Govt details smoking ban plans at construction sites

Labour officials on Monday unveiled details of its proposal to ban smoking at construction sites, with plans to slap company owners with a maximum fine of HK$3 million and a six-month jail term for serious violations. The proposed legal changes followed the Tai Po inferno in November which killed 168 people. In documents submitted to the legislature, the Labour and Welfare Bureau proposes making construction sites designated non-smoking areas, and general violations will result in a fixed penalty of a HK$3,000 fine. Contractors, it proposes, shall take all reasonable steps to ensure that no one smokes or carries a lighted specified smoking product, and failure to do so would face a fine of up to HK$400,000. The bureau also said the Labour Department will consider invoking provisions under the Factories and Industrial Undertakings Ordinance to prosecute firms or employees in serious cases. These, for example, include a person smoking near highly flammable substances posing a catastrophic fire risk. "A proprietor convicted of an offence is liable to a fine of $3 million and imprisonment of six months, whereas an employee is liable on conviction to a fine of $150,000 and imprisonment of six months," the document read. Officials will discuss the matter with lawmakers on the legislature's manpower panel next Monday. Edited by Edmond Fong