(Translation)

Minutes of the 5th Meeting of the 6th Term Kwun Tong District Council (Full Council)

Date: 5 May 2020 (Tuesday) Time: 9:36 a.m. – 5:29 p.m. Venue: Conference Room, Kwun Tong District Office, Unit 05-07, 20/F Millennium City 6, 392 Kwun Tong Road, Kwun Tong, Kowloon

Present Arrival Time Leaving Time Mr CHOY Chak-hung (Chairman) 9:36 a.m. 5:29 p.m. Mr MOK Kin-shing (Vice-chairman) 9:36 a.m. 5:29 p.m. Mr BUX Sheik Anthony 9:36 a.m. 5:29 p.m. Mr CHAN Chris Ka-yin 9:36 a.m. 5:29 p.m. Mr CHAN Man-kin 9:36 a.m. 1:47 p.m. Mr CHAN Yik-shun Eason 9:49 a.m. 5:29 p.m. Mr CHAN Yiu-hung, Jimmy 9:36 a.m. 5:29 p.m. Mr CHENG Keng-ieong 9:44 a.m. 5:29 p.m. Mr CHEUNG Man-fung 9:39 a.m. 5:29 p.m. Mr CHEUNG Pui-kong 9:36 a.m. 5:29 p.m. Ms FU Pik-chun 9:36 a.m. 5:29 p.m. Mr FUNG Ka-lung 9:36 a.m. 5:29 p.m. Mr HSU Yau-wai 9:36 a.m. 5:29 p.m. Mr HUNG Chun-hin 9:36 a.m. 5:29 p.m. Mr IP Tsz-kit 9:36 a.m. 5:29 p.m. Mr KAN Ming-tung, MH 9:36 a.m. 5:29 p.m. Mr KUNG Chun-ki 9:53 a.m. 5:29 p.m. Ms LAI Po-kwai 9:36 a.m. 5:29 p.m. Mr LAM Wai 9:43 a.m. 5:29 p.m. Mr LEE Kwan-chak 9:36 a.m. 5:29 p.m. Ms LEUNG Jannelle Rosalynne 9:36 a.m. 5:29 p.m. Mr LEUNG Tang-fung 9:36 a.m. 5:29 p.m. Ms LEUNG Yik-ting Edith 9:36 a.m. 5:29 p.m. Mr LI Ka-tat 9:45 a.m. 5:29 p.m. Mr LI Wai-lam William 9:36 a.m. 5:29 p.m. Ms LI Wing-shan 9:36 a.m. 5:29 p.m. Mr LUI Tung-hai, MH 9:36 a.m. 4:02 p.m. Mr NGAN Man-yu 9:52 a.m. 5:29 p.m.

1 Mr OR Chong-shing Wilson, MH 9:36 a.m. 5:29 p.m. Mr PANG Chi-sang 9:36 a.m. 5:29 p.m. Mrs POON YAM Wai-chun Winnie, BBS, MH 9:36 a.m. 5:29 p.m. Mr SO Koon-chung Kevin 9:36 a.m. 5:29 p.m. Mr TAM Siu-cheuk 9:36 a.m. 5:29 p.m. Mr TANG Wai-man Raymond 9:36 a.m. 5:29 p.m. Ms TSE Suk-chun 9:36 a.m. 5:29 p.m. Mr WAN Ka-him 9:43 a.m. 5:29 p.m. Mr WANG Wai-lun 9:36 a.m. 5:29 p.m. Mr WONG Chi-ken 9:36 a.m. 5:29 p.m. Ms WONG Ka-ying 9:36 a.m. 5:29 p.m. Mr WONG Kai-ming 9:36 a.m. 5:29 p.m. Mr KO Choar-que, Keith (Secretary) Acting Senior Executive Officer (District Council), Kwun Tong District Office

In Attendance Job Title Mr TSE Ling-chun, Steve, JP District Officer (Kwun Tong) Miss CHOI Gi-lam, Britney Assistant District Officer (Kwun Tong)1 Mr WONG Sing-hung, Hansel Assistant District Officer (Kwun Tong)2 Mr Angus Guy PULLINGER District Commander (Kwun Tong), Hong Kong Police Force Mr Glenn Darrren O’NEILL Deputy District Commander (Sau Mau Ping), Hong Kong Police Force Mr CHUNG King-yip Police Community Relations Officer (Kwun Tong), Hong Kong Police Force Mr TUAN Ngar-lun Police Community Relations Officer (Sau Mau Ping District), Hong Kong Police Force Mr LEUNG Siu-kau, Kelvin Chief Engineer/East 2, Civil Engineering and Development Department Miss HO Fung-yee, Janet Chief Transport Officer/Kowloon 2, Transport Department Mr YIM Ka-ho Chief Manager/Management (Kowloon East) Housing Department Mr LEUNG Yat-king District Environmental Hygiene Superintendent (Kwun Tong), Food and Environmental Hygiene Department Miss KOO Kwok-lai, Rebecca District Social Welfare Officer (Kwun Tong), Social Welfare Department

2 Ms LAI Mei-ling Chief Leisure Manager (Kowloon), Leisure and Cultural Services Department Miss KAM Yuen-ching Senior Liaison Officer (1), Kwun Tong District Office Miss LEUNG Yin-ping, Pammy Senior Liaison Officer (2), Kwun Tong District Office Mr CHAN Hoi-ming, Peter Senior Liaison Officer (3), Kwun Tong District Office Miss CHOW Tak-sum, Amy Senior Executive Officer (District Management), Kwun Tong District Office Miss WONG Ching-yi, May Executive Officer (District Council)(3), Kwun Tong District Office

In Attendance Job Title Ms FAN Ching-yin, May Regional Officer/Kowloon East/Sai Kung, Item III Independent Commission Against Corruption Ms LIU Yin-man, Diana Deputy Regional Officer, Independent Commission Against Corruption Ms Claire CHAN Senior Community Relations Officer, Independent Commission Against Corruption Ms Minerva CHENG Community Relations Officer, Independent Commission Against Corruption

The Chairman welcomed all the Members and government representatives to the fifth meeting of the Full Council (“FC”) under the 6th Term Kwun Tong District Council (“KTDC”).

Item I – Confirmation of Minutes of Last Meeting

2. Members raised no other comments. The minutes of the last meeting were confirmed.

Item II – Signature Project Scheme – Construction of Music Fountains at Kwun Tong Promenade

3. The Chairman said that some of the Members of the KTDC had conducted a

3 focus group on the the music fountains at Kwun Tong Promenade (“the Fountains”) (“the Focus Group”) with the Assistant Director of Home Affairs on 29 April 2020 and asked the Secretary to report on the content and progress of the meeting.

4. The Secretary remarked that government departments and Members of the KTDC had conducted the Focus Group on 29 April 2020 and a total of 20 Members, as well as representatives of the Home Affairs Department (“HAD”), the Leisure and Cultural Services Department (“LCSD”), the Architectural Services Department (“ASD”) and the Kwun Tong District Office (“KTDO”) had attended the meeting that day. During the meeting, the departments had reported on the works progress and the future operation hours of the Fountains and listened to attending Members’ views.

5. The Chairman related that the KTDC had been unable to reach a consensus with the HAD in the meeting that day, and therefore that meeting would be the last time the KTDC would ever communicate with the HAD on the matters concerned. He also said that in the second meeting of the FC, the KTDC had endorsed that any future action related to the Fountains would be carried out in the name of the KTDC. Besides, he suggested the KTDC authorise himself to follow up on all the actions related to the Fountains.

6. Members raised views as follows:

6.1 Mr WONG Chi-ken enquired about the content of the follow-up actions;

6.2 Mrs Winnie POON said that there had currently been individuals pursuing a judicial review against the construction of the Fountains (“the Construction”) and therefore she asked if the meeting authorised the Chairman to take follow-up actions, what actions the Chairman would take, as well as how he could ensure that he could have adequate communication with all the Members of the KTDC so that Members could rest assured that they could support him.

6.3 Ms WONG Ka-ying remarked that the Construction had presently been under a judicial review. Yet, the KTDC had not taken any further action. The future development of the incident might put the KTDC at a passive position. Thus, she suggested the Chairman setting a time limit on the planning of the follow-up actions.

6.4 Mr CHAN Man-kin opined that it was reasonable to set a time limit on the planning of the follow-up actions. He also suggested setting the

4 limit to be a date prior to the next FC meeting. Moreover, he agreed to authorise the Chairman to call on Members to communicate on the further actions. He could also convene a special meeting to handle related matters as and when necessary.

6.5 Ms Rosalynne LEUNG asked if the Government would assign officers to the KTDC’s for consultation on the agenda item in light of the fact that the Construction had currently been under a judicial review.

7. The Chairman related that he had not had any specific plans yet. He would definitely consult Members again after planning the details. As for individuals’ lodging a judicial review against the Construction, since it had not been filed in the name of the KTDC, he did not have any response to that matter. The Chairman reiterated that before taking any action, he would surely consult the entire KTDC. If Members had any thoughts, they could put them forward to him anytime for discussion.

8. Mr Steve TSE, District Officer (Kwun Tong) (“DO”), responded that the HAD had been seeking legal opinions at present to decide on the following actions.

9 Furthermore, the Chairman said that the KTDC had held seven meetings on the issue in question with the HAD with an aim to trying to communicate with the HAD. Nonetheless, there was not any room for communication between the KTDC and the HAD anymore, and justice could only be sought by other means. He suggested removing the “Signature Project Scheme – Construction of Music Fountains at Kwun Tong Promenade” (“the Scheme”) from the list of regular agenda items.

10. Members raised follow-up views as follows:

10.1 Mr CHAN Man-kin was opposed to the removal of the Scheme from the list of regular agenda items and believed that the HAD could give a brief report in every meeting of the FC for a record purpose so as to ensure public right to know on the issue concerned.

10.2 Ms Edith LEUNG hoped that the Chairman would re-consider the decision and thought that there was a need to have the progress of the item reported in every FC meeting so that the public could be aware of the development of that major issue.

10.3 Ms WONG Ka-ying opined that the HAD needed to give accounts on the progress of the Fountains regularly and the public had right to know.

5 If the item would not be a regular agenda item anymore, the public might think that the KTDC would not follow up on the Construction anymore after the commencement of the judicial review.

10.4 Mrs Winnie POON reiterated that she supported the authorisation of power of taking follow-up actions against the Fountains to the Chairman. She also suggested the KTDC continue to follow up on the progress of the Fountains. The HAD had the responsibility to regularly report and give accounts on the progress of the Fountains to the public.

10.5 Mr CHEUNG Pui-kong said that as one of the items under the Signature Project Scheme, the HAD should regularly come to the KTDC to report on the progress of the Fountains.

10.6 Mr CHEUNG Man-fung was of the views the Fountains should be kept as a regular agenda item. Yet, that should be only an occasion for the HAD to report on the progress.

11. The Chairman related that since future actions related to the Fountains might not be suitable for open discussion in the KTDC’s meetings, so he suggested cancelling the item concerned. Nevertheless, he understood that Members had other views or opinions and intended to continue discussing the item in the meetings. After listening to Members’ views, he decided to cancel the removal of the Construction from the list of regular agenda items. Yet, he emphasised that the KTDC would not communicate with the HAD anymore and needed to pay no more attention to the progress of the Fountains.

12. The meeting endorsed the authorisation to the Chairman for taking any actions related to the Fountains.

Item III(A) – Work Plans for 2020/21 (a) Kwun Tong District Core Departments (b) ICAC Regional Office (Kowloon East/Sai Kung) (KTDC Paper No. 16/2020)

(a) Kwun Tong District Core Departments

Annex 1: the Civil Engineering and Development Department (CEDD)

6 13. Mr Kelvin LEUNG, Chief Engineer/East 2, CEDD, presented the paper.

14. Members raised views and enquiries as follows:

14.1 Mr MOK Kin-shing enquired about the progress of the road widening works concerning New Clear Water Bay Road under the Anderson Road Quarry (“ARQ”) Site Development Project (especially the works at areas around Shun Lee Estate to Choi Wan Estate). He also asked if the works could be completed and opened for public use in phases in order to alleviate the burden on the traffic of that location.

