The government must tighten control over billboards displayed on buildings walls, Hong Kong Association for Democracy and People's Livelihood (ADPL) said yesterday.

If the billboards are damaged and fall down on the streets, they not only hurt the passers-by, but also force the building owners to bear the legal liabilities.

To tackle the problem, ADPL suggested a new law that requires owners to arrange third party insurance cover for putting up billboards.

Leung Lai, ADPL member and vice-chairman of Sham Shui Po District Council, said: "In addition, such display should have the prior consent of the owners of the external walls.

"Also, the billboard display should be approved by buildings professionals and handled by technicians who are recognized by the government."

Between February and March this year, the party found a total of 219 abandoned billboards in the old districts of Hong Kong.

Still, the Buildings Department has been extremely slow in removing those billboards, he said.

Owing to lack of building management in single-stair buildings in Kowloon West, many billboards are put up without owners' consent, which was against general rules.

Some shops fail to dismantle the billboards after they have moved to other places or end business, thus leaving behind unattended billboards and creating "time bombs" in the old districts, he noted.

"We don't want the repeat of the Albert House incident in which owners of the residential units had to pay for the collapse of a canopy of the first floor (that claimed a number of lives) which was operated as a restaurant," Leung warned.

(China Daily HK Edition March 28, 2006)