(Translation) Minutes of the 9Th Meeting of the Housing Affairs Committee of Sham Shui Po District Council (5Th Term) Date: 15 J
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(Translation) Minutes of the 9th Meeting of the Housing Affairs Committee of Sham Shui Po District Council (5th Term) Date: 15 June 2017 (Thursday) Time: 9:30 a.m. Venue: Conference Room, Sham Shui Po District Council Present Chairman Mr YAN Kai-wing Members Mr CHAN Kwok-wai Mr CHAN Wai-ming, MH Ms CHAN Wing-yan, Joephy (Arrived at 9:36 a.m.; left at 12:30 p.m.) Mr CHENG Wing-shun, Vincent, MH (Arrived at 11 a.m.) Mr CHEUNG Wing-sum, Ambrose, (Arrived at 10:20 a.m.) BBS, MH, JP Ms CHOW Wing-heng, Zoé (Arrived at 11 a.m.; left at 1:00 p.m.) Mr CHUM Tak-shing (Arrived at 12:15 p.m.) Mr HO Kai-ming, Kalvin Mr KONG Kwai-sang (Arrived at 9:57 a.m.) Mr LAM Ka-fai, Aaron, BBS, JP (Arrived at 9:53 a.m.) Mr LEE Wing-man (Left at 1:00 p.m.) Mr LEUNG Man-kwong (Left at 1:30 p.m.) Mr LEUNG Yau-fong Ms NG Mei, Carman Ms NG Yuet-lan (Arrived at 10:15 a.m.) Mr TAM Kwok-kiu, MH, JP Mr WAI Woon-nam Mr YEUNG Yuk (Arrived at 9:55 a.m.) Co-opted Members Mr CHEUNG Tak-wai (Arrived at 9:40 a.m.) Mr FUNG Man-tao, Joshua (Arrived at 9:50 a.m.; left at 11:35 a.m.) Mr LI Kwing (Left at 11 a.m.) Ms TANG Mei-ching (Arrived at 10:05 a.m.) - 2 - Action by In Attendance Miss CHEUNG Yun-chee, Freda Assistant District Officer (Sham Shui Po) 2 Mr WONG Leung-ping, Ben Senior Liaison Officer 2, Sham Shui Po District Office Mr LAI Huen-lam, Stephen Assistant District Social Welfare Officer (Sham Shui Po) 1, Social Welfare Department Mrs CHENG IP Sau-fong, Susanna Senior Housing Manager/(KWS) 1, Housing Department Miss AU Mei-lin, Rebecca Senior Housing Manager/(KWS) 2, Housing Department Mr CHAU Chi-fai Property Service Manager/S (KWS) 2, Housing Department Mr WONG Lap-yan, Ivan Chief Health Inspector 1, Sham Shui Po district, Food and Environmental Hygiene Department Ms OR Siu-shan Senior Health Inspector (Joint Office), Sham Shui Po District, Food and Environmental Hygiene Department Miss IP Wai-ting Acting Senior Health Inspector (Cleansing & Pest Control), Sham Shui Po District, Food and Environmental Hygiene Department Mr KOO Chi-hong Health Inspector (Pest Control), Sham Shui Po district, Food and Environmental Hygiene Department Ms KO Mei-yee, Bon Senior Professional Officer/Signboard Control 1, Buildings Department Mr SHEK King-fai Professional Officer 3/Joint Office 2, Buildings Department Mr NG Mun-sing Town Planner/Sham Shui Po 2, Planning Department Ms LI Kit-sum, Sumie Senior Estate Surveyor/Sham Shui Po (District Lands Office, Kowloon West), Lands Department Mr LAU Kin-hang, Kenneth Assistant Police Community Relations Officer (Sham Shui Po District), Hong Kong Police Force Secretary Mr CHU Ka-chun, Alex Executive Officer (District Council) 4, Sham Shui Po District Office Absent Members Ms LAU Pui-yuk Mr WONG Tat-tung, Dennis, MH, JP - 3 - Action by Opening Remarks The Chairman welcomed members and the representatives of government departments to the ninth meeting of the Housing Affairs Committee (“HAC”). 2. The Committee noted that Ms LAU Pui-yuk was unable to attend the meeting that day. Agenda Item 1: Confirmation of minutes 3. The Committee confirmed the minutes of the eighth meeting held on 13 April 2017 without amendment. Agenda Item 2: Matters for discussion (a) Serious and long-term nuisance caused to neighbours by tenants of public housing estates (HAC Paper 22/17) 4. The Chairman introduced Paper 22/17. 5. Miss Rebecca AU introduced Response Paper 32/17. 6. Mr Stephen LAI introduced Response Paper 33/17. 7. Mr Kenneth LAU gave a consolidated response as follows: (i) It was the main duties of the Police to safeguard and protect life and property, and to prevent and fight crime. Under circumstances of emergency or when the case concerned involved criminal offence, residents suffering from nuisance and the security guards of the premises might seek police assistance. (ii) If the person concerned was suspected to be mentally ill, the Police would, after having obtained consent from that person, refer the case to the Social Welfare Department (“SWD”) for follow-up. 8. The Chairman raised the following enquiries: (i) how the Police could obtain consent from the person who was suspected to be mentally ill; (ii) whether the Housing Department (“HD”) would hold meetings regularly with relevant departments to follow up on nuisance problems caused to neighbours in public rental housing (“PRH”) estates; (iii) whether Members and the residents affected could raise items for discussion at such meetings. 9. Miss Rebecca AU responded that the Department would request assistance from relevant departments in accordance with the circumstances of individual cases. In - 4 - Action by addition, the Department would hold half-yearly meeting with SWD to enhance collaboration. 