The 9th Meeting of the Environmental Hygiene and Sustainable Development Committee of the City District Council

Date: 13 May 2021 (Thursday) Time: 2:30 p.m. Venue: Conference Room, District Office

Present: Time of Arrival Time of Departure Chairman: Dr KWAN Ka-lun Start of Meeting End of Meeting Vice-chairman: Mr MA Hei-pang Start of Meeting End of Meeting Members: Mr LAM Tak-shing Start of Meeting End of Meeting Dr KWONG Po-yin 3:26 p.m. End of Meeting Mr KWOK Tin-lap Start of Meeting End of Meeting Mr CHEUNG King-fan 2:38 p.m. End of Meeting Mr HE Huahan Start of Meeting End of Meeting Mr NG Po-keung, MH 2:36 p.m. End of Meeting Mr WONG Kwok-tung, Start of Meeting End of Meeting Daniel Mr TSANG Kin-chiu Start of Meeting End of Meeting Miss CHAU Hei-man 2:40 p.m. End of Meeting Mr WONG Wing-kit Start of Meeting End of Meeting Miss MAK Sui-ki, Jakki Start of Meeting End of Meeting Mr YUM Kwok-tung, Pius Start of Meeting End of Meeting Mr PUN Kwok-wah, JP Start of Meeting End of Meeting Mr SIU Leong-sing Start of Meeting End of Meeting Mr YEUNG Chun-yu 2:36 p.m. End of Meeting Mr LAI Kwong-wai Start of Meeting End of Meeting Mr YANG Wing-kit Start of Meeting End of Meeting Mr HO Hin-ming, BBS, 2:34 p.m. End of Meeting MH Mr FUNG Man-tao, Joshua Start of Meeting End of Meeting The Hon LEE Wai-king, 2:39 p.m. End of Meeting Starry, SBS, JP

Secretary: Mr TSO Yuen-kiu, Brian Executive Officer (District Council) 2, Office

Absent: Mr CHO Wui-hung, MH

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In Attendance: Mr TANG Wai-kuen, Senior Environmental Protection Samuel Officer (Regional East) 5, Environmental Protection Department Mr LAM Ming-wai District Environmental Hygiene Superintendent (Kowloon City), Food and Environmental Hygiene Department Mr FONG Biu Senior Health Inspector (Cleansing and Pest Control) Kowloon City 2, Food and Environmental Hygiene Department Mr WONG Chun-nam Deputy District Leisure Manager (Kowloon City) 2, Leisure and Cultural Services Department Ms KWOK Lai-kuen, Eva Senior Executive Officer (District Management), Kowloon City District Office Mr LI Chi-him, Samson Executive Officer I (District Management), Kowloon City District Office

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Opening Remarks

The Chairman welcomed Members and representatives of government departments and organisations to the 9th meeting of the Environmental Hygiene and Sustainable Development Committee (EHSDC). Before proceeding to the discussion of the agenda items, the Chairman reminded Members that if the matters to be discussed gave rise to conflict of interest with their property rights, profession or investment, they should make a declaration prior to the discussion so that he would consider if it was necessary to ask the Members concerned to exit from the meeting during the discussion or voting. Also, according to Order 36(2) of the Standing Orders, the quorum for committee meetings was half the number of members. As there were 24 members in EHSDC, the quorum would be 12 members. According to Order 12 (2) of the Standing Orders, if a quorum was not present at the commencement of the meeting or in the course of a meeting, the Chairman shall direct the Secretary to summon those members of the Committee not present. If after 15 minutes a quorum was not present, the Chairman shall adjourn the meeting forthwith. Moreover, he welcomed Mr FONG Biu, Senior Health Inspector (Cleansing and Pest Control) Kowloon City 2 of the Food and Environmental Hygiene Department (FEHD), to attend the meeting. 3

Item 1 Confirmation of Minutes of Last Meeting

2. Miss Jakki MAK stated that in paragraph 32 of the 8th meeting minutes, her name was wrongly written. Thus, she wished that the Secretary could amend it.

3. The Secretary remarked that he would make an amendment and he apologised to her.

4. The Chairman declared that the minutes of the 8th meeting were unanimously endorsed by the EHSDC.

Item 2 Matters Arising Request to the Environmental Protection Department and the Drainage Services Department for Giving an Account of the Sewage Testing in Kowloon City District (Paper No. 20/21)

5. The Chairman stated that it was decided at the last meeting that the EHSDC was going to further discuss the agenda item titled “Request to the Environmental Protection Department (EPD) and the Drainage Services Department for Giving an Account of the Sewage Testing in Kowloon City District” (Paper No. 20/21). He demanded the EPD to give an account on the locations where sewage samples were taken in Kowloon City District, the names of buildings with sewage samples tested positive and the number of sewage samples tested positive.

6. Mr Samuel TANG, Senior Environmental Protection Officer (Regional East) 5 of the EPD, remarked that the locations for sewage sample collection were selected mainly based on the objectives of the anti-epidemic work at the time, and sewage testing might be conducted in one building, several buildings or an entire small area. He further said that the results of the sewage tests would be passed to the anti-epidemic experts of the Food and Health Bureau and the Centre for Health Protection so that they could consider the test results together with other relevant data and formulate anti-epidemic measures.

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7. Mr Pius YUM’s opinions were as follows:

(i) he expressed deep regrets that the EPD repeatedly refused to make public the results of the sewage tests on the grounds of avoiding unnecessary misunderstanding and speculation on the part of the public;

(ii) he stated that information such as the dates, target groups and results of the tests was important to the safety of the public; and

(iii) he said that this agenda item was proposed a few months ago and he was dissatisfied that the Department still refused to release the relevant data after four months.

