North Kowloon Magistracy
This article needs to be updated.(October 2013) |
Magistrate's Court | |
Opened | 1960 |
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Closed | 3 January 2005 |
North Kowloon Magistracy | |
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Hanyu Pinyin | Běi Jiǔlóng Cáipàn Sīshǔ |
Yue: Cantonese | |
Yale Romanization | Bāk gáu lùhng chòih pun sī chyúh |
Jyutping | Bak1 gau2 lung4 coi4 pun3 si1 cyu5 |
The North Kowloon Magistracy (北九龍裁判法院 / 北九龍裁判司署 before 1 July 1997) is a historic building and former Magistrate's Court located at No. 292, Tai Po Road, Shek Kip Mei, Kowloon, Hong Kong.
The building was erected in 1960 and served the community for over 44 years. The Magistracy used to handle cases in the Kowloon District, which covers Mong Kok, Sham Shui Po, Shek Kip Mei, Cheung Sha Wan and Ho Man Tin, and could be considered one of the busiest in Hong Kong.[1] It was closed in 2005 due to cost saving policy of the government and consolidation of magistracies from nine to six.[2] In February 2009, the government declared that the building would be converted into the Hong Kong campus of the Savannah College of Art and Design. It operated as the Savannah College of Art and Design (SCAD) (Hong Kong) from September 2010 until 1 June 2020. The Government took over the historic building after the expiry of the tenancy on 1 August 2020.[3]
History
Before 1942, two magistracies were handling offences in Kowloon: one, located in
The North Kowloon Magistracy was closed on 3 January 2005 due to cost saving policy of the government and consolidation of magistracies from nine to six.[2] The estimated saving from the closure of North Kowloon Magistracy is HK$6.6 million a year coming mainly from the reduction of registry staff.[6] Cases from this court have consequently been dealt with in Kwun Tong, Kowloon City and Sha Tin Magistrates' Courts.[7]
Jurisdiction
The magistracy was classified as the lowest court that handled indictable and summary offences. It was made up of a Juvenile Court, four Magistrates' courts and government offices. Minor offences such as traffic conviction, littering and juvenile offences were treated in the Special Magistrates and Juvenile Court respectively. Solemn cases were usually transferred to the District Courts or the Court of First Instance. The maximum sentence in the Magistracy is two years' imprisonment and a mulct of $100,000. There were more than forty defendants attended the court daily and could reach up to eighty occasionally.[7]
Important events
The cases adjudicated in North Kowloon Magistracy were mostly minor ones including prostitution, illegal hawking and littering in prohibited areas.
On 7 December 1998, an elderly hawker suddenly set fire to himself in the Magistracy after he was convicted of illegal hawking, fined HK$400 and had his jade trinkets confiscated. He died two days later in the hospital.[8][9]
In December 2002, someone sprayed red paint on the rear door of the Magistracy to support the implementation of Article 23, he was later charged with criminal damage to property.[10]
In December 2003
Architecture
The 7-storey court building was built in
The building is divided into 3 functional zones and characterized by independent circulation access for general public, magistrates and staff, police and prisoners respectively. Its gross floor area is approximately 7,345 m2 with a central atrium.
On its front
Construction materials
The materials used for construction of the building is reinforced concrete. For the exterior part, there are mainly granite finishes on the front facade, with granite sprayed as coverage. Dark blue glazed ceramic tiles were used too. For the interior part, various materials were adopted.
Architectural merits
External
The door at the main entrance is a pair of
Internal
There are ornamental handrails and guard bars to the windows, and Italianate balustrades on the staircases on the first three floors.[4]
Defects
Minor cracks on walls and beams at some floors are found on the building. Spalling of concrete is also observed on ceilings of some floors. Regular maintenance and monitoring is required to keep the structural slabs, beams and columns in good condition.[4]
Conservation
Since its closure in 2005, the
In 2008, the North Kowloon Magistracy was part of the seven buildings of Batch I of the Hong Kong Government's
The Savannah College of Art and Design is granted the right to use the building of the former North Kowloon Magistracy for its Hong Kong branch campus, which is its first campus in Asia and will be in addition to campuses in Savannah, GA, Atlanta, GA and Lacoste, France. The anticipated renovation period for the magistracy building will be around 15 months and the SCAD school is expected to open in 2011, allowing the public to visit the old law courts and passages for prisoners.[14] The estimated flow of people is about 130,000 headcounts per year for the first five years of opening.[13]
Implementation
A branch campus of the
- Establish Hong Kong as a pre-eminent site for the study of digital media in Asia;
- Offer globally recognised digital media programmes, enhance global competitiveness in digital media and creative industries and increase educational diversity to Hong Kong;
- Give more support to the development of creative industry in Hong Kong;
- Set up a facility to provide cultural resources to both students and the professional industry; and
- Add an international dimension to the Sham Shui Po district and revitalize the community.[4]
Apart from the above, it is hoped that the project will obtain synergy effect by cooperating with the nearby Jockey Club Creative Arts Centre (賽馬會創意藝術中心) and provide summer art programmes and campaigns to students.