14.2 Mr Kevin SO remarked that the Detailed Feasibility Study (“DFS”) for an Environmentally Friendly Linkage System (“EFLS”) for Kowloon East had been conducted for a long time. Recently, there had been rumours that the findings of the DFS showed that the EFLS was infeasible. In view of that, the Member asked how the CEDD would openly give an account on the findings to the public.

14.3 Mr KAN Ming-tung enquired about the progress of Tseung Kwan O-Lam Tin Tunnel (“TKO-LT Tunnel”). He also said that although the paper stated that the works could be completed by end-2021 for the fastest, but it also stated that there were a number of factors affecting the works progress. Therefore, the Member asked about how the progress would be affected. In addition, he also hoped that the CEDD could formulate the overall traffic planning properly and holistically so that TKO-LT Tunnel could benefit the public to the utmost after its commissioning.

14.4 Mr IP Tsz-kit pointed out that the DFS had been conducted for a long time and requested that the findings be discussed in the KTDC so that the public could learn about the reasons for the DFS to have been conducted for years. Besides, he also asked about the progress of the bus-bus interchange (“BBI”) at Tseung Kwan O Tunnel Toll Plaza (“TKOTTP”) and the actual completion date. He also asked if the BBI would be opened for public use only after related pedestrian linkage facilities were completed.

7 14.5 Mr FUNG Ka-lung enquired about the commissioning date the BBI at TKOTTP. He also remarked that there had been noise at areas around Lin Tak Road after 10 p.m. Therefore, he asked the CEDD if it was conducting any works near Lin Tak Road.

14.6 Mr Eason CHAN suggested that graphs be included in the CEDD’s reports so as to indicate locations, current progress and future planning of related projects.

14.7 Mr LUI Tung-hai said that at the entrance of TKO-LT Tunnel at Cha Kwo Ling, the works of the roundabout had been underway currently. Nonetheless, due to the works, one of the sides of Cha Kwo Ling Road needed to be closed. Residents who needed to walk from Cha Kwo Ling Road to Yau Tong MTR Station were required to cross the road to the other side, which might lead to danger. Consequently, the Member hoped that the CEDD could provide traffic lights and pedestrian crossing facilities near that location. He also hoped that the CEDD would closely monitor the blasting works of TKO-LT Tunnel so that the impact to local buildings could be minimised.

14.8 Mr CHENG Keng-ieong related that the viaduct option for the EFLS for Kowloon East had been suggested by the CEDD. If the findings of the DFS stated clearly that it was infeasible, the Member suggested the CEDD plan to tackle the traffic problems in Kwun Tong District and Kai Tak Development Area by other means. Otherwise, the development of the commercial area should be curtailed to avoid overburdening the traffic.

14.9 Mr WONG Wai-lun was concerned about the impact of TKO-LT Tunnel to residents nearby and said that the works made large construction vehicles often need to be parked at areas around Yau Tong Road and Cha Kwo Ling Road in the evening, leading to serious illegal parking at nearby areas. The Member hoped that the CEDD could closely monitor the works contractor in order to reduce the occurrence of illegal parking.

14.10 Mr CHEUNG Pui-kong was concerned about the works of the ARQ Site Development. He related that there was serious traffic congestion every morning at Sau Mau Ping Road. Although the CEDD had adopted some of the suggestions put forward by Members and residents

8 (e.g. conducting road widening works near Sau Mau Ping South Estate, expanding the bus stop opposite Sau Fai House, etc.), he could not understand why the CEDD could not adopt Members’ other views, including conducting widening works for the bus stop outside Sau Fai House, as well as providing an additional viaduct connecting the section of Po Lam Road near Po Tat Estate to Lam Tin, rationalising the vehicular flows. He said that the suggestions had been mentioned in previous meetings of the KTDC. He hoped the CEDD could actively consider conducting the works.

14.11 Ms Rosalynne LEUNG remarked that the Secretary for Development had earlier said in the Legislative Council (“LegCo”) that preliminary results and results for the first phase under DFS for the EFLS for Kowloon East would be available in 2014 and 2017. Therefore, the Member enquired if the results of the DFS would be made available to the public. Besides, the second phase of the DFS had been in progress presently. She hoped the CEDD could disclose the time for the results to be made public. Moreover, she related that there had earlier been reports saying that the findings of the EFS would state clearly that the viaduct would be infeasible. In view of that, she hoped the CEDD could publicise the preliminary study results. Furthermore, regarding the pedestrian linkage facilities under the Kwun Tong Town Centre Redevelopment, it was inconvenient for residents of Yuet Wah Street and Hip Wo Street to cross the roads at the moment when they passed areas around because those traffic lights had been damaged and water-filled crowd control barriers were too tall. The Member hoped that the CEDD could report on the progress and completion date of the bridge, as well as ending dates of the diversion measures, in the KTDC’s meetings.

14.12 Mr LAM Wai remarked that under the ARQ Site Development Project, residents of On Tai Estate were unable to be benefitted. For example, the bridge only connected On Tai Estate to On Tat Estate. The Member hoped that the CEDD could plan more for residents of On Tai Estate. In addition, traffic problems at areas around On Tai Estate had been serious all along. As a result, he hoped the CEDD could enhance the connectivity of On Tai with other areas, such as providing additional pedestrian escalators to Sze Shun Area, as well as an additional footbridge connecting to a community park to be developed in the future.

9 15. The CEDD responded as follows:

15.1 The EFLS for Kowloon East: regarding the second phase of the DFS, it was scheduled for completion by the end of the year. The CEDD would consult the KTDC in due course.

15.2 The BBI at TKOTTP: currently, the TD had been arranging a test run of buses at the lanes to Tseung Kwan O at the BBI, and would decide on the commissioning date of the BBI after the test run. As far as the CEDD knew, the TD had presently been coordinating bus routes with Sai Kung District Council. The TD would report to the KTDC when there were further details.

15.3 The noise problem at Lin Tak Road: as far as the CEDD understood, there were not any works during the night time at that location at the moment. Nevertheless, the CEDD would get to know and investigate the matter and follow up on it with Members after the meeting.

15.4 Traffic arrangements at areas around Cha Kwo Ling: the CEDD would follow up on the pedestrian crossing facilities with related Members after the meeting.

15.5 The illegal parking problem at TKO-LT Tunnel: the CEDD noted the matter, and would urge the contractor to improve the situation, as well as maintaining liaison with related Members.

15.6 Traffic congestion problems at Sau Mau Ping: the CEDD had implemented an expanding project for the bus stop at Sau Mau Ping Road (East Bound) near Sau Fai House. At present, Sau Mau Ping Road was in the design of a dual two-lane carriageway, which was adequate to cope with the traffic volume. As far as the CEDD realised, the traffic congestion during peak hours was mainly caused by the traffic light between Sau Mau Ping Road and Lin Tak Road near Hong Wah Court, and the queue of vehicles extended up to Po Lam Road and Lin Tak Road, Lam Tin. The CEDD had presently been conducting works to construct a new surface of the bridge at that road section. The works were scheduled for completion in 2023. After the works, that traffic light would be cancelled. The traffic at areas around that location would be substantially improved. As for the Member’s suggestion of providing an additional viaduct, since it would be a piece

10 of large-scale infrastructure, the course between the works planning and the works completion would take a long time. Regarding the road surface of Sau Mau Ping Road, there was not enough space to accommodate a bridge pier. Besides, there were large gaps between Po Lam Road and Tseung Kwan O Road in their heights and gradients, which could not meet related carriageway standards. Therefore, the CEDD opined that the option concerned was infeasible.

15.7 Traffic measures at areas around Hip Wo Street: regarding the damage to the traffic lights at Hip Wo Street, the water-filled crowd control barriers’ being too tall, the works completion date and other feasible traffic calming measures, the CEDD would relay them to related project teams for follow-up actions.

15.8 Connectivity of On Tai Estate: at present, one of the works items under the ARQ Site Development Project was a pedestrian linkage facility between On Tai Estate and On Tat Estate. Residents could use that facility in the future to reach the community park. The location and alignment of the facility would be chosen to facilitate residents’ walks as far as possible.

16. Members raised views as follows:

16.1 Mr IP Tsz-kit said that the CEDD had not given any response any the actual commissioning date of the BBI at TKOTTP. He also hoped that the CEDD would report the commissioning date of the section to Kowloon of the BBI.

16.2 Mr CHEUNG Pui-kong related that according to the CEDD’s evaluation, the vehicular volume at areas around Sau Mau Ping Road was not large enough and therefore the bus stop and flyover extension plans could not be implemented. He believed that the CEDD’s planning should be forward-looking and the CEDD should not conduct works that could only ease the current vehicular flows. If the traffic easing works were not launched as early as possible at present, when the ARQ Site Development was completed progressively several years later, more residents and vehicles would use Sau Mau Ping Road by that time, which would deteriorate the traffic congestion rapidly.

11 16.3 Mr LAM Wai remarked that the paper on the ARQ Site Development sent out by the Housing, Planning and Lands Committee (“HPLC”) did not show that there would be pedestrian linkage facilities between On Tai Estate and On Tat Estate. He hoped that the CEDD could provide a further explanation.

17. The CEDD added the follows:

17.1 The BBI at TKOTTP: the CEDD said that the works of the section of the BBI towards Kowloon was targeted for completion at the end of the year. The CEDD added that constrained by the geological condition and the underground utilities diversion and affected by the epidemic, relevant materials and manufactured parts could not arrive at Hong Kong as scheduled, leading to works delays.

17.2 Traffic improvement measures at areas around Sau Mau Ping: the CEDD stressed that after studies, it was of the view that the traffic light location between Sau Mau Ping Road and Lin Tak Road near Hong Wah Court was the main reason behind the morning traffic congestion Sau Mau Ping Road. The CEDD had assessed the traffic volume at areas around Sau Mau Ping Road. Since TKO-LT Tunnel was scheduled for commissioning in 2021, a large number of vehicles would use TKO-LT Tunnel, which would reduce the vehicular volume of Tseung Kwan O Tunnel. It was expected that the current traffic congestion during morning peak hours at Sau Mau Ping Road would be much relieved.

17.3 The pedestrian linkage facilities at Anderson Road: the pedestrian linkage facilities between On Tai Estate and On Tat Estate under construction at the moment included a lift tower, a subway and a bridge connecting the ARQ Site Development Area to Sau Mau Ping. The remaining pedestrian linkage facility works would also commence progressively after the LegCo had approved the funding.

18. The Chairman said that regarding problems of individual areas, Members could directly communicate with the representatives of the CEDD so as to solve the problems as soon as possible.

12 Annex 2: the Food and Environmental Hygiene Department (FEHD)

19. Mr LEUNG Yat-king, District Environmental Hygiene Superintendent (Kwun Tong), FEHD, presented the paper.

20. Members raised views as follows:

20.1 Mr WONG Chi-ken asked when the anti-rodent new technology methods mentioned in the paper would commence and their effectiveness. He also suggested: i) the FEHD enhance anti-mosquito efforts; ii) the FEHD allocate more resources to improve the frequency of large trucks’ collecting large refuse regarding the current situation that a large quantities of large furniture were often accumulated at public housing estates, so as to alleviate the rodent or mosquito infestation problems; and iii) the FEHD and other government departments conduct joint anti-rodent and anti-mosquito operations to raise the effectiveness of the operations.

20.2 Mr CHAN Man-king enquired about: i) the number of complaints the Joint Offices for Investigation of Water Seepage Complaints (“Joint Offices”) received annually, the number of cases the Joint Offices handled successfully and the number of cases with unidentified seepage sources; ii) the scheduled completion dates of the pilot scheme on installation of Internet Protocol cameras at black spots (“Pilot Scheme”) and the dates for the cameras to be removed. He also brought up that the scheme made the public dispose of their refuse at places which the cameras were unable to capture, and therefore the scheme was not able to improve the environmental hygiene. He hoped the FEHD could take follow-up actions as quickly as possible.

