have. I assume they use superior metal alloy and have better designs.
While the city has a mandatory window inspection scheme, it’s high time to mandate safer windows and installations.