The project retains the exterior appearance of the Magistracy. Parts of the building will remain open to the public and a gallery will be set up to display the history of the Magistracy. A website will also be created to show the comparison between the old Magistracy building and the newly renovated SCAD-Hong Kong Campus. A conservation documentary that captures the entire conservation process will be produced.
It is expected that the project will house 40 classrooms, 16 faculty and staff offices, one library, one art gallery, and two computer laboratories. Also, two court rooms will be converted into a digital studio and a lecture hall respectively. The project will implement a variety of greening measures such as use of high efficiency lighting and fixtures fabricated from sustainable materials.
Controversy over revitalisation scheme
Much controversy had arisen in the bidding process of the Scheme.
On 17 February 2009, Liza Wang strongly protested against the result of the scheme, said she wanted to cry and threatened to take the matter up with Chief Executive Donald Tsang. The emotional outburst had drawn a big audience from the public and the incident was reported in the media for days.[15][16] It was later reported in the newspapers that the association's initial proposal had a comparable score to the ultimate winner SCAD but fell short at the interview stage because Wang was unable to convince the Advisory Committee with an estimated operating cost of $15 million and foreseeable difficulty in raising funds.[17]
Other places in the surroundings
- The nearest historic building is Mei Ho House (Grade I) of the old Shek Kip Mei Housing Estate[1]
- Fook Tak Kwu Miu, 'Happiness and Virtue Ancient Temple' (港九福德念佛社)
- Saviour Lutheran School, a special school
- Hong Kong Sze Yap Commercial and Industrial Association School, a primary school
References
- ^ a b c Antiquities and Monuments Office: Brief Information on Proposed Grade II Items, pp.277–278 Archived 23 February 2013 at the Wayback Machine
- ^ a b Anquities and Monuments Office, Leisure and Cultural Services Department: "Introduction to 1444 Historic Buildings", p.338 Archived 11 June 2009 at the Wayback Machine
- ^ "Former North Kowloon Magistracy Included in Batch VI of Revitalising Historic Buildings Through Partnership Scheme" (PDF). Heritage Newsletter. No. 72. Commissioner for Heritage's Office of the Development Bureau. September 2020.
- ^ a b c d e f g Conserve and Revitalise Hong Kong Heritage – North Kowloon Magistracy – Resource Kit
- ^ Antiquities and Monuments Office: Brief Information on Proposed Grade I Items, pp. 240–241 Archived 13 October 2012 at the Wayback Machine
- ^ Judiciary, "North Kowloon Magistracy to Close", Government Press Release, 24 December 2004
- ^ a b "Hong Kong Judiciary Annual Report 2004 Chapter 5", The Judiciary
- ^ Prisca Chu (24 November 1999). "Suicide hawker normal: magistrate". The Standard. pp. A02.
- ^ [1], Sing Tao, 22 August 2002 (in Chinese)
- ^ a b [2], Ming Pao, 8 February 2008 (in Chinese)
- ^ [3], Wen Wei Po, 27 December 2003 (in Chinese)
- ^ Conserve and Revitalise Hong Kong Heritage: Batch I of Revitalisation Scheme
- ^ a b Batch I of Revitalisation Scheme – Result of Selection – SCAD Hong Kong Campus : North Kowloon Magistracy
- ^ Mrs. Rita Lau, "SCED welcomes revitalising historic buildings for nurturing creative sector and promoting tourism", Government Press Release, 17 February 2009
- ^ Mary Ma, "In a fix over Magistrate building", The Standard, 21 January 2009
- ^ Mary Ma, "Partnership structure put to a test", The Standard, 17 February 2009
- ^ "Bid Blown by Bad Interview", The Standard, 25 February 2009