20.3 Ms Rosalynne LEUNG hoped the FEHD would strengthen the anti-rodent efforts at areas around Yuet Wah Street. The weather had become hotter gradually currently. The anti-rodent work conducted by the LCSD at Yuet Wah Street Playground might make the rodent infestation problems spread to areas around Yuet Wah Street. Since there were many metered parking spaces at Yuet Wah Street, which often made it difficult for the contractor to wash the street, the Member hoped that the FEHD could regularly inspect the street-washing condition. Moreover, she said that large cleaning vehicles of cleaning contractors were often parked at Yuet Wah Street illegally at night,

13 obstructing pedestrians and vehicles. She hoped the FEHD would take follow-up actions. As for the Pilot Scheme, the FEHD had stated that the cameras did not capture or recognise human images. Yet, there had recently been reports saying that the cameras had a human face identification function. She hoped the FEHD could explain that.

20.4 Mr LEE Kwan-chak hoped that the FEHD could use new technology to conduct anti-rodent work as soon as possible. Concerning the installation of internet protocol cameras at refuse disposal black spots, as far as the Member knew, the model of cameras that the FEHD used had a human face identification function. He hoped the FEHD could explain that. Moreover, he remarked that the effectiveness of the Joint Offices’ work was disappointing. Even when spalling had occurred at the ceilings of a tenant’s flat due to seepage, the FEHD had still said that it would not handle the case since the humidity found in examination had not reached 35%. Yet, when the tenant measured the humidity by himself/herself, the humidity of the part concerned had reached 62%. He hoped the Joint Offices could put more efforts in reviewing that.

20.5 Ms WONG Ka-ying remarked that when cleaning contractors washed streets, they often did not enclose the areas properly with shields, allowing the dirty water to splash everywhere and causing nuisance to passers-by. She hoped the FEHD could review contractors’ work procedures. Meanwhile, she asked about: i) the effectiveness of using new technology for rodent control, washing streets and clearing fallen leaves in streets; and ii) the follow-up actions after the installation of internet protocol cameras at black spots. Moreover, there had been tenants whose flats had suffered ceiling spalling to the extent that steel bars could be seen and even tripping of electrical installations had occurred as a result. Yet, the Joint Offices had still refused to handle the related cases on the ground that the humidity had not been high enough. She hoped that the Joint Offices could follow up on cases more flexibly.

20.6 Mr LAM Wai hoped that the FEHD could conduct joint anti-rodent and anti-mosquito operations together with other departments such as the Lands Department, especially at areas around On Yan Street. In addition, as regards cleaning problems of elevators, he had often noticed that cleaning contractors repeatedly used the same buckets of

14 water to clean different elevators, which might cause hygiene problems. He hoped the KTDC could invite the Highways Department (“HyD”) to assign officers to the next meeting so that Members could learn more about how the HyD monitored contractors’ performance.

20.7 Ms TSE Suk-chun suggested the FEHD conduct anti-mosquito and anti-rodent joint operations together with housing estates nearby, preventing rodent and mosquito infestation problems from occurring at housing estates. Furthermore, in regard to the work effectiveness of the Joint Offices, some of the cases had been opened for more than three and a half years. Even for flats that had suffered obvious seepage and spalling signs, the Joint Offices had still said that it had still been processing those cases. Therefore, the Member hoped that the FEHD could handle those cases as soon as possible. She also asked about the Joint Offices’ performance pledges for handling cases.

20.8 Mr IP Tsz-kit related that the Joint Offices often said that it could not find the seepage sources and write related reports, making owners of the flats unable to continue to follow up on related cases. Nevertheless, when flat owners engaged public surveyors at the flat owners’ own expense, the public surveyors could usually find the seepage sources with short periods of time. Consequently, the Member opined that the Joint Offices’ devices for detecting seepage had problems. He hoped that the FEHD could introduce the detecting devices currently used by the Joint Offices to Members.

20.9 Ms Edith LEUNG related that when the Joint Offices handled seepage problems, it used colour water for tests. However, it was ineffective and the cases were dragged for a long time. She hoped the FEHD could consider using new technology to solve the problems. Furthermore, the Area Ovitrap Index (AOI) of April 2020 had showed that the AOI of Kwun Tong District was the fourth highest in Hong Kong. Even though she understood that the FEHD’s officers worked seriously, she hoped that the FEHD could arrest mosquito infestation with more effective methods, review work procedures and enhance work effectiveness with new technology. Besides, the FEHD had said that it would not handle midge infestation problems since midges did not spread viruses. Yet, the midge infestation problems were very serious in the district at present and midges might have parasites, affecting health of members of the public. Therefore, she hoped that

15 the FEHD could reconsider handling the midge infestation problems.

20.10 Mr PAN Chi-sang said that shops at Yau Tong Centre had been obstructing the streets for many years. The problem had not been solved properly all along. Besides, recently, due to the epidemic, residents tended to buy fresh food, which made the obstruction problem more serious. The Member had earlier written to the FEHD to request for enhancement of enforcement efforts. Although the situation had improved, the obstruction problem of shops could not be solved completely. He hoped the FEHD could continue to step up enforcement efforts. Moreover, outfalls near Yau Tong Centre had been stinking in recent hot weather. He hoped the FEHD could collaborate with the Drainage Services Department (“DSD”) to solve the problem.

20.11 Mr FUNG Ka-lung suggested the FEHD: i) introduce anti-rodent and anti-mosquito methods currently adopted by the FEHD in detail and arrange Members to have site visits for them to observe how related devices and techniques were used; and ii) keeping its joint operations with other government departments (e.g. the DSD, the Housing Department (“HD”), the HyD, etc.) confidential in order to solve the rodent and mosquito infestation problems more effectively.

20.12 Mr Raymond TANG suggested the FEHD: i) besides strengthening the inter-departmental collaboration mechanism, the FEHD should also combat the problem of illegal drying of objects in the district. Currently, there had been residents who did not only dry their clothes but also various types of dried food, causing insect infestation problems. He hoped that the FEHD could take follow-up actions; ii) introduce measures for improving the air quality of public toilets at the next meeting; and iii) enhancing public education so as to enhance public understanding of indoor seepage types and their urgency. Furthermore, he had written to the FEHD to request for installation of video cameras at The Mission Covenant Church Holm Glad Primary School and next to Sau Mau Ping Market in order to combat the problem feeding of wild birds nearby. He also remarked that the FEHD’s Keep Clean Ambassador, Ah Tak, played a very useful role in raising public awareness towards public hygiene. Other government departments could also learn from the FEHD’s experience in order to contact the public with social media in a more effective approach.

16 20.13 Mr LI Ka-tat requested the FEHD postpone the closing time of Hong Ning Road Refuse Collection Point and Wan Hon Street Refuse Collection Point from 4 p.m. to 11 p.m. He also said that he had tried to arrange site visits for observing local environmental hygiene with the FEHD’s officers who were responsible for other constituencies. He hoped the FEHD could actively take follow-up actions. Moreover, he enquired the following: i) the FEHD had issued penalty tickets to corporations of housing estates and contractors of the ASD for stagnant water problems of housing estates and construction sites according to Section 27, the Public Health and Municipal Services Ordinance (Cap. 132, Laws of Hong Kong). At present, venues under the LCSD’s purview often had stagnant water. Some members of the public even left rubbish there. However, the LCSD’s cleaning contractors did not clear the water and rubbish actively. Therefore, the Member asked if the FEHD could prosecute the cleaning contractors according to the above law; ii) whether midges were totally harmless to human bodies. If residents were stung by midges, whether the stings suffered infection risks; and iii) the application method and funding criteria of the Anti-epidemic Fund because some of the market stalls had been granted the funding already while the others had not been granted it yet.

20.14 Ms LAI Po-kwai enquired: i) about the actual number of inspections carried out by the FEHD, as well as the numbers of issuances of advice and prosecutions by the FEHD, under the prohibition on group gathering; and ii) about the number of applications received, the number of cases which had been granted the funding already and the number of cases being processed, regarding the Anti-epidemic Fund.

20.15 Mr Eason CHAN said that during the epidemic, residents of Ping Tin Estate stayed home for longer periods of time, leading to a larger quantity of solid waste. However, the contractor of the FEHD often failed to carry the solid waste away in time, making the waste accumulated for a long period of time before being carried away, leading to environmental hygiene problems. The Member hoped that the FEHD could enhance its monitoring of the contractor’s performance. He also said that Ping Tin Estate was the last stop of the cleaning contractor’s large refuse collecting route and that made abandoned furniture and large refuse of Ping Ting Estate unable to be dealt with in time. He hoped the FEHD could follow up on that.

17 20.16 Mr CHENG Keung-ieong pointed out that the paper said that the FEHD would conduct a Market Modernisation Programme (“MMP”). He asked if Shui Wo Street Market was included in the MMP because there had earlier been a suggestion of installing an air-conditioning system at Shui Wo Street Market. If Shui Wo Street Market was not included, he hoped the FEHD would explain the reasons behind. Besides, he also hoped that the FEHD would squarely face street management problems of Shui Wo Street. He hoped that the FEHD would strengthen joint operations with the HKPF so as to raise the amenity of areas around Shui Wo Street.

20.17 Mr Anthony BUX hoped that the FEHD and LCSD could enhance their joint operations so that they could conduct anti-rodent and anti-mosquito operations simultaneously at places under the purviews of both of the two departments, thereby raising the effectiveness. The Member also hoped that the inter-departmental collaboration mechanism could be truly implemented in the current term of the KTDC. In addition, the paper stated that the FEHD had issued 404 fixed penalty tickets the previous year. He hoped the FEHD could provide a further explanation on the figure. Regarding seepage problems, he said that he himself had handled over 300 cases. The FEHD had said that it suffered a manpower shortage and therefore it could not deal with cases in time. In that connection, he had relayed the situation to the Civil Service Bureau. Therefore, he hoped that the FEHD would give a response to whether its manpower problem had been solved. Moreover, the districts which would use the new seepage testing technology mentioned in the paper did not include Kwun Tong District. He hoped the FEHD could strive for Kwun Tong District so that officers of the district could use the new technology to follow up on seepage cases.

20.18 Mr TAM Siu-cheuk related that the weather would be hot in June and July and the mosquito infestation problem would become more serious. In view of that, he hoped the FEHD would hold joint operations with departments such as the LCSD, the HD, etc., and invite the KTDC to participate in the operations in order to show to the KTDC that the inter-departmental mechanism could be truly implemented. On the other hand, the KTDC could also have a mechanism to voice its views.

18 20.19 Ms FU Pik-chun thanked the FEHD’s Cleansing Section and Pest Control Section for their efforts in following up on local communities. He also hoped that the FEHD could continue to actively follow up on the following matters: i) enhancement of cleaning efforts for flower beds at footpaths of Sze Shun; ii) there were often people who fed wild pigeons at Lee Ming House and the terminus of minibus route nos. 47 and 48, causing hygienic problems; and iii) although refuse at areas around Lee Hang House and Lee Yeung House was wrapped properly with black plastic bags, the refuse could not be carried away that very day, making the places vulnerable to rodent and mosquito infestation problems. The Member hoped that the FEHD would allocate additional resources to solve the problem.

20.20 Mr HUNG Chun-hin said that local mosquito and rodent problems were very serious. Besides, in Tsui Ping Estate, apart from ordinary rental public housing, there were also public housing for sale and other public facilities. Therefore, the Member hoped that the FEHD could collaborate with departments such as the Lands Administration Office, the HD, etc. to conduct joint operations. He also asked the FEHD about the timetable of educating frontline staff about issues of tackling mosquito and rodent problems.

20.21 Mr Kevin SO remarked regarding that Members’ suggestion of inviting representatives of the HyD and the Joint Offices to the KTDC’s meetings to explain cleaning arrangements of elevators and the Joint Offices’ work, the department concerned would attend the fourth meeting of the Food, Environment and Hygiene Committee (“FEHC”) on 19 May 2020. In addition, he thanked the FEHD’s frontline staff for their efforts in keeping streets clean. However, he pointed out that due to the FEHD’s contracted out cleaning work of streets on the basis of areas, causing discrepancies in the levels of cleanliness and hygiene among some of the roads and streets (e.g. Ngau Tau Kok Road, Hop Wo Street). Therefore, he hoped the FEHD could explain its methods of monitoring contractors. Regarding the MMP, the FEHD had said that it would further consider the suggestions of retrofitting some of the cooked food centres with air-conditioners and conducting other market facility improvement. Yet, the paper said that the first MMP would not commence until 2021 for the soonest. Thus, that would seriously affect the progress of other market improvement measures. He hoped the FEHD would consider that again.

