Secretary for Security Chris Tang on Saturday said a proposal to hold property management firms responsible for fire-prevention measures would not have a major impact on the fees that they charge.

His comments came as the government proposes, in the wake of the Wang Fuk Court inferno in November, amendments to the Fire Services Ordinance that are currently undergoing a one-month public consultation.

Among the changes it is looking at is introducing a responsible persons' regime for the maintenance and inspection of fire services installation and equipment.

Under the proposal, property management companies would have the statutory responsibility of arranging for fire alarm system inspections to be carried out at least once every six months and fire drills every year.

Speaking on an RTHK radio programme, Tang said such a changeover would not incur high costs.

“The cost of carrying out a test of the fire alarm is very low when compared with management fees. The cost is also very low for carrying out a fire drill," he said.

"Our new requirement this time does not involve a commitment of new resources, so we believe it should not have a major impact on management fees.”

He stressed that if firms are penalised due to violations of these fire-safety codes, they should not pass the cost on to homeowners.

The government is also proposing that fire service installation contractors have to renew their licences every five years instead of, as under the existing regime, their registration being permanent.

Tang said the move is necessary because the licences of contractors can currently be revoked only if they commit serious violations, making the existing benchmark very high.

He also said the police have received 142 reports of suspected thefts so far at the Tai Po estate.

“In 48 of the cases – almost 40 percent – we recovered the items immediately," Tang said.

"In about 20 percent of the cases, the flats involved were severely damaged, so we and the homeowners believe the items might have been burnt.

"In 30 percent of the cases, the residents could not say exactly what [the items] were, so it was hard to follow up.

"But in 16 of the cases, we think it could not be determined whether [the items] were stolen or not."

He added that officers are actively investigating the cases.


Edited by Tony Sabine