XN000022-1973-11-08 — Page 9

8

Thursday, November 8, 1973

NO DELAY IN PROCESSING OCCUPATION PERMIT APPLICATIONS

The Principal Government Building Surveyor, Mr. Jack Stean,

today refuted a reported observation made in the Full Court on Tuesday

to the effect that delays in processing building applications within

Public Works Department were "leaving the door open for corruption".

Mr. Stean was referring to newspaper reports of a case heard

in the Fill Court, in which the Crown applied for leave to review a

sentence imposed in a lower court on a building sub-contractor convicted

of attempting to bribe a public officer.

In increasing the penalty from a fine of $500 to a fine of

$2,000, plus a nine-month prison sentence suspended for two years, the

Court was quoted as saying: "If the P.W.D. continue to allow delays when

granting occupation permits, they leave the door open for corruption".

Mr. Stean said today: "In view of this statement, I feel I

must publicly deny that there was any delay whatsoever in processing this

particular application for an occupation permit. The application was

received by the Buildings Ordinance Office on August 29, 1973; the

inspection was carried out by a Building Surveyor and his assistant

on September 4 and the application was formally rejected on September 10

well within the required 14-day statutory period.

"Furthermore,

T

7