Electric shock caused tragedy in sub-district houses

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Written by: Commentary Editing Room

2020-08-18 07:00

Earlier this month, a 36-year-old newlywed female resident was killed in an electric shock tragedy in a sub-divided house in Mong Kok. An investigation by the Electrical and Mechanical Services Department found that the electrical installation in the sub-divided unit had a short-circuit fault and the grounding device in the house did not comply with the regulations. The victim rented the subdivided units involved in the incident for nearly ten years, and the substandard electrical installations caused fatal incidents. The safety of the subdivided houses has also been addressed by the government.

The Electrical and Mechanical Services Department's investigation found that the electrical installations in the sub-district units had short-circuit faults and the grounding installations in the houses did not meet the requirements. (Profile picture)

The environmental safety of subdivided housing is in doubt

The "Hong Kong 01" reporter recently inspected a sub-district unit in Sham Shui Po with electrical engineers and found that there were multiple electrical safety problems in the sub-district, including the loosening of the only socket in the whole house. Poor contact may cause heat and even sparks. Ignite the surrounding debris and cause a fire. There is no leakage protector for the electrical installations in the house. If there is a leakage electrical appliance, it will not be able to trip in a short time. Since 1985, the "Electricity Regulations" has required that each socket must be equipped with a leakage protector. The safety of power supply in the sub-room environment is worrying.

The government authorities should take this as a lesson, first strengthen the supervision of the modification of sub-district houses, and then inspect the safety conditions of the sub-divisions after the modification. The Development Bureau has started to supervise some minor works related to subdivided houses in 2012, but the measures still rely on the owners to declare themselves. In 2015 and 2016, only 257 and 91 subdivided housing modification projects were issued with the "Certificate of Completion" from the Buildings Department, but the number of subdivided housing has increased by 2,400 and 3,900 in the same period, and the number of projects actually under the supervision of the department is less than half. It is difficult to guarantee the quality of the remaining sub-divided housing projects.

Most of the modified sub-districts in Hong Kong are not supervised by the department. The safety of the power supply system is questionable, and the building structure and fire protection system are not guaranteed. The subdistrict environment is as harsh as a time bomb. The reporter found a dangerous wall cracked in a sub-district unit. From inside the house, sunlight can see through the crack. The wall is compressed and skewed, as if falling down at any time. The sub-districts are small and cluttered, with insufficient fire fighting equipment, and residents will find it difficult to escape in the event of a fire.

Since 1985, the "Electricity Ordinance" has required that every socket must be equipped with a leakage protector. (Profile picture/Photo by Cai Zhengbang)

Departments strengthen cooperation to set modification standards

According to the results of the 2016 Population By-census, there were about 92,700 subdivided housing units in Hong Kong at that time, with a total of 209,000 people living. The Development Bureau should start with the statistics of the Statistics Department, sort out the distribution of subdivided housing in Hong Kong, and cooperate with the Electrical and Mechanical Services Department, the Buildings Department, and the Fire Department to review the subdivided housing environment in Hong Kong, and restrict the conversion of subdivided housing units with varying quality.

The authorities should set minimum standards for the modification of sub-divided houses. For example, it can study the requirements for setting standard power supply and fire protection equipment for each sub-divided unit. The bureau should even study compulsory owners to report to the Buildings Department after the modification works, and conduct sampling inspections on whether the sub-divided units meet the requirements. The Electrical and Mechanical Services Department is also responsible for inspecting the electrical installations of buildings and prosecuting owners who modify their units that do not meet the requirements of the Electricity Ordinance after their improvements fail.

Local property prices are high, and subdivided housing units have sprung up like bamboo shoots after a rain. Its emergence is unpopular. Improving the supervision of subdivided housing projects can only be a compromise measure before the local housing supply is sufficient. In the long run, the government still has to substantially increase public housing and gradually ban local subdivided housing as the goal, so that subdivided households can gradually transition to living in public housing according to their housing environment and financial burden. This is the real improvement of Hong Kong people’s housing A long-term solution to the environment.

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Electric Shock and Leakage in Subdivided House 01 Viewpoint