19 20.22 Mr CHEUNG Man-fung related that the FEHD washed streets and conduct anti-mosquito operations simultaneously, making anti-mosquito operations mainly target places with high pedestrian flows. Consequently, the Member hoped that the FEHD could expand the coverage of anti-mosquito operations in order to raise their effectiveness. Furthermore, as regards rodent control, he hoped the FEHD could provide advice for flat owners and owners’ corporations (“OCs”) on anti-rodent shields so that buildings could be retrofitted with relatively practical anti-rodent shields at relatively low costs. In regard to the Joint Offices, it had disclosed in August 2019 that its rate of successfully handling cases had been 29%, which meant most of the cases had been left with unidentified seepage sources. Therefore, the Member asked the FEHD about the number of cases tested with infrared rays and hoped that the technology could be adopted throughout Kwun Tong District so as to reduce nuisance caused by seepage to residents.

20.23 Ms LI Wing-shan said that according to her experience in following up on cases, some of the frontline officers of the Joint Offices did not try their utmost to follow up on cases and tested flats for their humidity, making some of the cases unresolved. Moreover, she asked the FEHD about details of the new testing technology and the number of cases where the technology had been adopted. She also remarked that the number of cases received in Kwun Tong District in 2019 had been 3 077, but the number of cases with completed follow-up actions had only been 1 700-odd. She hoped the FEHD could give a definition of being “completed”. She also said that the Joint Offices had been established in 2006, but its effectiveness had been poor since then. Therefore, she doubted the effectiveness of including the Water Supplies Department (“WSD”) in the programme.

20.24 Mr WAN Ka-him related that the effectiveness of the Joint Offices had been denounced all along. What was particularly worth attention was that during the epidemic, residents were usually worried that seepage would bring dirty water contaminated with germs. In view of that, the Member hoped the FEHD could seriously review the effectiveness of the Joint Offices. In addition, at present, food stalls in Kai Yip Estate only had static hawker licences and therefore they were unable to apply for the Food Licence Holders Subsidy Scheme under the Anti-Epidemic Fund. Since those stalls mainly sold cooked food, he

20 hoped that the FEHD could consider accepting their applications.

20.25 Mr LAM Wai thanked the FEHD’s cleaning staff for their contributions during the epidemic. Moreover, currently, there had been a real estate construction site next to Laguna City. In addition to the large quantity of stagnant water near public outfalls and the seashore, the Member hoped that the FEHD could enhance its monitoring and clearing efforts in order to arrest mosquito infestation. Besides, he also suggested the data of AOIs available online cover more months so that members of the public could compare the figures conveniently. As for the “mosquito and pest control service locations”, he opined that Sai Tso Wan Recreation Ground and slopes near Sin Fat Road should be included since the mosquito problem at those locations was very serious. He hoped the FEHD could consider that duly.

20.26 Mr KAN Ming-tung hoped that the FEHD could enhance its frequency of conducting joint operations with the HD all over the district. If the departments concerned could persist in conducting joint operations, that could effectively strengthen anti-mosquito and anti-rodent effectiveness. In addition, he also thanked the FEHD’s frontline staff for their contributions to the overall hygiene condition.

20.27 Mr WONG Kai-ming related that since the establishment of the Joint Offices, its handling of residents’ seepage cases usually dragged on. Therefore, he hoped the WSD could be included in the programme so that a new atmosphere could be brought to the Joint Offices. He also asked when and how the Joint Offices used the infrared detecting technology. In regard to rodent control, he understood that the FEHD would install thermal imaging cameras at specified back alleys. He asked how often the cameras detected rodents and the efficiency of related rat traps. He also said that the reason behind the current rampant rodent infestation was demolition of old buildings at redevelopment areas of Kwun Tong. Since there were still buildings awaiting demolition in the district, the Member hoped that the FEHD could collaborate with the Urban Renewal Authority (“URA”) to adopt proactive anti-rodent measures so as to minimise rodent and mosquito infestation problems arising from demolition of buildings.

21 20.28 Mr Chris CHAN suggested the FEHD notify Members of constituencies concerned prior to anti-rodent operations so that Members could exchange views with people living in areas concerned, visit target locations of anti-rodent operations and provide advice for the FEHD, thereby raising the FEHD’s rodent control effectiveness. Moreover, he had learned that the FEHD had a plan to close or remodel some of the markets. The present letting rate of stalls of Yee On Street Market was very low. Therefore, he believed that that market might be closed or remodeled. Yet, to some of the residents, the market was a place for buying daily necessities. In view of that, he hoped the FEHD could consult Members or residents before making any decisions. If the market was remodeled, the FEHD could ensure that residents’ real needs could be satisfied by consulting residents on the remodelling. Furthermore, having regard to the epidemic, the Market Management Consultative Committee had suspended its meetings and therefore the Member asked about the meeting schedule of the committee concerned. As regards feeding of wild pigeons, he had suggested the FEHD display related publicity materials in the district, so he hoped the FEHD could take follow-up actions actively.

21. The FEHD responded as follows:

21.1 Seepage problems of buildings: in light of Members’ concerns over the Joint Offices’ work, the FEHD would arrange the Joint Offices to attend the FEHC’s meeting on 19 May to answer Members’ enquiries and report on the progress of adopting the new testing technology. Regarding the use of the new testing technology, the Joint Offices had currently been conducting a trial scheme in some of the districts and still examining the related effectiveness. Depending on the trial results, the Joint Offices might consider adopting the related technology in all the districts of Hong Kong. Moreover, the Joint Offices had been preparing the establishment of a joint office of four districts. The joint office was scheduled for establishment within the current financial year in order to gather officers of the Joint Offices in one office to work together so as to strengthen collaboration and work efficiency. Besides, to expedite the processing of seepage problems that might be caused by water supply systems, the WSD had been conducting a pilot scheme that would last for half a year since December 2019. If seepage reports were received, they would immediately be transferred to the WSD and the Joint Offices

22 simultaneously for follow-up actions with an aim to identifying seepage sources as early as possible. The arrangements would be reviewed after the completion of the pilot scheme.

21.2 Inter-department anti-mosquito and anti-rodent operations: the FEHD would take the initiative to liaise with related departments for conducting joint operations as and when necessary.

21.3 Public education: the FEHD had been conducting public education at the district level. For instance, it had been conducting ongoing and and roving anti-mosquito and anti-rodent seminars at different public housing estates. In summer, the FEHD would also enhance its efforts in public hygiene education efforts. In addition, the FEHD thanked the Member’s praise for the publicity efforts by the Keep Clean Ambassador, Ah Tak. The FEHD also said that apart from promoting public education on cleaning streets and anti-epidemic work, Ah Tak also promoted anti-mosquito and anti-rodent work from time to time.

21.4 The problem of midge infestation: the FEHD did not have specific work targeting midge infestation at the moment. It would relay Members’ concerns to related departments.

21.5 Installation of internet protocol cameras at refuse disposal black spots: the FEHD stressed that the related cameras did not have any human face identification function. The main use of the internet protocol cameras was to analyse data collected in video recordings by artificial intelligence image analysis so that when and how related illegal acts were committed could be identified. By that, the FEHD could plan more effective law enforcement actions so as to raise the deterrent effect and arrest illegal acts of disposing of refuse. If improvement was seen in the hygienic condition of the places where the internet protocol cameras were installed, the FEHD would move the cameras to other black spots after consulting related Members in the hope of reduce the number of illegal refuse disposal black spots in the district step by step.

21.6 Pest control: the FEHD had installed thermal imaging cameras at areas around Yee On Street and Luen On Street. With an artificial intelligence analysis function, the cameras recorded rodents’ movements and active level in order to collect data for enhancing the

23 quantifying function of the monitoring of rodent infestation, as well as detecting places and locations where rodents appeared, their walking routes, situations of rat holes, etc., so that more effective anti-rodent work and plans could be arranged and formulated. The cameras could only show thermal images instead of capturing actual images.

21.7 Anti-mosquito operations: the FEHD had been trying using a new model of mosquito trapping devices since last winter for mosquito control. The principle was to lure and contaminate female mosquitoes with a growth hormone when they laid eggs at the traps. They would then spread the hormone to other mosquito breeding sites to kill the larvae. It was expected that the effectiveness of the technology could be seen in the summer of the current year. Moreover, in April 2020, the AOI of Kwun Tong District had dropped to level one to level two, reflecting that the rodent infestation problem was not serious. However, the FEHD would conduct proper mosquito prevention and control before the raining season came.

21.8 Market services: under the MMP, the FEHD conducted various hardware improvement works for public markets under its purview. The pioneering project of the MMP will be the overhaul of Aberdeen Market. The FEHD would publicise further information of the MMP later. In addition, the FEHD would also launch minor refurbishment and improvement works for various local markets (including Ngau Tau Kok Market) progressively to raise the current quality of the markets. As for the relatively low letting rates of stalls of some of the markets mentioned by the Member, the FEHD had still been preparing long-term strategies of the markets. Yet, the FEHD would definitely consult related Members and report on the progress in the related committee if any plans had been confirmed.

22. The Chairman concluded that meetings of the FEHC would follow up on problems about the Joint Offices and local mosquito, rodent and midge infestation later.

Annex 3: HD

23. Mr YIM Ko-ho, Chief Manager/Management (Kowloon East), HD, presented the paper.

24 24. Members raised views as follows:

24.1 Ms FU Pik-chun said that in light of the current epidemic, she hoped that the HD could enhance supervision over contractors, raising the cleanliness level of housing estates.

24.2 Mr HSU Yau-wai remarked that the paper mentioned that the Housing Authority (“HA”) would pass on the rates concession to tenants, but some of the tenants had said that the rates concession amounts had not been the same as the rebated amounts. The Member hoped that the HD could follow up on that.

24.3 Mr LEUNG Tang-fung related that Upper Ngau Tau Kok Estate had earlier been conducting water tank cleaning works. However, the works had made the water supply of the housing estate stop for a week. Therefore, the Member hoped that the HD could enhance the monitoring of contractors. Furthermore, the covered footpath near Sheung Hong House had been completed in December 2019. Yet, the Independent Checking Unit had not given any approval for the opening of the footpath. He hoped the HD could open the footpath as soon as possible so that people in need could be benefitted as early as possible.

24.4 Ms TSE Suk-chun brought up that some of the residents renting public housing hoped that the Tenants Purchase Scheme (“TPS”) could be re-started so that residents could have chances to purchase the flats they lived in at the moment. The Member hoped that the HD could give due consideration to that.

24.5 Mr IP Tsz-kit said that the traffic congestion problems in Kwun Tong District were serious. Regarding the HD’s current plan of constructing public housing at the bus terminus and the park between Tak Tin Street and Ping Tin Street, he thought that the Government had not duly considered whether ancillary transport facilities of Lam Tin Area were adequate. He also believed that public housing development projects should be launched at the district appropriately. The traffic problems of the district had not been solved yet while the population kept growing. Besides, no alleviation had been seen in local healthcare problems. Consequently, he was of the view that Kwun Tong was not a district that should be accorded priority for public housing construction.

25 24.6 Mr FUNG Ka-lung enquired: i) about details of the three environmental protection groups that collaborated with the HD under its greening plans; ii) how to improve landscapes of public housing; iii) the types and the number of flats under the TPS that had been frozen from letting; and iv) the number of people applying for rental concession under the epidemic. Furthermore, he suggested the HD take the initiative to give rental concession or relax the eligibility criteria for rental concession in light of the epidemic while conducting landscape repair and maintenance work (e.g. clearing rubbish at flower beds). In regard to retrofitting works of clothes drying poles, residents of Po Tat Estate had related that there was no need to renew the clothes drying poles, but the HD had insisted on renewing them in the end. The Member hoped the HD could explain that incident.

