Drones hunt illegal use of public land in Hong Kong as officials criticised
Lands Department reveals 16 remote-controlled pilotless aircraft are being used in a one-year trial at select sites known for unauthorised activities
The illegal use of public land and extension of squatter homes in Hong Kong are being monitored with drones in a new project after officials drew criticism for failing to inspect unauthorised activities.
The Lands Department revealed 16 drones had been deployed in a one-year trial project at a few select sites where illegal occupations on government land were commonly found or where squatter homes were known to exceed height restrictions.
“It’s not just about increasing the frequency of inspections, but also trying to be smarter to see if we can use [this technology] to target any suspected cases,” the department’s Director of Lands Thomas Chan Chung-ching said on Friday.
The department said it aimed to review progress in the project, which launched in July, by next July to determine whether it could help monitor unlawful occupations to ease the burden of officials conducting field inspections.
Deputy director in survey and mapping Paul Ng Kwok-wai claimed it was not the first time the department had used aerial photos to track illegal encroachments.