Pedestrians cross the road near the Beijing West Railway Station. (Photo : Reuters)
A residential house collapsed on Jan. 24, 2015, in the Chinese capital after an 18-meter-deep basement was illegally added to the property by the owner.
Nearby roads and houses were also negatively impacted by the illegal construction, with collapses detected in both. The local community committee established a barrier around the boundary of the property on which the collapsed house was located, thereby providing a degree of safety against accidents, as media rushed to the area while curious members of the public crowded around to see the aftermath of the incident.
The offending property owner is a businessman and legislator in Xuzhou, Jiangsu Province, named Li Baojun. According to reports, Li commenced work on the basement in 2014 even though he had not received the necessary approval from construction department officials.
The property is off a small alley in the historic center of Beijing and is located near the site of another illegal construction project that caused problems nearly a decade ago.
Ru Shumei, 63, owns a nearby house that was affected by the 2006 matter and reported to the media that all she could see was "broken concrete, half-buried furniture and a big pit filled with cement" at the location of Li's house.
Basements have become very popular in China's capital city and are especially sought out by business-minded people who plan to transform properties into entertainment clubs, where the basement area is used as a wine cellar or private VIP suite. Courtyards, which are called siheyuan in China, can most often be found in the Beijing districts of Dongcheng and Xicheng.
According to China's Urban and Rural Planning Law, which was issued in 2007, permission from construction authorities is compulsory for anyone who wishes to implement changes to properties in a city's historic area.
It turned out that Li had obtained permission before he started digging the basement, but his permit was issued for the purpose of general renovations and the creation of a basement was not included in the conditions of the approval.
According to Beijing officals, "digging a basement or building a second floor in a courtyard is not allowed, but some owners may apply for a permission for renovation and do additional, illegal work in secret."
Owners engaging in illegal "renovations" typically erect barriers to hamper a clear view of their illegal activity.