Item 3 Call for Regular Trimming of Trees and Removal of Weeds around Violet Court at 2M of Cornwall Street (Paper No. 27/21)

8. Mr HO Hin-ming introduced Paper No. 27/21 and he expressed satisfaction over the reply given and the follow-up actions taken by the Lands Department (LandsD).

9. Mr WONG Chun-nam, Deputy District Leisure Manager (Kowloon City) 2 of the Leisure and Cultural Services Department, remarked that the Department had received this case from the LandsD. They would take charge of the maintenance work of two trees at the site and carry out proper pruning work as soon as possible.

Item 4 Call for Strengthening Inspection at Air-conditioner Water-dripping Black Spots to the Advent of Summer (Paper No. 28/21)

10. Mr NG Po-keung presented Paper No. 28/21.

11. Mr LAM Tak-shing thanked the Food and Environmental Hygiene Department (FEHD) for meeting up with committee members and inspecting the locations mentioned in the Paper before the meeting. He hoped that the Department

5 could continue to step up inspections as well as to strengthen publicity and education work.

12. Mr YANG Wing-kit’s views were consolidated as follows:

(i) he suggested the Department to pay more attention to the problem of water dripping from air-conditioners at pedestrian crossings. As the pedestrian flow was high at these locations, the water dripping problem would bring nuisances to pedestrians; and

(ii) he pointed out that most of the residents in were grassroots people and thus the imposition of a fine should not be the optimal solution to the problem. He advised the Department to send staff to visit the relevant households and follow up the situation with them. Prosecution would only be initiated when the households were not amenable to repeated advice.

13. Mr LAM Ming-wai, District Environmental Hygiene Superintendent (Kowloon City) of the FEHD, gave a consolidated response as follows:

(i) he stated that the Department had already arranged special operations to inspect bus stops and pedestrian crossings early in the morning or at morning peak hours. They would also deploy staff to carry out inspections at night if necessary; and

(ii) under normal circumstances, the Department would first issue advisory letters, visit households with dripping air-conditioners and offer them advice for improvement. According to the past experience, over half of the households would repair the air- conditioners upon being advised. If the household concerned failed to heed the advice, the FEHD would issue the Nuisance Notice and institute prosecution.

14. Mr NG Po-keung stated that he received a report from the public yesterday that the problem of water dripping from air-conditioners occurred at the bus stops of Routes 1A and 113 and the pick-up point of Kwoon Chung Bus on Junction Road. He wished that the Department could make follow-ups.

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(Post-meeting notes: the FEHD had deployed staff to conduct inspections on Junction Road. They had also issued advisory letters to households / building owners whose air-conditioners were allegedly not equipped with drain pipes, reminding them to maintain and repair their air-conditioners properly so as to avoid causing nuisances. The Department would continue to monitor the situation at the place and take appropriate actions.)

15. Mr TSANG Kin-chiu’s opinions / enquiries were consolidated as follows:

(i) he enquired the Department whether the number of Nuisance Notice issued was the same as the number of prosecutions instituted;

(ii) he stated that the problem of water dripping from air conditioners brought nuisances to many districts. Committee members had, every few months, issued letters to the Department and requested for follow-ups. However, he viewed that the standard replies given by the Department did not help address the problem;

(iii) he pointed out that there were over 1 700 complaints about water dripping from air-conditioners. The Department had issued nearly 600 advisory letters, meaning that over half of the complaints were still unhandled. The number of prosecutions initiated was even less than 90. Thus, he wished that the Department could tackle the problem actively;

(iv) he pointed out that many owners of flats in old buildings or sub- divided flats disregarded the problem of water dripping from air conditioners. For example, the water dripping problem on Road near Chung Nam Mansion adversely affected people queuing up at the cross-harbour bus stops. He further said that there were many rented flats in buildings at the aforesaid road section, the tenancy of which was normally short and only lasted for half a year or one year. Since tenants had no ownership to the flats, they would not care much about the water dripping problem. Also, building owners would neither always check the air-conditioners in the flats nor pick up the warning letters issued by the Department at once. Hence, he opined that only if a fine was imposed would the building 7

owners make efforts to resolve the problem; and

(Post-meeting notes: the FEHD had deployed staff to carry out inspections on Ma Tau Chung Road near Chung Nam Mansion. They had also issued the Nuisance Notice to owners of three flats with water-dripping air conditioners in Chung Nam Mansion, requiring them to carry out repairs within a specified period. Offenders would be liable to prosecution. The Department would continue to monitor the situation at the site and take appropriate actions.)

(v) he enquired the Department about the number of prosecutions and the amount of fines against water dripping from air-conditioners in Kowloon City District.

16. Mr Pius YUM asked the Department about the number of prosecutions, the amount of fines and the locations of black spots of water-dripping air conditioners in District. He requested the Department to send staff to inspect the black spots with him.

(Post-meeting notes: the FEHD had inspected Hung Wu Building and United Building with Mr Pius YUM after the meeting. They had also issued advisory letters to households / building owners whose air conditioners were not properly connected with drain pipes, reminding them to carry out proper repairs and maintenance. The Department would continue to monitor the situation at the site and take appropriate actions.)