10. Mr Kenneth LAU responded that in order to safeguard the privacy of members of the public, the Police would, according to the Personal Data (Privacy) Ordinance, try to obtain the consent of the suspected mental patient when necessary and practicable, and refer the case to relevant departments for follow-up. 11. Mr LEUNG Man-kwong raised the following views: (i) quite a number of tenants in Fu Cheong Estate had been subject to the nuisance caused by a tenant for a long time; although HD and the Police had sent officers to meet the residents affected, the frontline staff of HD, who could not judge whether or not the person being complained was mentally ill and did not have sufficient authority, could only give advice and could not follow up on the matter effectively; (ii) as PRH tenants were forbidden to cause nuisance to others as stipulated in their tenancies signed with the Hong Kong Housing Authority (“HA”), the Department should devise relevant measures to assist frontline staff in performing their duties. 12. Ms Joephy CHAN remarked that some tenant in Lai Kok Estate kept a large quantity of garbage inside the flat, thus causing environmental hygiene problems and affecting residents in the neighbourhood. Although HD and SWD had all along followed up on the aforesaid case, the matter was still unsolved. She enquired whether the relevant departments had any other alternatives to handle the situation. 13. Miss Rebecca AU gave a consolidated response as follows: (i) The Department would, according to the current guidelines, investigate whether the tenants being complained had any misdeeds and send staff to advise them to stop causing nuisance to neighbours. The Department would implement the Marking Scheme for Estate Management Enforcement against non-compliant tenants; for tenants which had accrued 16 points within two years, the Department could issue Notice-to-quit in pursuance of the Housing Ordinance to terminate the subject tenancies, and the tenants so involved could apply for review under the current mechanism. (ii) According to the current guideline, upon receiving noise complaints from tenants, the resident HD staff at housing estates would, by “reasonable person approach”, investigate and follow up on the situation to affirm whether the noise concerned was unacceptable, and advise them to stop causing nuisance. If the tenant suspected to have caused nuisance to others was found to act queerly or suspected to be mentally ill, the Department would refer the case to SWD or the Police for follow-up. - 5 - Action by (iii) Regarding the nuisance case in Fu Cheong Estate, the matter had already been properly dealt with by the Department under the assistance of the Police and the residents. 14. Mr Stephen LAI gave a consolidated response as follows: (i) Social workers upon obtaining consent from the suspected mental patient or the family members living with him/her, would advise the suspected mental patient to receive suitable treatment, and refer the case to the Integrated Community Centre for Mental Wellness responsible for providing mental health service in the district for counselling services, and follow up on the medical treatment of the suspected mental patient. If the nuisance concerned involved criminal offence, the Department would bring the case to the attention of the Police for follow-up. (ii) According to the Mental Health Ordinance, if the Department wanted to send a suspected mental patient to hospital for observation and medical treatment, it must have sufficient evidence showing that the person concerned was suffering from mental disorder and that his/her behaviour would pose danger to himself/herself or others, and obtain written confirmation from a registered medical practitioner and the order of a District Judge or a Magistrate before detaining the person concerned in a hospital. 15. Mr Kenneth LAU gave a consolidated response as follows: (i) Pursuant to Section 71B of Medical Health Ordinance, if a police officer reasonably believed that a person was suffering from mental disorder and that it was necessary to protect the person concern or other people, the Police might take that person into custody and send him to hospital for medical examination, and make necessary arrangement for his medical treatment and care. That person could be detained in hospital for not more than 24 hours. (ii) As the aforesaid practice involved the deprivation of personal freedom, the Police would give prudent consideration to various factors before exercising such authority. 16. Mr LEUNG Man-kwong raised the following views and enquiries::(i) he agreed that the Police must give prudent consideration to various factors before taking action; (ii) he enquired how the Police could determine whether the nuisance behavior of the tenant in Fu Cheong Estate or any other persons would pose danger to themselves or others; (iii) he suggested that the relevant departments should provide guidelines and examples of such case for reference of frontline staff.