Justice Secretary's Husband Loses Appeal Over Pool

The husband of Justice Secretary Teresa Cheng has lost an appeal at the High Court over the HK$20,000 fine he was given for an illegal swimming pool he had built at his luxury home in Tuen Mun.

Otto Poon was found guilty at West Kowloon Magistracy in 2019 of building the swimming pool without obtaining approval from the Buildings Department. He subsequently launched an appeal at the High Court against both the conviction and the fine.

In a judgment handed down on Friday, Justice Esther Toh ruled that the magistrate "was not in error in any way, and that the conviction was sound".

Poon's lawyer had argued that the pool in his client's garden could not be regarded as "a building structure" under the relevant provision, as it was movable and did not pose a safety hazard.

But Toh ruled against him.

"It was an obvious point that a structure which does not affect the safety of a building, does not necessarily mean it is not an unauthorized structure," she said in the written judgment.

"It still necessarily involved erecting the structure of the boards around the pool to cover the steel panels and therefore, it constitutes building works as well."

She noted that the maximum fine for the offence is HK$400,000, so the fine Poon received could not be considered excessive or wrong in principle.

The pool was taken apart in January 2018, around the time Cheng took office as justice secretary.