17. Mr LAM Ming-wai of the FEHD gave a consolidated reply as follows:

(i) he noted committee members’ opinions and would deploy staff to conduct inspections at locations mentioned by Members;

(ii) he pointed out that the households or building owners concerned would be issued the Nuisance Notice, which required them to repair their air conditioners before a specified date. Prosecution would only be initiated if the problem persisted. The Department understood that some people might encounter financial difficulties when arranging repairs and thus an extension of deadline would be approved under normal circumstances; 8

(iii) if the tenants concerned were untraceable, the Department would obtain information on the building owners from the Land Registry and issued them written notices requesting repairs; and

(iv) he stated that he did not have the actual number of prosecutions at the moment. He would provide Members supplementary information after the meeting and discuss with Members the time for inspection.

(Post-meeting notes: in the past year, most of the households who received the Nuisance Notice issued by the FEHD had followed the instructions and taken follow-up actions. Only one prosecution was made because the case was not properly addressed before the deadline set.)

Item 5 Request for Providing Mediation and Referral Services to Resolve the Problem of Excessive Storage of Items at Private Flats Causing Adverse Impact on Public Environmental Hygiene (Paper No. 29/21)

18. Mr Pius YUM introduced Paper No. 29/21 and enquired to which department, the FEHD or the Social Welfare Department (SWD), he should send letters if he identified the problem of excessive storage of items at private flats.

19. The Chairman asked under what circumstances the Department would request the Police Force (HKPF) for help.

20. Mr LAM Ming-wai of the FEHD made a consolidated response as follows:

(i) special cases such as excessive storage of items would be passed to the SWD which was responsible for calling and making appointments with the households concerned for removal of items by the FEHD staff. The Department understood that some residents could not remove miscellaneous items by themselves and thus they would provide assistance and conduct pest control work. Yet, the most important thing was that the household concerned must be willing to be assisted; 9

(ii) he stated that the FEHD, the SWD and the HKPF would joint hands to conduct removal work. The FEHD could hardly complete the work on their own;

(iii) he said that if committee members identified the problem of excessive storage of items at private flats, they could send letters to the FEHD and the SWD so that the two departments could make coordination; and

(iv) he remarked that under normal circumstances, the SWD staff would accompany the household concerned to leave the flat. The removal work would be witnessed by the HKPF to ensure that the FEHD staff would only clear miscellaneous items instead of personal belongings of the household.

21. Mr Pius YUM hoped that the FEHD and the SWD could make effective coordination to help owners’ corporations in the district to tackle the problem of excessive storage of items at private flats.

Item 6 Call for Enhancing Anti-rodent Measures at Redevelopment Areas to Tackle Serious Rodent Infestation to Improve Environmental Hygiene (Paper No. 30/21) Item 7 Following up the Complaint about the Severe Problem of Rodent Infestation around Pak Tai Street, Tam Kung Road, San Shan Road and Sheung Heung Road (Paper No. 31/21) Item 9 Call for Handling the Problem of Rodent Infestation Seriously in To Kwa Wan District (Paper No. 33/21)

22. As agenda items 6, 7 and 9 were all related to rodent infestation, after consulting Members, the Chairman announced that these items would be discussed together.

23. Mr NG Po-keung presented Paper No. 30/21. 10

24. Mr TSANG Kin-chiu presented Paper No. 31/21 and stated that the representative of the FEHD, Mr LAM Ming-wai, had promised to conduct an inspection with him in the district at the last meeting. However, no arrangements were made so far. He enquired the Department about the reasons for not carrying out the inspection.

25. Mr LAI Kwong-wai presented Paper No. 33/21 and said that after the last meeting, the Department had inspected the district with him and Mr MA Hei-pang. He wished that the Department could continue to follow up the problem of rodent infestation in To Kwa Wan District.

26. Mr YANG Wing-kit raised the following opinions / enquiries:

(i) he stated that the serious problem of rodent infestation in To Kwa Wan had been discussed in the EHSDC meetings many times. He had received reports from residents that as the trial running of Tuen Ma Line was underway, rodents scurried out of stations along Tuen Ma Line onto the streets. Thus, he wished that the Department could follow up the situation with the MTR Corporation Limited;

(ii) as there were many markets and food premises in To Kwa Wan District, and the anti-rodent work of the FEHD was ineffective, he enquired whether the Department had new approaches to kill rodents. He had stated several times that the rat baits used by the Department were not effective and thus he advised the Department to consider using the rat baits in the market in order to ensure their effectiveness;

(iii) he noticed that the Department had placed rat cages in the district but the amount was not enough; and

(iv) he wished that the Department could focus on addressing the problem of rodent infestation at MTR stations and near To Kwa Wan Market.

27. Mr CHEUNG King-fan said that given the large number of construction sites near , the rodent infestation problem was very serious. He hoped that the Department could contact the responsible persons of the sites and remind them to carry out anti-rodent work.

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28. Mr LAM Ming-wai of the FEHD gave a consolidated response as follows:

(i) the Department had deployed additional manpower to strengthen inspections at the redeveloped areas mentioned by Mr NG Po-keung. They had also issued a letter to the Urban Renewal Authority (URA) and reminded the Authority to maintain environmental hygiene when acquiring properties. The Department was willing to offer the URA advices on improving environmental hygiene;

(ii) owing to some miscommunication, the Department did not inspect the district with Mr TSANG Kin-chiu and thus he apologised to him. He remarked that the Department had carried out inspections with Mr MA Hei-pang and Mr LAI Kwong-wai after the last meeting. If Mr TSANG Kin-chiu would like to inspect the district together with departmental staff, he would try his best to make an arrangement;

(iii) when deciding whether to place covered rubbish bins at rear lanes, the Department had to take into account the allocation of resources and the environmental hygiene condition of the site;

