The Buildings Department said that it is following up on an incident of broken glass cladding at the external wall of Citywalk in Tsuen Wan tonight and added that no obvious danger to the overall building structure was noted.

Upon notification of the incident by Police at about 7.30pm, the department immediately deployed staff to carry out a site inspection and found that a piece of glass cladding, measuring about 3m by 2m, at the external wall of the building’s fifth floor facing Wo Tik Street was broken. 

The affected pavement is temporarily fenced off and the department will continue to follow up on the matter.

As instructed by the department, the property management company (PMC) of the building has arranged a contractor to remove the remaining loose pieces of glass tonight.

The PMC is also tasked with arranging to have the other glass cladding inspected and carrying out necessary repairs as soon as possible to ensure public safety.

The department will issue an investigation order to require the owner to appoint an authorised person to conduct the investigation and submit an investigation report together with a remedial proposal.

It will also maintain contact with the PMC to monitor the progress of the investigation and repair works.

The department pointed out that it has specific requirements on the quality and construction of glass cladding. For example, the testing of materials and procedures before installation should comply with the relevant statutory requirements. 

It emphasised that it is the owners’ responsibility to ensure the safety of their buildings, adding that timely repair and maintenance of private buildings is the owners’ basic responsibility.

Owners may be liable to criminal prosecution and civil proceedings if the building dilapidation causes damage to property or injury to persons, the department said.