Hong Kong Ordinances

RAILWAYS ORDINANCE - SECT 24

Inspection and preventive and remedial work on land and buildings

(1) The Secretary or a person authorized by him may, failing agreement with
any person affected as to the grant of the powers required by the Secretary,
enter any land or building situated wholly or partly within the boundaries of
the scheme or wholly or partly within 70 metres of the boundaries of the
scheme to-

   (a)  inspect, value, investigate the site or test, including drilling,
        excavating and installing or removing instruments;

   (b)  survey or take levels; and

   (c)  set out any line of works, for the scheme, an assessment of the value
        of any land, building or other property or to ascertain the condition
        of the land or building.

(2) The Secretary or any person authorized by him may enter any such land or
building and carry out, at the cost of the Government, all reasonably
necessary operations of a preventive or remedial nature.

(3) A person must not, for the purposes of subsection (1), enter any land or
building which is occupied without giving at least 28 days notice of his
intention to do so, unless the Secretary is of the opinion that an emergency
exists which necessitates immediate entry.

(4) A notice of entry under subsection (3) must-

   (a)  describe the purpose of the entry and the nature of any operations to
        be carried out; and

   (b)  be served on the owner and the occupier of the land or building.

(5) The decision of the Secretary that any operations are of a preventive or
remedial nature or that the operations are reasonably necessary is final.

(6) The Secretary or any person authorized by him may enter, as occasion may
require, any land or building over which any powers under subsection (1) have
been exercised and, in relation to that land or building, exercise the powers,
subject to notice being given, as often as occasion may require.