(iv) the Department would request owners of food premises to store food waste and kitchen waste inside the shops. If there was insufficient space, waste should be placed in covered rubbish bins to maintain environmental hygiene;

(v) in the upcoming few months, the Department would step up inspections at rear lanes in the district especially areas with many food premises. They would give advices and take enforcement actions actively;

(vi) he noted Mr YANG Wing-kit and Mr CHEUNG King-fan’s opinions. The Department would liaise with the MTR Corporation Limited and follow up the problem of rodent infestation at MTR stations. If the MTR Corporation Limited allowed departmental staff to carry out inspections in the stations, the Department would be willing to make arrangements; and

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(Post-meeting notes: the FEHD had contacted the MTR Corporation Limited to enhance collaboration and would arrange joint inspections and provide technical support for rodent disinfestation later.)

(vii) departmental staff would conduct monthly inspections to monitor the environmental hygiene conditions of construction sites in the district and explain the methods of controlling rodents and mosquitoes to the responsible persons of the sites.

29. The Hon Starry LEE stated that the rodent infestation problem in the old district was very serious and no improvement had been observed. She said that the Department had adopted the same anti-rodent methods for years but the situation remained unchanged. Thus, she enquired whether the Department had explored other rodent control methods. In addition, she asked whether the Department would introduce a scientific rodent infestation index which could reflect the actual state of rodent infestation.

30. Mr TSANG Kin-chiu said that he was delighted to learn that the Department had carried out an inspection with Mr MA Hei-pang and Mr LAI Kwong-wai. However, the representative of the Department had promised to inspect the district with him at the last meeting and no follow-up was made so far. He stated that rodent infestation was serious in the district and he wished to team up with the Department to root out the problem.

31. Mr LAI Kwong-wai stated that domestic waste also helped generate rodent infestation. He noticed that many bags of domestic waste were left on the pavements pending collection by private refuse collection contractors. Rodents might bite through trash bags to find food, posing adverse impact on the environmental hygiene and thus, he hoped that the Department could follow up on the problem.

32. Mr WONG Wing-kit enquired about the completion date for the review of the FEHD’s thermal imaging scheme. In view of the severe rodent infestation in To Kwa Wan, he hoped that the Department could finish the review as soon as possible in order to assess the effectiveness of the scheme.

33. Mr HO Hin-ming remarked that the rodent problem had been discussed in the meetings of EHSDC for multiple times. In the past, the Department only stated in 13 their response that the problem could be solved as long as citizens handled rubbish properly and disposed of rubbish in lidded rubbish bins. However, it was impossible to make every citizen in Hong Kong to do so. He advised the Department to set up an anti-rodent index to show the number of times rodents were found and the number of rodents captured by the Department, so that the public could understand the performance of the Department in conducting anti-rodent work and the rodent situation.

34. Mr LAM Tak-shing hoped that the Department could allocate more resources to the anti-rodent work and upgrade their equipment as soon as possible. He stated that the back lanes in the district would be full of garbage from nearby shops or vegetable stalls every evening, therefore, he hoped that the Department could deploy additional staff to clean the street and place cage traps. In addition, he pointed out that the problem of environmental hygiene could be found at the public yards of buildings in the area of Whampoa Street, which was also a redevelopment area. He hoped that the Department could remind the redevelopment contractors to carry out regular anti- rodent and anti-mosquito work.

35. Mr LAM Ming-wai of the FEHD consolidated his response as follows:

(i) eliminating the three survival conditions of rodents, namely food, harbourage and passage would be the most effective way to control rodent infestation. The Department was responsible for maintaining the environmental hygiene of public spaces, while property owners or venue management staff were in charge of the work at private places;

(ii) during the inspection of the departmental staff, it was discovered that rodents would run to private areas quickly. Hence, the Department would contact owners’ corporation to carry out inspection at buildings and provide anti-rodent advice;

(iii) he made an apology to Mr TSANG Kin-chiu again and said that he would conduct a site visit at the district with Mr TSANG Kin-chiu and Mr YEUNG Chun-yu after the meeting in order to inspect the problem of rodent infestation;

(Post-meeting notes: The FEHD had visited the relevant black spots of rodent infestation with Mr TSANG Kin-chiu and Mr YEUNG 14

Chun-yu on 26 May and would continue to follow up on the problem.)

(iv) he also noticed that people would dispose of bags of domestic waste on the streets and residents of buildings would store garbage in plastic bins. The Department would communicate with owners’ corporations and offer suggestions on the storage time and methods before the collection of waste by private refuse collection contractors;

(v) the review of the Department’s thermal imaging scheme was almost complete and the result would be announced later;

(vi) the Department had been keeping a record of the number of live and dead rodents captured. If committee members would like to enquire about the number concerned at a particular location, they could contact him;

(vii) he said that the large number of live and dead rodents caught by the Department did not mean that the rodent infestation was under control as they still needed to consider whether the location was a black spot of rodent infestation. If so, the number of live and dead rodents caught by the Department would be relatively more; and

(viii) the Department would continue to send staff to the locations mentioned by Mr LAM Tak-shing to conduct cleaning work in order to maintain the environmental hygiene.

