Hong Kong leader John Lee vows to ensure inspections at luxury estate Redhill Peninsula after landslide from record rainfall leads to discovery of illegal structures

Hong Kong’s leader has pledged to ensure authorities inspect a luxury housing estate and take action against occupants responsible for unauthorised building works, after the government found illegal structures on the premises following a landslide triggered by record rainfall last week.

Chief Executive John Lee Ka-chiu on Tuesday also said the top priority of the government was to stabilise the slope to ensure safety following the discovery of illegal structures in at least two houses at Redhill Peninsula in Tai Tam.

“I think the landslide at Redhill Peninsula has already shown us that part of the estate carries risks, so relevant departments will target the estate for inspections,” he said ahead of a weekly meeting of the Executive Council, the city’s key decision-making body.

Lee stressed that authorities would also take enforcement actions, which could include prosecutions, removal orders or payment demands for any resulting engineering work, against those responsible for unauthorised structures.

At the centre of the controversy are three homes in Redhill Peninsula, which were damaged by a landslide triggered by record rainfall between last Thursday and Friday.

Illegal structures found at second Hong Kong home after landslide strikes estate

Authorities confirmed on Sunday that house No 72 was found to have illegal structures and had unlawfully occupied government land. Occupants were evacuated amid risks of unstable soil.

On Monday, the Buildings Department said unlawful additions were also found in house No 70, with a five-by-13-metre (16.4-by-42.6-foot) structure discovered on its lowest podium and another five-by-six-metre basement behind it.

A record black rainstorm alert issued at 11.05pm on Thursday lasted for more than 16 hours, with the city reporting the most amount of rain ever collected in an hour. The Observatory headquarters logged 158.1mm (6.2 inches) of rain between 11pm and midnight that day, the highest since records began in 1884.