24.7 Mr PANG Chi-sang thanked the HD’s frontline staff for their cleaning efforts during the epidemic. Yet, he said that some of the housing estates used liquefied petroleum gas (“LPG”) mosquito killer lamps. When the LPG was used up, the lamps functioned poorly. The Member hoped that the HD could improve the frequency of replenishing the lamps with LPG, and suggested replacing the LPG mosquito killer lamps with electric mosquito killer lamps to enhance the mosquito control efficiency.

24.8 Mr Kevin SO said that due to the epidemic, most of the applicants of applications for the Living Space Improvement Transfer Scheme could not choose their flats. Besides, the number of flats was not enough to cope with so many applicants. Therefore, the Member asked the HD about the estimated date for completion of applicants’ choosing their flats. Moreover, some of the residents of public housing often gathered together at public places and had group gambling or played chess together. In view of that, he asked the HD how it handled such situations (e.g. if it could prosecute or give advice to related members of the public, or police interventions were needed).

24.9 Mr Raymond TANG related that having regard to the epidemic, tables and chairs at public places of Sau Mau Ping Estate were only enclosed with cloth to prevent people from gathering together. However, the result was poor. The Member also said that other housing estates enclosed with plastic barriers and metal chains, the result of which was better. Therefore, he enquired about the numbers of plastic barriers

26 and metal chains that the contractor possessed, and suggested the HD purchase more of them. Moreover, he also asked about details of the landscape improvement works of Sau Mau Ping Estate. He also remarked that the great Indian banyan at the side of Sau Ming House, Sau Mau Ping Estate that faced Leung Shek Chee College was relatively large. He was worried that it would be affected when the typhoon season came. Besides, slopes of Sau Mau Ping were full of weeds and leaves. Refuse had accumulated there too. He hoped the HD could assist in clearing them. Lastly, he remarked that the locations where the HD installed clothes drying poles were too low, making residents unable to use the poles thoroughly. He hoped the HD could visit the sites before installing the poles.

24.10 Ms LAI Po-kwai related that metal gates of Ping Shek Estate had been renewed since 2017. Yet, a few tenants could still not have their gates renewed. The HD had said that it could not renew the gates due to problems of gas pipes. However, the gas company had stated that it could only conduct pipe replacement works after the HD had issued instructions. The Member understood that some of the HD’s officers had worked from home earlier during the epidemic, but she still hoped that the HD would reply to email enquiries made by members of the public actively.

24.11 Mr Eason CHAN said that during the epidemic, problems of objects’ being thrown from heights had been exacerbated. He hoped that the HD could provide specific solutions, such as increasing the number of officers of the Special Operation Teams against Throwing Objects (“Special Operation Teams”). In addition, many public housing buildings in the district were aged more than 20 years and they suffered serious pipe aging problems. Besides, as some of the residents used the pipes improperly, problems of flushing water pipe obstruction and flushing water’s flowing back occurred. He hoped the HD could accord higher importance to repair works of pipes. As for the solid waste problem in public housing estates, it had been exacerbated because more residents had stayed home during the epidemic. In addition, contractors did not handle the problem satisfactorily, often failing to clear solid waste and making it stay at the estates overnight and leading to rodent infestation problems. The Member hoped that the HD could collaborate with the FEHD to deal with the problem. Lastly, he said that the HD should recruit more urban studies experts

27 with an aim to considering residents’ living quality when implementing public housing development projects (e.g. use of space, ancillary transport facilities, sitting-out areas, etc.). He also related that the HD intended to construct “infill buildings” without considering local traffic and population situations. Therefore, he suggested including more government departments when implementing public housing development projects so that the project could be more comprehensive.

24.12 Mr WANG Wai-lun related that many local residents had reflected that the qualities of clothes drying poles varied. The poles usually became rusty after being used for less than half a year. The Member hoped that the HD would follow up on that. Moreover, the paper said that since the implementation of the Marking Scheme for Estate Management Enforcement (“Marking Scheme”), marks had been deducted from only 4 425 families of tenants. He suggested the HD step up its enforcement actions.

24.13 Mr WONG Chi-ken remarked that there were difficulties in implementing the Marking Scheme and there was not enough manpower to implement it (e.g. offences of throwing objects from heights relied on the Special Operation Teams to collect evidence). He hoped that the HD would strengthen the manpower of the Teams. In addition, he also hoped that the HD would enhance its monitoring over its cleaning and works contractors. Taking Lok Wah North Estate as an example, the contractor’s behaviour and attitude were poor. Nonetheless, the HD did not follow up on that actively, leaving the problems unresolved. Meanwhile, some of the officers of the estate office often negligent in doing their work and causing delays. He hoped the HD could issue related guidelines to officers of estate offices under its purview.

24.14 Ms Rosalynne LEUNG remarked that she often received complaints about items covered by the Marking Scheme from residents of local public housing estates, such as throwing objects from heights, dripping of air-conditioner, dripping of clothes being dried, etc. These problems caused nuisance to residents living on lower floors. Besides, security contractors did not enforce the law with enough strength. She understood that it was difficult to take enforcement actions against those matters, but she still hoped that the HD would implement the Marking Scheme actively, and suggested the HD enhance the

28 contractors’ enforcement power and increase the penalties to raise the deterrent effect.

24.15 Mr WAN Ka-him related that there often residents having group gambling in Kai Yip Estate. The estate office concerned had confirmed that there were closed-circuit televisions (“CCTVs”) nearby observing how group gambling was done for law enforcement. Nevertheless, no marks had been deducted from anyone for group gambling according to the Marking Scheme yet. On the other hand, he had noticed that different housing estates were equipped with different materials for the epidemic (e.g. elevators of some of the housing estates were equipped with protective covers, some of the security counters were equipped with hand sanitisers, etc.). Therefore, he hoped the HD could standardise the practice.

24.16 Mr Jimmy CHAN remarked that the paper said that the retrofitting works of clothes drying poles would be substantially completed by the first quarter of 2020. Yet, no clothes drying poles had been installed for Sau Fai House, Sau Mau Ping Estate yet. The Estate Management Committee had said that it had consulted the residents, but they had stated that there had been no need to renew the poles. As a result, the project had not been implemented at Sau Fai House all along. He believed that renewing clothes drying poles could ensure residents’ safety, so he requested the HD to reconsider renewing clothes drying poles of Sau Fai House. Furthermore, he hoped the HD could have more communication with Members for greening work of landscapes of housing estates so that the greening work could be done more properly. Regarding the effectiveness of the Marking Scheme, there had been residents in the past reflecting a number of problems, such as throwing objects from heights, keeping dogs as pets, emitting noise, smoking, etc. Yet, the HD had not enhanced its management and shifted the responsibility to building management companies. However, the Member opined that the HD had an unshirkable responsibility in that respect. He hoped the HD could review the procedure so that the Marking Scheme could be implemented more easily.

24.17 Mr KAN Ming-tung related that due to the epidemic, more tenants had stayed home and cooked by themselves, leading to larger quantities of refuse and leftovers abandoned at corridors of housing estates and

29 causing environmental hygiene problems. In the meantime, the number of complaints about noise had also increased. Yet, since some of the officers of the HD and building management companies had worked from home and therefore the efficiency of their handling the cases had been low. The Member hoped the HD could enhance its monitoring over the quality of management contractors. In addition, he also suggested the HD review the quality problems after finishing the clothes drying pole and metal gate renewal works. The HD had the responsibility to carry out replacement for tenants.

25. The HD responded as follows:

25.1 Monitoring over contractors: the HD had noted the matters and understood that it had the responsibility to monitor contractors. It also said that there were monitoring systems regarding procedures (e.g. inviting tenders, purchasing materials, etc.) of each piece of works. As for problems of individual housing estates, the HD would follow up on the problems with related officers. As regards the management of and monitoring over management contractors, the HD understood that more residents had stayed home during the epidemic and therefore there had been increases in the number of complaints about various matters, such as noise. The HD had provided guidelines for frontline staff of management companies on how to handle those matters. On the other hand, the HD also had officers who were responsible for following up on each case. It would also review procedures in handling complaints so that they could be dealt with more appropriately.

25.2 The TPS: the HD thanked Members’ for their opinions, and would relay them to its headquarters.

25.3 The Marking Scheme: according to the mechanism, if marks were deducted from a tenant, the deduction would be cancelled after a validity period of two years. Therefore, the figure shown in the paper was only the number of tenants who were still in the deduction validity period while mark deduction cases that had been cancelled had not been counted.

25.4 Anti-mosquito cleaning actions: the HAD had noted Members’ views, and would strengthen joint operations with different government

30 departments. In regard to mosquito killer lamps, the HD might not be able to replace LPG lamps with electric lamps instantly. Nonetheless, it could raise the efficiency of purchasing additional materials. Furthermore, there were different types of mosquito killer lamps available in the market. The HD would consider and compare functions of various types of killer lamps in order to purchase suitable killer lamps for housing estates.

25.5 Housing estate management: regarding individual cases, such as washing water tanks, clothes drying poles’ growing rusty, etc., the headquarters of the HA had all along provided guidelines to officers of housing estates. The HD would explain those guidelines to frontline staff again.

25.6 Greening work for housing estates: the HD’s Tree Management and Horticulture Sub-section chose different housing estates at various districts all over Hong Kong for landscape improvement and greening works annually. Before commencing the works, the HD would discuss with different stakeholders of housing estates on the works in the Estate Management Advisory Committee so that the improvement projects could be maturer and more practical.

26. The Chairman concluded that if Members had other enquiries on housing issues, they could follow up on them in the HPLC on 7 May.

Annex 4: KTDO

27. The KTDO presented the paper. Mr Steve TSE, DO, added that the HAD had introduced a 24-hour telephone hotline during the epidemic. It had been providing services since early February and operating up till then. It had received over 2 200 phone calls in total already.

28. Members raised views as follows:

28.1 Mr IP Tsz-kit said that the HAD had put more efforts in arts activities regarding youth development. He thought that instead of arts activities, issues that youngsters were concerned about were usually those about housing, career development, multi-facet development or constitutional reform. Besides, he hoped that the Government could establish a widely accepted youth council to listen to youngsters’ voices,

31 thereby alleviating the disharmony between the Government and youngsters.

28.2 Mr Raymond TANG enquired about the KTDC’s face mask distribution activities. He said that residents of other constituencies had reflected to him that they had not been aware of the activities. He believed that targets of face mask distribution activities were all the residents of Kwun Tong District. Therefore, every resident should have the right to know. In view of that, he suggested the HAD review the situation and enhance the monitoring. If Members had not explained the activities to residents, the HAD should provide guidelines to them.

28.3 Mr Eason CHAN said that some of the venues, facilities or display boards funded by the KTDC had relatively low utilisation rates. He suggested the HAD assess the above facilities and try its best to make improvement in order to avoid waste of resources. Moreover, regarding registration of voters, he remarked that the HAD had cancelled voter registration street counters due to the epidemic, which meant that there were no more officers of district offices helping collect voter registration forms. When the forms were submitted to the Registration and Electoral Office (“REO”), since the REO had to check the forms one by one, the submission of the forms became time-consuming.

28.4 Mr CHEUNG Man-fung asked the HAD if it would provide a certain number of voter registration forms for Members. Moreover, he believed that the HAD could review uses of display boards or move them to more eye-catching locations to make publicity to residents more effective.

28.5 Mr WAN Ka-him related that some of the publicity materials of the voter registration exercise, such as posters or large banners, were hung at places obstructed by big trees or kerbs, making those materials hard to be seen by residents. He suggested the HAD pay more attention to that aspect when conducting publicity activities in the future so as to minimise inconvenience caused to residents.

28.6 Mr WONG Kai-ming enquired about details of the Building Management Professional Advisory Service Scheme (“Service Scheme”). He hoped that the scheme could improve building

32 management problems of some of the buildings at old areas, make those OCs more active and strengthen cohesion among building owners.