36. Mr Pius YUM gave the following opinions:

(i) he remarked that the staff of restaurants near Lok Wah Building in Whampoa Estate and Tak Man Building always disposed of garbage at the back lanes. He had also visited these sites with Mr LAM Ming-wai of the FEHD before;

(ii) the Department had put up wooden signs to advise people not to dispose of garbage illegally. However, he noticed that the illegal dumping of garbage became more serious after the signs were put up; and

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(iii) he considered that the Department would only facilitate or connive at the illegal dumping of garbage by shops by strengthening the cleaning work and thus, he opined that the FEHD should step up the enforcement action so that people would be liable for disposing of waste illegally.

(Post-meeting notes: During a patrol, the FEHD found that the staff of the restaurants concerned committed cleanliness offence and issued fixed penalty notices to the persons involved. The Department would continue to pay attention to the environmental hygiene of the location concerned.)

37. Mr LAM Ming-wai of the FEHD noted the locations mentioned by Mr Pius YUM and would step up the enforcement action when necessary.

Item 8 Request for Providing an Additional Domestic Waste Recycling Bin at Chung Sun Street (Paper No. 32/21)

38. Mr YEUNG Chun-yu introduced Paper No. 32/21.

39. Mr YANG Wing-kit agreed that an additional domestic waste recycling bin should be provided at Chung Sun Street, but he considered that the suggestion mentioned could not solve the problem from the root. He took Road as an example, saying that many residents in that area disposed of domestic waste at the area of Lok Man Sun Chuen as refuse collection points were not provided at the buildings they lived in. Hence, he advised the FEHD to discuss the handling of domestic waste with the buildings and their cleansing contractors near the area, such as the locations and opening hours of the refuse collection points, in order to improve the situation of rodent infestation and other environmental hygiene problems.

40. Mr LAM Ming-wai of the FEHD consolidated his reply as follows:

(i) in view of the pandemic, the Department had already placed refuse bins at three-nil buildings so as to facilitate the handling of rubbish by citizens. He restated that citizens had the responsibility to dispose of domestic waste by themselves. Buildings with owners’ 16

corporations should hire private contractors to handle the waste, whereas three-nil buildings had to employ workers by themselves to collect rubbish. The problem could then be solved in the long run;

(ii) he understood that it would be difficult to adopt the abovementioned method, therefore, the Department would post notices at the hygiene black spots and conduct enforcement actions proactively;

(iii) he was informed that Chung Sun Street was one of the refuse dumping black spots and had already instructed the relevant contractor to remind their workers not to dump rubbish at the location concerned. The situation had improved since then; and

(iv) he stated that they would enhance education and come up with a long- term solution with the relevant parties.

41. Mr YEUNG Chun-yu said that his office handled the refuse collection problem of three-nil buildings every day. He then pointed out that it would usually take one to two years for owners and residents to reach a consensus on hiring workers to handle the garbage. Therefore, he suggested that the Department should provide an additional domestic waste recycling bin on a trial basis for one or two months to observe the effectiveness. He also expected to receive a positive response from the Department.

42. Dr KWONG Po-yin understood that citizens had the responsibility to handle their rubbish by themselves. However, their garbage was left on the street as three-nil buildings normally did not have owners’ corporations to arrange for refuse collection, thus affecting the rodent prevention and control work and other environmental hygiene work. Therefore, she advised the Department to provide an additional waste recycling bin, or else citizens would only dump the garbage next to the full rubbish bins on the street.

43. Mr Pius YUM said that if there was no refuse collection point or waste recycling point near the buildings with owners’ corporations, the problem of illegal dumping of domestic waste could not be solved. Hence, he hoped that the Department could provide an additional refuse collection point in Hung Hom Bay.

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44. Mr LAM Ming-wai of the FEHD gave a consolidated response as follows:

(i) he remarked that the Department had already provided a large refuse bin in Chung Sun Street from 6:00 p.m. to 10:00 p.m., and also said that he would explore improvement measures after the meeting; and

(ii) he noted the opinions of the committee members and would undertake appropriate actions according to the situation at particular locations.

Item 10 Call for Enhancing the Anti-mosquito Work in the District (Paper No. 34/21)

45. Mr LAI Kwong-wai presented Paper No. 34/21, hoping that the Department could follow up on the anti-mosquito work carried out at the turf next to Fook Chi Building.

46. Mr YANG Wing-kit agreed that it was necessary to enhance the anti- mosquito work in the district, especially at the area of Kau Pui Lung Road Playground and the mountain behind Lok Man Sun Chuen. He pointed out that the above location was owned by several departments and thus, he hoped that the FEHD or the KCDO could assist in the coordination and launch joint operations with the Highways Department and the Water Supplies Department.

47. Dr KWONG Po-yin put forward the following opinions/enquiries:

(i) she asked whether the Department could provide the specific schedule of the spraying of mosquito larvicidal oil so that the committee members could notify the residents nearby;

(ii) she pointed out that offenders would only be prosecuted after the Department issued the Nuisance Notice when necessary. She then said that the Department received a lot of mosquito-related complaints which showed that the FEHD regarded the Nuisance Notice as the last resort and would not issue it unless necessary. She hoped that the Department could explain when they would issue the 18

Nuisance Notice and how they would ensure that problems like mosquito infestation would not cause nuisance to citizens; and

(iii) she stated that weeds were fast-growing and thus, the Department had to carry out regular weeding.

