An industry representative said on Monday that proposed fines of up to HK$150,000 for anyone breaching the ban on smoking at construction and building maintenance sites were "too extreme".

The legal amendments implementing the ban are being drafted after last year's devastating Wang Fuk Court fire in Tai Po that took 168 lives.

Chau Sze-kit, chairman of the Hong Kong Construction Industry Employees General Union, told an RTHK programme that a fixed penalty of HK$3,000 or HK$5,000 would pose enough of a deterrence to workers.

"Penalties have to come with a deterrent effect," he acknowledged, "but HK$150,000 is too extreme a punishment.

"Workers would not be able to afford it no matter how much they were paid.

"There is a need for a penalty, and a fixed penalty of HK$3,000 or HK$5,000 will be acceptable and can still stop workers from smoking."

Chau said the proposed legislative changes would make it easier to regulate safety and order at building sites, including smoking.

He explained it was currently difficult to enforce a smoking ban effectively due to the comparatively large areas involved, while cigarettes and lighters were not prohibited items.

Lawrence Ng, permanent honorary president of the Hong Kong Construction Sub‑Contractors Association, revealed on the same programme that another 50,000 or so pieces of fire-retardant mesh netting would arrive before the Lunar New Year.

Non-compliant scaffolding nets that sheathed Wang Fuk Court were suspected to have contributed to the rapid spread of the inferno.

Ng said the upcoming batch would be enough to meet orders from contractors made through the Construction Industry Council.

As for two incidents revealed late last week by the Buildings Department that involved the use of netting not provided by the council, Ng believed the contractors had decided to take a risk in order to meet the project deadline.