Hong Kong’s chief executive has agreed to dismantle a controversial set of glass panels from his balcony following claims he violated building regulations, nddaily.com reported.

Donald Tsang had remained silent over the issue that had turned into a political controversy, but on Thursday night he agreed to remove the glass one day after insisting he did not believe he had broken any rules.

The glass panels on the balcony of Tsang’s apartment at 64 MacDonnell Road, Hong Kong. [Photo/nddaily.com]

 

The chief was accused of building unauthorized glass panels around his balcony at 64 MacDonnell Road on May 31 following a site inspection by Hong Kong Buildings Department (HKBD)

The HKBD issued a statement calling for the chief to remove the glass within 60 days or appoint an authorized person to substantiate justifiable proof of its legality within 30 days.

If he failed to provide adequate justification, the department was poised to order the owner to remove the panels within 60 days, the HKBD said.

Tsang, who owns the property under the name of a company, said he would follow the advice and has appointed "an authorized person" to inspect the premises just one day after he made a clarification where he maintained that the HKBD did order him to remove an illegal railing for flowers, but not the balcony.

"To put all things beyond doubt, I have instructed the authorized person to dismantle the existing glass panels as soon as possible in accordance with the Buildings Department's advisory letter, and to follow up with the reconstruction of a verandah of the living room that meets all legal requirements," Tsang said in an official statement Wednesday.

Secretary for Development Carrie Lam Cheng Yuet-ngor said Thursday that the department would treat people involved with illegal structures equally, regardless of their status or identity.

Tsang said he believed a balcony with windows installed was not necessarily an illegal structure, even though the work was not done by him or his father when he was alive.

The National People's Congress Standing Committee member Rita Fan Hsu Lai-tai said Tsang was in the wrong but his position is understandable.

"He has agreed to remove the glass panels and rectify the mistakes, " she said.  "This shows the department is acting fairly and no one in Hong Kong is above the law."