48. Mr CHEUNG King-fan’s comments were consolidated as follows:

(i) he concurred with Dr KWONG Po-yin’s opinions and wished that the Department could provide the specific schedule of the anti-mosquito and anti-rodent work;

(ii) he pointed out that the residents’ opinions and the government statistics both reflected that there was a severe mosquito problem in Kai Tak. According to the gravidtrap index update, the indexes of two areas in Kowloon City District reached level 2 and the index of Kai Tak Area was 15.9, indicating that the mosquito infestation was very serious;

(iii) if residents in the area of Vibe Centro and Oasis Kai Tak did not install mosquito screens at their homes, they might find it difficult to fall asleep at night due to the nuisance; and

(iv) as there were plenty of construction sites and vacant sites with a lot of weeds and stagnant water in Kai Tai Area, he hoped that the Department could visit these sites and the temporary offices and then review their anti-mosquito work.

49. Mr LAM Ming-wai of the FEHD gave a consolidated response as follows:

(i) he remarked that the vacant site next to Fook Chi Building mentioned by Mr LAI Kwong-wai was private land, therefore, it was hard to request the owner to remove the weeds under law even though the grass overgrew. He then added that the Department had already appealed to the owner concerned, who did remove the weeds every year after the appeal;

(Post-meeting notes: The Department had already issued an advisory 19

letter to the land owner concerned to request the owner to remove the weeds regularly. In addition, the Department had also enhanced the mosquito prevention and control work in the public area around the land.)

(ii) the Department would visit the mountain behind Lok Man Sun Chuen with the staff of the housing estate and other relevant departments and conduct joint operations when necessary;

(iii) according to the guidance, the enforcement officers could only issue the Nuisance Notice when mosquito infestation was found in private places, hence, they had to be able to enter the location first;

(iv) he pointed out that lots of the mosquito breeding grounds were located in the public area of private housing estates. The problem would usually be solved after the Department requested the owners’ corporations or management companies concerned to remove stagnant water and thus, no notice would be issued. If it was found that the locations of complaints were all about a particular place, the Department would knock on the door and make entry to enter the location and also contact the owner concerned;

(v) at the moment, the Department divided Kowloon City District into several small areas and conducted anti-mosquito work in these areas every seven days, such as spraying mosquito larvicidal oil or clearing the garbage. He added that the Department could provide the relevant schedule later, however, the actual route might change due to the traffic; and

(Post-meeting notes: The Department’s schedule of the spraying of mosquito larvicidal oil in Kowloon City District was attached in the annex of the minutes.)

(vi) the Department would conduct at least one inspection in all construction sites every month. He was concerned about the rising trend of the gravidtrap index of the Kai Tak Area and thus, the Department had already sent staff to step up inspection of the nearby construction sites. If stagnant water was found in the construction 20

sites, the Department would instigate prosecution immediately. He then stated that a staff member was already deployed to inspect the construction sites in the hope of solving the problem of mosquito infestation.

50. Dr KWONG Po-yin gave the following opinions:

(i) she noted that the Department would conduct the mosquito prevention and control operation twice a week, however, the committee members or the public were unable to monitor the effectiveness of the operation as they did not know the schedule of it. She hoped that the Department could post the schedule of the mosquito prevention and control operation to be conducted on their website so that the committee members or the public could monitor the effectiveness of the operation;

(ii) the current gravidtrap index only included Aedes albopictus while other types of mosquitoes were not counted. She pointed out that the index showed a surging trend over the past few months and also, the index of Hung Hom area was 5.5 which was not a small number. Therefore, she enquired about the anti-mosquito plan of the Department; and

(iii) she knew that the pest control teams of the Department had conducted inspections at private buildings and offered suggestions. She enquired whether the Department would provide information about how to pick the suitable mosquito screen in their publicity and education work so as to minimise the nuisance caused to residents by mosquitoes.

51. Mr LAM Ming-wai of the FEHD consolidated his reply as follows:

(i) he noted the opinions of Dr KWONG Po-yin. As the work arrangement of the Department was very complicated, he would try to simplify it so that the committee members or the public could understand the Department’s work clearly;

(ii) the Department could suggest residents to use mosquito screens in 21

their publicity and education work but they could not give advice on the brand of the mosquito screens. He added that the most effective way to deal with mosquito infestation was to eliminate water accumulation; and

(iii) the Department had been communicating with different departments since March and also, conducting inspection at different places such as public housing estates and private buildings so as to remind the management staff concerned to carry out mosquito prevention and control work.

Date of Next Meeting

52. The Chairman announced that the next meeting would be held at 2:30 p.m. on 8 July 2021 (Thursday) and the deadline for submission of papers would be 22 June 2021 (Tuesday).

53. The Chairman declared that the meeting was adjourned at 3:50 p.m.

The minutes of this meeting were confirmed on 2021.

______Chairman Secretary

KCDC Secretariat July 2021

22

Appendix

The Food and Environmental Hygiene Department Schedule of Anti-mosquito Work in Kowloon City District

Date Responsible Location Team Team 1 The area within Cheong Wan Road, the railway, Hung Lai Road, Po Loi Street and Baker Street Team 2 The area within Tak On Street, Hung Hom Road, Tai Wan Road East and Hok Cheung Street Team 3 The area within Fat Kwong Street, Chung Hau Street, Carmel Village Street and Hau Man Street Team 4 The area within Shun Yung Street Hillside, Ko Shan Road Park, Chi Kiang Street, North and Fat Kwong Street Team 5 The area within Sung Ping Street, Bailey Street, Road, Hung Fook Street, Wing Kwong Street, Ngan Hon Street, Sung On Street and Chi Kiang Street Team 6 The area within Pui Ching Road, Waterloo Road and (Monday) Team 7 The area within Tin Kwong Road, Argyle Street, Argyle Street Playground and Ma Tau Chung Road Team 8 The area within Road, Ma Tau Chung Road and Sung Wong Toi Road Team 9 The area within East, Prince Edward Road West, Lung Kong Road, Nga Tsin Wai Road, Hau Wong Road and Carpenter Road Team 10 The area within Argyle Street, Kadoorie Avenue, Prince Edward Road West and the railway Team 11 The area within , Waterloo Road, Essex Crescent, Surrey Lane and the railway Team 12 The area within Boundary Street, Junction Road, Park, Nga Tsin Wai Road and College Road