28.7 Mr Chris CHAN asked about the timetable and criteria of appointment of members of area committees. He also asked about activity plans of the area committees in the coming year, as well as the KTDC’s role and division of responsibilities.

28.8 Mr LI Ka-tat enquired about the position of the Committee on the Promotion of Civic Education and if it was of the same nature as the Social Services and Youth Development Committee (“SSYDC”). In addition, he suggested the HAD consider providing a formal platform, such as a youth council, for youngsters to voice their opinions so that the next generation could participate in community development, thereby nurturing their sense of belongingness and responsibility.

28.9 Ms Edith LEUNG suggested the HAD consider arranging only one unit to coordinate some complicated cases or to coordinate some departments to handle the problems.

29. The HAD responded as follows:

29.1 Voter registration exercise: according to instructions of the REO, the HAD could not collect voter registration forms on behalf of the REO. Each Member had to submit the forms directly to the REO. Regarding publicity materials of the voter registration exercise, the HAD would review locations where the materials were placed in order to enhance the publicity effectiveness.

29.2 Youth policy: the Government had all along attached importance to youth policy. Under the Chief Secretary for Administration’s Office, there was also the Youth Development Commission, which was tasked with implementation of the policy concerned. The HAD would tie in with the Government’s policy suitably. Apart from arts and cultural activities, the HAD also exchanged views sincerely with local youngsters regarding current affairs or municipal issues of the district. The SSYDC under the current term of the KTDC would also include youth elements. The HAD would listen to Members’ views and make complementary efforts accordingly.

33 29.3 District minor works: the matter about notice boards of the KTDC had earlier been discussed and addressed in the District Facilities Management Committee (“DFMC”).

29.4 Building management: the Service Scheme had specific service targets, such as buildings aged 30 years or above, residential units with total rateable value that reached certain amounts, etc. The HAD had commissioned professional property management companies to implement the Service Scheme. Its scope of services included: conducting household visits, contacting owners directly, producing building management audit reports on common parts, assisting in the recruitment of Resident Liaison Ambassadors, facilitating the formation of OCs or the reactivation of operation of OCs, attending OC meetings to provide professional advice and secretarial support, assisting OCs in applying for various loan and subsidy schemes for maintenance works, and following up on building/window inspections, maintenance works and tendering matters, etc., assisting OCs in the procurement of third party risks insurance, assisting OCs in the purchase and installation of energy saving equipment; and providing training on building management to office-bearers of OCs, owners and Resident Liaison Ambassadors. The Service Scheme provided one-stop services. The HAD would arrange further promotion enhancement for the scheme, and take the initiative to liaise with target buildings in the hope of improving their management.

29.5 Face mask distribution activities: the KTDC had approved funding for a new round of purchase of face masks. The HAD would listen to the suggestions related to publicity and suggested further discussing related issues in the FEHD.

29.6 Appointment of members of area committees: appointment of members of area committees could not be formally announced yet amid the epidemic. As for the role of area committees, it was to handle affairs of areas concerned in a relatively centralised approach. The HAD would invite different local communities to be members of areas committees, such as representatives of building management organisations, representatives of non-governmental district organisations, etc.

34 30. The Chairman remarked that if Members had views or suggestions on the HAD’s work, they could contact the DO.

Annex 5: LCSD

31. Ms LAI Mei-ling, Chief Leisure Manager (Kowloon), LCSD, presented the paper.

32. Members raised views as follows:

32.1 Ms FU Pik-chun hoped that the LCSD could strengthen cleaning work at parks, sitting-out areas and playgrounds under its purview. It was especially important to enhance mosquito control.

32.2 Mr LI Ka-tat suggested providing gym fitness facilities near Kwun Tong Town Centre in response to residents’ needs. In addition, he asked the LCSD about utilisation rates of Hiu Kwong Street Sports Centre and Shui Wo Street Sports Centre, and suggested the LCSD consider remodeling activity rooms into fitness facilities if utilisation rates of those rooms were relatively low.

32.3 Mr CHEUNG Man-fung suggested the LCSD provide indoor fitness facilities in Hiu Kwong Street Sports Centre.

32.4 Mr FUNG Ka-lung said that the Government had currently closed sports centres or other sports facilities temporarily amid the epidemic. Therefore, the Member asked the LCSD if it would compensate residents who had bought monthly tickets or paid charges.

32.5 Mr LEE Kwan-chak related that he had received complaints from residents about the mosquito infestation problem at Jordan Valley Park. Furthermore, he said that children’s play equipment at Choi Ha Road Sitting-out Area (e.g. mats) had worn out. He hoped the LCSD could enhance its repair and maintenance. Moreover, he remarked that residents had some books for donation, and suggested the LCSD consider organising bookcrossing activities.

32.6 Ms Rosalynne LEUNG thanked that LCSD for its following up on children’s play equipment of Yuet Wah Street Playground and flower bed problems at the bridge of Yuet Wah Street. Furthermore, she

35 hoped the LCSD could also follow up on problems of wild pigeons and rodent infestation at Yuet Wah Street Playground, and suggested starting to handle the problems by education. For example, the LCSD might hang banners among trees to warn people who fed wild pigeons.

32.7 Mr Raymond TANG remarked that residents of Sau Mau Ping Area had a keen demand for cultural, recreational and sports facilities. Therefore, he suggested the LCSD remodel the Road Safety Town into an integrated service complex consisting of multiple kinds of sports facilities in response to residents’ demand in the respect of sports. Moreover, he suggested the Government review the effectiveness of the Road Safety Town in terms of fostering a sense of road safety among children.

32.8 Mr Eason CHAN asked about the progress of the works of Lam Tin Service Reservoir Playground. In addition, as far as the Member knew, under the proposed Lam Tin Public Housing Development Project, Ping Tin Street Open Space would be taken up. Therefore, he asked how the LCSD communicated with other departments and how it would remedy the loss of sitting-out space to local residents.

32.9 Mr KAN Ming-tung related that the ground of Lam Tin Service Reservoir Playground had suffered cracks and become rough shortly after being paved, making residents stumble when they exercised. The Member hoped that the LCSD would follow up on that. In addition, he said that the LCSD should enhance its examination before acceptance of contractors’ works and sports ground management.

32.10 Ms LI Wing-shan asked about cleaning matters about children’s play equipment. Furthermore, she urged the LCSD to follow up on the mosquito infestation problem at Choi Ha Road Sitting-out Area.

32.11 Mr Wilson OR said that there had been residents reflecting that performance of daily inspections and mosquito and rodent control at venues under the LCSD’s purview was unsatisfactory. Therefore, he hoped that the LCSD would review related work, and suggested the LCSD consider strengthening related work arrangements when formulating future action plans.

36 33. The LCSD responded as follows:

33.1 Mosquito and rodent infestation problems: the LCSD had all along attached importance to cleanliness of its venues. It had also noticed mosquito and rodent infestation problems at venues under its purview, and would further strengthen cleaning work of its venues. Regarding mosquito control, the LCSD would enhance anti-mosquito measures at main venues and arrange officers to inspect its venues for their cleanliness, including clearing leaves, rubbish, stagnant water, etc. Besides, the LCSD would also strengthen its work of spraying mosquito larvicidal oil. At present, the LCSD had arranged to carry out the related procedures at some of the black spot venues.

33.2 Sports centre facilities and their use: neither Hiu Kwong Street Sports Centre nor Shui Wo Street Sports Centre was equipped with fitness facilities at the moment. The LCSD would review the utilisation situations and space of activity rooms in the sports centres and follow up on related Members. As regards compensation matters about closures of sports centres or other sports facilities, the LCSD would arrange refund according to the mechanism.

33.3 Cleaning problems about play equipment: the LCSD had noted Members’ views about cleaning condition of local playgrounds, and would take proper follow-up actions. Besides, it would consider hanging banners at suitable location in order to advise members of the public and residents against feeding of wild pigeons. When children’s play equipment or other venues were reopened, the LCSD would enhance cleaning work there.

33.4 Bookcrossing activities: the LCSD would relay the view to related sections for their information and follow-up actions.

33.5 Suggestions about Road Safety Town at Sau Mau Ping: the LCSD had noted the suggestions. It also said that Road Safety Town at Sau Mau Ping was jointly managed and operated by the LCSD and the HKPF for carrying out education work. Therefore, the suggestions required detailed research.

33.6 Works of Lam Tin Service Reservoir Playground: the works would renew the ground surface of the entire venue and therefore it was

37 expected that the works would take a relatively long period of time. In regard to the completion time of the works, the LCSD would provide information for Members after communicating with the ASD.

(Post-meeting note: the re-paving works for football pitch no. 1 at Lam Tin Service Reservoir Playground were completed on 7 May.)

33.7 Sitting-out Space under Lam Tin Public Housing Development Project: the development project would be discussed in the HPLC. The LCSD would also assign officers to the meetings. Members could have more detailed discussion on related matters by that time.

34. The Chairman related that the LCSD’s work or policy could be further addressed in the Culture, Recreation and Sports Committee (“CRSC”). As for cleaning problems about LCSD’s venues, they could also be discussed in the FEHC and the DFMC.

Annex 6: Social Welfare Department (SWD)

35. Miss Rebecca KOO, District Social Welfare Officer (Kwun Tong), SWD, presented the paper.

36. The Chairman said that if Members had views or suggestions on the SWD’s work, they could discuss them in the SSYDC.

Annex 7: TD

37. Miss Janet HO, Chief Transport Officer/Kowloon 2, TD, presented the paper.

38. Members raised enquiries and views as follows:

38.1 Mr WONG Chi-ken related that the TD had said that it would provide facilities and display panels at bus stops and some of the facilities would be subsidised by the TD. Therefore, the Member asked the TD if it would consider providing display panels or seats at bus stops that had not been covered by the subsidy currently in order to improve facilities of local bus stops.

38.2 Mr CHEUNG Pui-kong said that since 2016, it was suggested that the bus stop opposite Sau Mau Ping Shopping Centre be expanded and retrofitted with a cover to facilitate residents’ queuing for buses. At

38 present, since the number of bus routes passing that bus stop had increased, chaos easily arose among passengers waiting for buses and minibuses. Although Kowloon Motor Bus Company (1933) Limited had inspected that location, no news had been received regardless the fact that enquiries on the progress had been made repeatedly afterwards. He hoped the TD could follow up on that.

38.3 Mr LEE Kwan-chak suggested the TD provide maps showing locations set out in Annex 1 of the paper after the meeting for Members’ reference.

38.4 Ms WONG Ka-ying said that two years before, the TD had replied that it had agreed to provide a ramp near an elevator in Lam Tim Station Public Transport Interchange to facilitate users’ crossing the road. Yet, although the works had been launched, there had not been any progress at the moment. Consequently, the Member hoped that the TD would provide information about the progress of the works. Moreover, minibus route no. 76B had currently been plying from Yau Tong to United Christian Hospital via Kai Tin Road, Lam Tin, but residents had reflected that they could often not get on the minibuses at the stop at Kai Tin Road. The Member had relayed the situation and made solution suggestions to the TD repeatedly (e.g. improving the frequency, arranging minibuses to depart from an en-route stop, etc.), but the TD had not given any direct response. She hoped the TD could provide more information.

38.5 Ms FU Pik-chun hoped that the TD would confirm whether installation of display panels numbered 243, 270 and 279 mentioned in Annex 1 of the paper would be completed within 2020.

38.6 Mr HSU Yau-wai remarked that the paper about installation of seats and real-time arrival information display panels did not show any information about On Tat Estate Bus Terminus. Besides, the list did not contain any information about expansion of On Tat Estate Bus Terminus either. The Member hoped that the TD could follow up on that.

38.7 Mr Eason CHAN brought up that the TD’s work plan did not give any account on the traffic situation of Lam Tin. At present, bus and minibus routes plying to Anderson Road scattered at different locations

39 of Kwun Tong District. However, following the increasing number of people changing buses or minibuses at Lam Tin Public Transport Interchange (e.g. taking green minibus route no. 60 or bus route no. 213M), the burden of Lam Tin Area which originally had had a high flow of people would be enlarged. Therefore, the Member suggested the TD arrange routes at other locations in Kwun Tong District. Furthermore, he opined that there was much room for improvement in terms of local road condition. The TD’s planning for the community should be forward-looking in order to improve the environment of the community. In view of that, he hoped the TD could give due consideration to implementing road expansion projects so as to actively solve road congestion problems.

