Hong Kong officials took 1½ years to handle ‘priority’ land abuse case: ombudsman
Lands Department slammed for failing to swiftly resolve case, while ombudsman urges more collaboration among officials
A Hong Kong government department took 1½ years to act on what should have been a priority case involving illegal occupation of public land, the ombudsman has revealed, calling for more collaboration among officials to improve efficiency.
The Office of the Ombudsman said on Thursday the Lands Department and the Planning Department had since formed a joint working group, as the two had “different understandings” of their roles and responsibilities.
Kenneth Chow Shek-chiu, a senior investigation officer with the ombudsman, said it found the Lands Department had delayed for 18 months before responding to a referral over a report of unauthorised development.
The Planning Department handed over the case in August 2021 after initially looking into suspicions a private plot and its adjacent government land had been turned into an illegal storage facility.
“This case should have been considered a priority, however, the Lands Department did not prioritise it. The reason given was that the department had previously issued a notice in 2013 concerning unauthorised structures on privately owned land within the specified area,” Chow said.
“Furthermore, the government land involved was relatively small and situated at the periphery of a green belt. The Lands Department intended to address this case concurrently with subsequent title deed enforcement actions.”