23

Date Responsible Location Team Team 13 The rear lanes on True Light Lane and Kent Road, and Violet Court on Cornwall Street in Team 14 The slope at St. John's Lane and the area surrounding Team 15 Muk On Street, the area surrounding Tak Long Estate, Ma Tau Wai Service Reservoir, Street and Muk Chui Street Team 16 The junction of Hung Hom South Road and Gillies Avenue South, the junction of Hung Hom South Road and Fuk Chi Street and Station Lane Team 17 Ma Tau Wai Road, Kai Ming Street, Wing Kwong Street, Hung Lok Road, Hung Lai Road and Junction Road Team 18 Tam Kung Road, Pak Tai Street, Ma Hang Chung Road, Hung Kwong Street, Wing Yiu Street, Pau Chung Street and Chung Sun Street Team 19 Dorset Crescent, Somerset Road, Kent Road and Cornwall Street Team 1 The area within Hung Lai Road, Po Loi Street, Tak Ma Street, Hung Hom Road and Hung Lok Road Team 2 The area within Man Yue Street, Hung Hom Road, Tak Man Street and Ma Tau Wai Road Team 3 The area within Cooke Street, Gillies Avenue South, Fat Kwong Street and Chatham Road North (Tuesday) Team 4 The area within Kau Pui Lung Road, Tin Kwong Road, Sheung Shing Street, Sheung Lok Street and Ho Man Tin High Level Service Reservoir Playground Team 5 The area within Chi Kiang Street, Sung On Street, Ngan Hon Street, Wing Kwong Street, Hung Fook Street, , Chatham Road North, Kowloon City Road, Lok Shan Road and To Kwa Wan Road 24

Date Responsible Location Team Team 6 The area within the railway, Waterloo Road, Pui Ching Road and Princess Margaret Road Team 7 The area within Kowloon City Road, Ma Tau Wai Road and Ma Hang Chung Road Team 8 The area within Prince Edward Road East, Kwun Tong Bypass, and Tak Long Estate Team 9 The area within Hau Wong Road, Nga Tsin Wai Road, Lung Kong Road, Prince Edward Road West, Junction Road, Tung Tau Tsuen Road, Tung Tsing Road, Lok Sin Road and Carpenter Road Team 10 The area within Kadoorie Avenue, Prince Edward Road West, Waterloo Road and Argyle Street Team 11 The area within Essex Crescent, Waterloo Road, York Road, the railway and Surrey Lane Team 12 The area within College Road, Nga Tsin Wai Road, Lancashire Road, Waterloo Road and Boundary Street Team 13 Ho Man Tin West Service Reservoir Playground and the slope at Carmel On The Hill in Ho Man Tin Team 14 Muk On Street, Muk Chui Street, the area surrounding Tak Long Estate and Ma Tau Wai Service Reservoir Team 15 Inverness Road, Ho Man Tin Street, the area surrounding Sunderland Estate, the area surrounding Kowloon Hospital and (near Waterloo Road) Team 16 The junction of Fuk Chi Street and Baker Street and the junction of Wuhu Street and Chatham Road North Team 17 Ping Chi Street, Fat Kwong Street, Sheung Lok Street and Hung Hom Road South

25

Date Responsible Location Team Team 18 Kowloon City Road, Sheung Heung Road, Ha Heung Road, To Kwa Wan Road, Chung Sun Street, Hing Yin Street, Hing Yan Street and Ming Lun Street Team 19 The junction of Marconi Road and Broadcast Drive, the junction of Fessenden Road and Broadcast Drive, Kent Road, Cornwall Street and True Light Lane Team 1 The area within Kai Tak Bridge and Team 2 The area within Hok Cheung Street, Man Yue Street, Ma Tau Wai Road and Hok Yuen Street East Team 3 The area within the railway, Chatham Road North, Cooke Street, Gillies Avenue South and Cheong Wan Road Team 4 The area within Shun Yung Street Hillside, Sheung Lok Street, Sheung Shing Street and Fat Kwong Street Team 5 The area within Chi Kiang Street, To Kwa Wan Road and Kwei Chow Street Team 6 The area within Peace Avenue, Argyle Street and (Wednesday) Waterloo Road Team 7 The area within Kowloon City Road, Ma Tau Wai Road and San Shan Road Team 8 The area within Mok Cheong Street, Pak Tai Street and Pau Chung Street Team 9 The area within Carpenter Road, Lung Kong Road, Prince Edward Road West and Junction Road Team 10 The area within Embankment Road, Prince Edward Road West and Boundary Street Team 11 The area within York Road, Waterloo Road, Somerset Road and the railway