38.8 Mr Kevin SO remarked that the paper said that there would be five green minibus routes plying to the four MTR stations near Hong Kong Children’s Hospital. However, some of the minibus routes only had stops at Lam Chak Street. Besides, Cheung Yip Street was far away from Hong Kong Children’s Hospital. Therefore, the Member suggested providing stops at Hong Kong Children’s Hospital for green minibus route nos. 68 and 22A to facilitate passengers’ commuting.

39. The TD responded as follows:

39.1 Bus stop facility improvement: constrained by geographical environments and technological conditions, not all the bus stops were suitable for installation of seats and display panels. The prerequisite was that the bus stops were equipped with covers and power supply. Only when they had such equipment, could they be considered for installation of real-time arrival information display panels. Regarding installation projects of individual locations, the TD could follow up on them with individual Members. As for retrofitting the bus stop outside Sau Mau Ping Shopping Centre with a cover, the TD would follow up on that with the Members. Furthermore, regarding the bus stop projects numbered 243, 270 and 279 in Annex 1 of the paper, the installations were scheduled for completion within 2020. In regard to the improvement works for On Tat Estate Bus Terminus, the TD would actively follow up on the works of the bus company so that the improvement could be implemented as soon as possible. As regards the Member’s suggestion of providing maps showing the locations of the bus stops set out in the Annex, the TD would follow up on and

40 adopt the suggestion as far as possible.

39.2 Traffic problems of Lam Tin Area: regarding the matters about works for provision of a ramp inside Lam Tin Station Public Transport Interchange, the TD would follow up on the matters with the Member after the meeting. As for problems about green minibus route no. 76B, the TD would follow up on them with the minibus operator, and ask it to deploy minibuses in a timely and flexible manner to cater for passengers’ demand to make sure that passengers at en-route stops could get on minibuses more easily.

Annex 8: Hong Kong Police Force (“HKPF”) (Kwun Tong Police District) Annex 9: Hong Kong Police Force (Sai Mau Ping Police District)

40. Since the papers concerned were related to Item III(B) Annual Report of Kwun Tong and Sau Mau Ping Districts Policing Plan 2019 (KTDC Paper No. 17/2020), the two agenda items were combined for discussion.

41. Mr Angus PULLINGER, District Commander (Kwun Tong), and Mr Glenn O’NEILL, Deputy District Commander (Sau Mau Ping), HKPF, presented the paper.

42. Members raised views as follows:

42.1 Mr WAN Ka-him said that the Police Community Relations Office (“PCRO”) had not actively communicated with Members on local security affairs and adopted a perfunctory attitude when responding to Members. The Member was dissatisfied with that. Moreover, an explosives discovery case had happened at an abandoned school campus at Choi Shek Lane, Kowloon Bay recently. However, as a district councilor of the constituency concerned, he had all along not received any details about the case. As a result, he was unable to relay information about the case to residents. Besides, during the case investigation, the police had tried to expand the cordon area, causing inconvenience to residents living nearby. Police officers at that spot had tried to provoke and sneer at residents verbally, and even dispersed residents with batons. Yet, the cordon at the spot could be lifted several minutes after residents had been dispersed. Therefore, the Member opined that the conflict could have been avoided indeed, and those police officers’ acts had been unreasonable, which had been helpless in terms of maintaining a good relationship between the police

41 and the public.

42.2 Mr HSU Yau-wai hoped that the police could step up their patrol in light of the teenage gang problem at On Tat Estate and On Tai Estate. He also said that a serious wounding case had earlier happened at On Tai Estate. He hoped that the police could disclose the progress of the case. Besides, at an area around the hill at the back of On Tat Estate, an arson case committed by a teenage gang had happened before. Therefore, he hoped the police could step up uniformed patrol.

42.3 Mr KAN Ming-tung hoped that the police could continue to pay attention to the illegal parking problem. He also related that after the police had started to issue fixed penalty tickets against illegal parking, the illegal parking situation at Tak Tin Street, Kai Tin Road had been improved.

42.4 Mr Chris CHAN remarked that since the implementation of the entry restriction due to the epidemic, the street prostitution problem at areas around Hong Ning Road and Shui Wo Street had been alleviated. Nonetheless, the problem had currently reappeared. Street prostitutes caused trouble to residents in the streets and affected the amenity of the city. Residents were disappointed about the police’s failure in handling livelihood problems of the community. Consequently, the Member hoped that the police would step up their patrol and adopt measures to raise the deterrent effect. Furthermore, when introducing the paper, Kwun Tong Police District had said that it had tackled syndicated prostitution activities near Shui Wo Street Market the previous year. Therefore, the Member asked about the actual actions and results, and whether the police would improve the actions. Regarding Sau Mau Ping District Police, he related that the street prostitution problem still existed outside Cambridge Building, Tung Ming Street. He hoped that the police could step up their patrol in the coming year. In addition, residents of Sau Mau Ping had been troubled by noise late at night, but their calls to Sau Mau Ping Police Station had often been left unanswered when they tried to phone the station. Even when their calls had been answered, the police had not arrived at the spots until very late, making residents feel very helpless. The Member hoped that the police could improve their service quality.

42 42.5 Mr HUNG Chun-hin said that the group gathering prohibition had empowered the police to issue fixed penalty tickets, and therefore he asked how many tickets police officers of Kwun Tong District had issued since the implementation of the prohibition. Besides, he remarked that some of the police districts had set combatting illegal group gambling at housing estates as the first and foremost action item. Therefore, he enquired if the two police districts would consider adopting the practice.

42.6 Mr William LI commended the police for their recent enhancement of combats against illegal parking at areas around Laguna City. He also said that road and pipeline works would commence at Laguna City between mid-May and end-June. Consequently, the Member asked the police to impose traffic management control at areas around Laguna City as and when necessary.

42.7 Mr IP Tsz-kit related that under the group gathering prohibition, the police had still failed to carry out inspections or dispersal regarding group gambling at housing estates. He hoped that the police could pay more attention to efforts in those respects.

42.8 Ms Edith LEUNG remarked that illegal prostitution activities at areas around Ngau Tau Kok Road and Hong Ning Road had been exacerbated recently. She often received complaints from residents. She had relayed related views to the HKPF and the Immigration Department at least two times, but the HKPF had not given any reply yet. Therefore, she would like to ask the police about their future direction in combatting the local prostitution problem. Moreover, as regards the illegal parking problem, although the number of prosecutions had increased, the congestion and illegal parking problems at the industrial area had not been alleviated all along. She said that some of the measures adopted by the police were effective (e.g. parking a police vehicle at the entrance of Hoi Yuen Road was effective in minimising occurrence of illegal parking nearby), so the police might consider expanding the coverage of the measures to a bigger area so as to reduce occurrence of illegal parking. Besides, the number of complaints from members of the public about police officers’ poor attitudes had drastically increased. She hoped the police could actively solve the problem.

43 42.9 Mr FUNG Ka-lung said that during suspension of school, teenage gangs had tended to go out late at night. He hoped that the police would step up their patrol and collaborate with social workers to provide support in order to prevent crimes. Moreover, he believed that uniformed police officers (particularly older ones) managed their emotions relatively poorly while younger ones did better. He hoped the police could enhance training on communication with members of the public for uniformed police officers. Besides, since the policing plans of both of the police districts had mentioned information about and trends in terrorism, the Member asked about the definition of terrorism and why terrorism had appeared.

42.10 Mr Raymond TANG remarked that in the papers about paramount action items of the two police districts, the paramount item of Kwun Tong Police District was “maintaining strong police strength” while that of Sau Mau Ping Police District was “maintaining effective police strength”. Therefore, the Member asked: i) about the difference between the two items; ii) what violent crimes existed at the two police districts; and iii) about the locations with high risks mentioned in the paper. Moreover, he said that syndicated triad activities at areas around Sau Mau Ping Area were rampant. Crimes such as group gambling, unlicensed hawking, juvenile gangsters, etc. were all related to triads. Therefore, the Member asked the police if they would conduct operations targeting syndicated triad activities. Furthermore, the paper was also concerned about matters about disturbance to public order, and said that the police would enhance collaboration with other stakeholders and seek their support. Therefore, the Member asked if district councilors were also stakeholders. Besides, police officers’ attitudes to Members were poor. He hoped that the police could make improvement to that. Lastly, he said that the local group gambling problem was serious. He had earlier reported to the police that a group of about 20 people had been gambling together in a housing estate, and suggested the police deploy plain-clothes officers to handle that. However, the police had still only deployed emergency unit vehicles to deal with that briefly. He hoped the police could tackle incidents in a serious manner.

42.11 Mr LI Ka-tat welcomed the police’s enforcement enhancement regarding the illegal parking problem at the industrial area. He also suggested the police step up patrol and enforcement actions against the

44 prostitution problem during community hours. Furthermore, he said that quite a number of residents had complained that police officers had spoken abusive language to the residents at different areas. In view of that, the Member advised the police to be self-restraint in order to avoid further ripping apart society.

42.12 Mr Eason CHAN opined that frontline police officers of Kwun Tong District suffered emotional problems when they were on duty. They often faced residents in an extremely poor manner when discharging their duties. As a result, the Member asked the HKPF how they controlled frontline officers’ emotion management and conducted related training. In addition, regarding group gambling, he believed that the police enforced the law selectively. For instance, during the demonstration on 1 May, the police had arrested many people. Yet, when Members reported that there were group gambling problems in the district, the police usually went to the spots to write down related people’s identification numbers and left, without arresting anyone. The Member hoped that the police could be fairer when enforcing the law. As regards the explosives discovery case at St. Joseph Anglo-Chinese School at Ping Shek, he said that there were security guards at that place having regard to previous unauthorised access to the school campus. Besides, the HKPF had said that the campus had been used for drills, and police officers of Kwun Tong District had not worn any protective clothing during their investigation. Therefore, the Member felt astonished about the hiding of explosives at the school campus. He hoped that the police could disclose more details.

42.13 Mr LUI Tung-hai said that Yau Tong Estate had also been annoyed by the group gambling problem. Since the previous year, the residents, the management company and the Member had repeatedly reported the problem to the police. The police had also repeatedly inspected the estate, dispersed people and made arrest, but the situation had still continued. He thought that the reason lied on the lack of a deterrent effect of the penalty. However, the situation had improved in the current year, and the Member had noticed that the police had conducted a number of large-scale operations and conducted publicity activities in the community. Besides, he related that since the penalty of the group gathering prohibition was heavier, occurrence of group gambling had significantly reduced. He hoped that the police could continue to enforce the law in the estate, and suggested raising the penalty for

45 group gambling.

42.14 Mr CHENG Keng-ieong related that banners of local district councilors had been damaged by organised vandalism. He requested the police to raise their strength in handling the problem. As regards the group gambling problem, he had phoned the police station by himself, but police officers had not arrived at the spot until an hour later, and they had only given verbal advice to people at the spot. Those people had continued to have group gambling. He suggested the police conduct inspection again after giving verbal advice in order to ensure that the group gambling situation had disappeared. Moreover, in regard to the explosives discovery case, the police had said that the abandoned had been used as a training venue. Yet, a large quantity of explosives had been discovered. In view of that, the Member asked the police about their daily venue management practice and hoped that the management could be strengthened.

42.15 Mr WANG Wai-lun remarked that he agreed that Members were responsible for improving the relationship between the police and the public to a certain extent, but six emergency unit vehicles had driven into Sau Lai House, Yau Lai Estate on 16 April of the year. He had revealed his identity as a district councilor at that time and asked about details of the case investigation. Yet, the police had been using a very poor manner. After that, the police had even conducted a large-scale search, the targets of which had included the Member’s assistant and volunteers. When making enquiries to the police at the spot, the police had immediately jostled and sworn at him. Residents had also rowed with the police over the incident. Later, police officers had explained to him that they had been investigating a suspected triad case. The Member said that if the police could have talked to him earlier, those unhappy incidents could have been avoided. Therefore, he hoped the police could review in what manner they should treat the public, and said that the building of the relationship between the police and the public was mutual. Police officers should be careful with their own language and behaviour when saying that the public should abide by the law.