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Date Responsible Location Team Team 12 The area within Lancashire Road, Oxford Road, Hereford Road and Waterloo Road, and the slope at Tin Hau Temple in Lok Fu Team 13 The slope at Shun Yung Street, King's Park High Level Service Reservoir Playground and Chi Man Street in Oi Man Estate Team 14 The slope at Oxford Road Playground, the slope at the back lane of La Salle Road and Inverness Road Team 15 Chuk Yuen Road, Kam Shing Road and the outside area of Tak Long Estate Team 16 Baker Street, Chatham Road North and Bulkeley Street Team 17 Hung Luen Road, Junction Road, Chuk Yuen Road, Good Shepherd Street, Chung Hau Street and Fat Kwong Street Team 18 Tam Kung Road, Pak Tai Street, Pau Chung Street, Ma Hang Chung Road, Hung Kwong Street, Wing Yiu Street and Chung Sun Street Team 19 Rhondda Road, Ede Road, Road, Eastbourne Road, Alnwick Road and Warwick Road Team 1 The area within Tak On Street, Hung Hom Road and Kin Wan Street Team 2 The area within Chatham Road North, Fat Kwong Street and Ma Tau Wai Road Team 3 The area within Chatham Road North, Yan Fung Street, Fat Kwong Street, Chung Hau Street, Chung Man Street, Princess Margaret Road, Chi (Thursday) Man Street, Oi Sen Path and the railway Team 4 The area within Chatham Road North, Fat Kwong Street and Ma Tau Wai Road Team 5 The area within Lok Shan Road, Kowloon City Road, Ma Tau Kok Road and To Kwa Wan Road

27

Date Responsible Location Team Team 6 The area within Shek Ku Street, Perth Street, Tin Kwong Road, Argyle Street, Princess Margaret Road, Pui Ching Road and Sheung Shing Street Team 7 The area within Tin Kwon Road, Argyle Street, Argyle Street Playground and Ma Tau Chung Road Team 8 The area around Prince Edward Road East, Kwun Tong Bypass, Kai Ching Estate and Tak Long Estate Team 9 The area within Prince Edward Road East, Prince Edward Road West, Lung Kong Road, Nga Tsin Wai Road, Hau Wong Road and Carpenter Road Team 10 The area within Prince Edward Road West, Waterloo Road, Argyle Street and the Kowloon Hospital Team 11 The area within Somerset Road, Waterloo Road, Cornwall Street and the railway Team 12 The area within Junction Road, Lok Fu Park, the boundary of , Lancashire Road, Oxford Road, Hereford Road and Waterloo Road Team 13 The slope opposite to No.1 Ho Man Tin Hill Road and near the gas station, the slope at the intersection of Ho Man Tin Street and Ho Man Tin Hill Road Team 14 The back lane of True Light Lane and Kent Road, and Violet Court in Cornwall Street in Kowloon Tong Team 15 The back lane of Cumberland Road, True Light Lane, the back lane of La Salle Road and Baptist University Road Team 16 Ming On Street, the intersection of Bulkeley Street and Chatham Road North, and Dock Street Team 17 Man Fuk Road, Man Wan Road, Cheong Tung Road South, Hung Hom Road and Dyer Avenue

28

Date Responsible Location Team Team 18 Chung Sun Street, Hing Yin Street, Hing Yan Street, Ming Lun Street, Hung Fook Street, To Kwa Wan Road and Yuk Shing Street Team 19 Rutland Quadrant, York Road, Cumberland Road, Essex Crescent and Stafford Road Team 1 The area within Baker Street, Gillies Avenue South, Fat Kwong Street, Ma Tau Wai Road, Tak Man Street, Dock Street and Po Loi Street Team 2 The area within Hok Yuen Street East, Ma Tau Wai Road, Bailey Street and Sung Ping Street Team 3 The area within Fat Kwong Street, Princess Margaret Road, Chung Man Street, Chung Hau Street, Hau Man Street and Carmel Village Street Team 4 The area within Ma Tau Wai Service Reservoir and Ho Man Tin East Service Reservoir Team 5 The area within Kwei Chow Street, To Kwa Wan Road and Ma Tau Kok Road Team 6 The area within Shek Ku Street, Sheung Shing Street, Tin Kwong Road and Perth Street Team 7 The area within Kowloon City Road, Ma Tau Wai (Friday) Road and Pau Chung Street Team 8 The area within Ma Tau Kok Road, Ma Tau Chung Road and Sung Wong Toi Road Team 9 The area within Hau Wong Road, Nga Tsin Wai Road, Lung Kong Road, Prince Edward Road West, Junction Road, Tung Tau Tsuen Road, Tung Tsing Road, Lok Sin Road and Carpenter Road Team 10 The area within Prince Edward Road West, Kowloon Hospital and Argyle Street Team 11 The area within Lion Rock Tunnel Road, Waterloo Road, Cornwall Street and the railway Team 12 The area within Broadcast Drive near Lung Cheung Road, Junction Road, Chuk Yuen Road, Lung Cheung Road, Lion Rock Tunnel Road and Waterloo Road 29

Date Responsible Location Team Team 13 The slope at Ho Man Tin High Level Service Reservoir Playground and Sheung Lok Street, Ma Tau Wai Service Reservoir Team 14 Muk On Street, Muk Chui Street and the outside area of Tak Long Estate, and Ho Man Tin West Service Reservoir Team 15 Ho Man Tin High Level Service Reservoir Playground, Sheung Lok Street, Chi Man Street and the outside area of Kowloon Hospital Team 16 The intersection of Bulkeley Street and Chatham Road North, and Winslow Street Team 17 Kai Ming Street, Wing Kwong Street, Yuk Shing Street, Hung Fook Street, Ngan Hon Street and Wan On Street Team 18 Chung Sun Street, Hing Yin Street, Hing Yan Street, Ming Lun Street, Pau Chung Street, Pak Tai Street and Tam Kung Road Team 19 Baptist University Road, Hereford Road and Renfrew Road *The above schedule would change subject to the actual situation.