42.16 Mr Anthony BUX said that he had received the paper only a day before the meeting. He believed that the police should have given enough time for Members to read the paper. Regarding the illegal parking

46 problem, the report said that 47 749 fixed penalty tickets had been issued by Sau Mau Ping Police District in 2019. Compared to the number in 2018, there had been a decrease in the number by 3 700-odd tickets. On the contrary, there had only been a decrease of 9 000-odd tickets in Kwun Tong District. In view of that, the Member asked about the reason behind the plummet in the number of tickets issued, and hoped that the police could continue to step up their efforts in tackling the illegal parking problem.

42.17 Mr TAM Siu-cheuk remarked that the group gambling problem had obviously become relatively serious recently. He guessed the reason was that other organisations had stopped operation amid the epidemic, and therefore residents had turned to sitting-out areas for group gambling. He hoped that the police could combat the group gambling problem at housing estates more frequently. Regarding the illegal parking problem, it had become increasingly serious at Choi Shek Lane near Choi Tak Estate and near Choi Hing Court. Sometimes, even means of access for fire safety were obstructed. He hoped the police could actively follow up on that. As regards the explosives discovery case, many residents lived near the school campus concerned. He hoped the police could arrest the offenders.

42.18 Mr WONG Chi-ken said that there were no signs that the group gambling problem at housing estates could be stopped at all. Since the implementation of the group gathering prohibition, the police had actively been combatting problems about people’s gathering together, but the police had not actively cracked down on group gambling. The Member hoped that the police could step up their enforcement actions. Meanwhile, he suggested the police enhance coordination within housing estates with the HD in order to keep the law and order of housing estates, thereby combatting the group gambling problem. As regards illegal parking, he had noticed that the police had stepped up their enforcement actions. Yet, the illegal parking situation at night was still serious. Consequently, he suggested the police conduct enforcement actions systematically.

42.19 Mr CHAN Man-kin brought up that there were often large vehicles unloading goods until 2 a.m. to 3 a.m. outside Tak Tin Shopping Centre, Lam Tin, causing noise problems. Besides, the illegal parking problem at Pik Wan Road, Lam Tin from Hong Shui Court to Lin Tak

47 Road was still acute. Illegal parking of large vehicles obstructed pedestrians’ sights, putting residents’ lives at risk. The Member hoped that the police would face the problems squarely and step up their enforcement actions. Regarding the group gambling problem, some of the gamblers did not wear any face mask at public places. They even obeyed call of nature at public places and threw rubbish away when having group gambling, leading to environmental hygiene problems. Therefore, the Member requested the police to attach importance to local residents’ livelihood problems. Furthermore, street boards hung by Members had been damaged by organised vandalism recently. The police should step up their handling of such cases. He also said that the police had previously maintained a satisfactory relationship with Members. It was not something good to the community when the relationship had been damaging at present. He hoped the police could reflect on that more and put their feet into public shoes.

42.20 Mr CHEUNG Pui-kong requested the police to deploy additional police strength to Sau Mau Ping Estate and On Tat Estate in order to step up patrol late at night. In the meantime, the illegal parking problem of Sau Mau Ping was still serious. When waiting for minibuses at Sau Mau Ping Road outside Sau Ching House and at On Tat Estate at On Chui Street, they should stand at the roads to wait. Since the areas in front of and behind the minibus stops were fully parked with vehicles, minibuses could only load/unload passengers at the fast lanes, putting residents into danger. If the situations had still not been improved when school resumed later, school buses would need to be parked at the fast lanes to load/unload passengers, putting students into danger. He hoped the police would step up their enforcement actions.

42.21 Ms Rosalynne LEUNG related that the police had adequate manpower. Yet, recently, there were often people having group gambling late at night and during the small hours at the pavilion of Yuet Wah Street Playground. There were also juvenile gangsters and youngsters yelling nearby. Although both residents and the Member had reported that to the police, the incidents had been left unsettled. Moreover, the illegal parking problem at Yuet Wah Street was still critical. Large vehicles, including vehicles of cleaning contractors of the FEHD, were often illegally parked there late at night, making people doubt if those vehicles had special rights and were free from the police’s issuance of

48 fixed penalty tickets. Besides, the Member hoped that the police could step up their enforcement actions. Apart from that, on 10 April, several members of the public had torn banners apart at Yuet Wah Street. A video showed that some police officers waved to greet those residents. She had also transferred the video to the police. She hoped that the police could report on the progress of the case, and doubted why the police had not enforced the law at the spot. On the night of the incident, the police had said that they needed to visit the spot first. Yet, they had still failed to follow up on that after she had waited for more than an hour. Therefore, she thought that the police were inefficient. She hoped the police could give an account on that.

42.22 Mr LEE Kwan-chak said that on 29 April at 8:48 p.m., some residents had told him that six police officers had gone to Wang Kwong House for case investigation, and found that it was about dripping of an air-conditioner in the end. In view of that, the Member asked about current police strength distribution regarding different types of crimes. Furthermore, when he had arrived at the spot, he had found that the illegal parking situation nearby was extremely serious, particularly at areas between Lee Kee Building and Tak Bo Garden. He hoped that the police could follow up on that

42.23 Ms WONG Ka-ying brought up that in the PowerPoint slides about enforcement actions taken at designated streets of Kwun Tong District, one could see that vehicles towed away had mainly concentrated at the commercial area of Kwun Tong whereas the figures about the residential area had not been disclosed. The Member hoped that the police would respond to that. As for the passenger loading/unloading point for taxis at Kai Tin Road, it had often become a taxi stand currently, where a large number of taxis waited for passengers. The Member said that in the first three months of the current year, two fatal traffic accidents had already taken place at that location. Therefore, she hoped that the police could tackle the traffic situation of Kai Tin Road more appropriately. Regarding the location near the roundabout at Kwun Tong Bypass towards Eastern Harbour Crossing, she had earlier received reflections from residents that suspected illegal car racing occurred late at night. More than 20 vehicles took part in the illegal races during the peak period, causing serious nuisance to residents nearby. She hoped that the police could step up enforcement actions at Kwun Tong Bypass, as well as investigating whether illegal

49 modified vehicles were involved. In addition, the paper said that Kwun Tong Police District had arrested 132 youngsters the previous year. She would like to know more about the details. At the same time, she also intended to know if the police had made changes to their originally planned activities, such as the Green Bird in Action, etc., amid the school suspension.

42.24 Mr LAM Wai thanked the police for their enhancement of patrol at areas around On Tai Estate. Nonetheless, a fight had earlier happened at On Tai Estate. As a result, the Member would like to know more about the police’s principle regarding their action plan for areas around Anderson Road, as well as the current police strength situation at those areas. Regarding illegal parking, due to the epidemic, vehicles from other areas appeared more frequently. Some of them were even often parked at pedestrian walkways. He hoped that the police could take more purposive actions (e.g. targeting emergency means of access and pedestrian walkways) and step up prosecution efforts. Furthermore, the local juvenile gangster problem was increasingly serious. He had reflected the problem to the police and SWD. He asked about content of current support available in that respect in the community.

42.25 Mrs Winnie POON related that she felt offended because foul language had appeared in the meeting of the KTDC. She hoped that similar words would not appear at meetings of the KTDC lest emotion of people in the conference room would be affected.

43. Mr Angus PULLINGER, District Commander (Kwun Tong), HKPF, responded as follows:

43.1 Group gambling: the police noted the related situation.

43.2 Conflicts between the police and the public: the police attached much importance to what Mr WONG Wai-lun had said in the meeting, and would follow up on and investigate the incident with him after the meeting. Moreover, regarding problems about police officers’ behaviour and speeches at crime spots mentioned by the Member, the police denounced both sides’ behaviour and hoped that the problems could be solved with a positive attitude. As regards Ms Rosalynne LEUNG’s enquiry, the police had been investigating the incident at the moment, and would inform Members of the investigation result as soon

50 as possible. The police said that both the police and the public had been provoked and hurt to different extents over the series of incidents in the last six months. The police attached much importance to those incidents. Yet, the police hoped that members of the public could understand that both the police and the public had to put efforts for the situation to be alleviated.

43.3 Street prostitution: the police had arrested three female sex workers at Kwun Tong Town Centre on 29 April. Under the current group gathering prohibition, the police had not found any street prostitutes from the Mainland. If Members found any, they could inform the police for follow-up actions.

43.4 Damage to banners: since 2019, Kwun Tong Police District had received a total of 28 cases about damage made to political banners. The numbers of cases involving pro-establishment and pro-democracy Members had been 21 and 8 respectively. The police placed much importance to the cases and denounced such type of behaviour. Nonetheless, such cases were usually hard to be investigated. The police had solved two cases of the same type happening at Lei Yue Mun the previous year. There had been another case happening last June. In the case, the banner damaged had belonged to a pro-democracy Member. The police had presently been seeking legal opinions from the Department of Justice for that case.

Recently, Ms Rosalynne LEUNG had publicised a video at Facebook, a social medium, regarding her banner’s being damaged. The police had watched that video. In the video, Ms Rosalynne LEUNG complained about the police’s ignoring offenders deliberately. The police thought that it was necessary to respond to that incident. According to ordinary people’s logic, if the police had colluded with those people, the police would not have appeared at the spot. In fact, the police were very doubtful about the content of the video, opining that the video had been drastically edited and altered. The police believed that Ms Rosalynne LEUNG should lodge a formal complaint about the incident because she possessed the video, and should know its source and be able to provide related evidence and witnesses. Besides, the Independent Police Complaints Council would investigate the incident fairly and impartially.

51 The police pointed out that there were two misleading elements in the video. For instance, in the video, there was a photo showing a police car passing some objects that seemed like damaged in the daytime, but other parts of the video had been recorded in the nighttime. That led to misunderstanding, and made people think that the police had intentionally driven the car away from the crime spot and left the incident unattended.

The video showed two scenarios when it came to the scene at three minutes and thirty seconds of the video. The scene on the left showed that several offenders and suspects had waved their arms earlier at a place while the scene on the right simultaneously showed that police officers stood outside the door and waved as a response. The police regarded that video as misleading because it made people think that the offenders on the left waved at the police officers on the right. In the process of building cooperation spirit and mutual trust, such a kind of misleading videos should not be allowed to appear.

43.5 Implementation of the group gathering prohibition: the police had found that there were members of the public who intended to abuse sharing of anti-epidemic information and distribution of anti-epidemic materials, which were exempted from the group gathering prohibition, in order to evade the prohibition. In general, the exemption targets were healthcare officers who conducted the above activities. The exemption was not a loophole for others to manipulate to serve other purposes. Since the implementation of social distancing, zero local infection case had been recorded for 15 days consecutively in Hong Kong, reflecting that that measure was very effective. Yet, although Hong Kong was one of the places in the world that had low infection rates, that did not mean that the police and the public could let their guards down and relax the measure. Around 120 pieces of advice and 53 warnings had been issued by Kwun Tong Police District up till then. Although the law had empowered the police to issue fixed penalty tickets to people violating the prohibition, the police’s strategy was to warn the offenders and record the incidents first. When those people returned to the gathering places and violated the prohibition for the third time, the police would issue fixed penalty tickets to those people.

43.6 Enforcement actions against traffic offences: regarding illegal parking in the nighttime, the police had also taken enforcement actions. The

52 police’s current enforcement main point lied on solving the local traffic congestion problem in the daytime. At present, the police mainly combatted illegal parking at areas around the industrial area because their traffic congestion was relatively serious. As regards the problem of towing vehicles away as mentioned by the Member, the problem that the Police faced was a shortage of places for placing vehicles towed away. Those places could accommodate more vehicles towed away only after other vehicles towed away had been driven away. The police reiterated that towing vehicles away was applicable to dealing with serious traffic congestion problems. The police had also issued fixed penalty tickets to goods obstructing roads of the industrial area one day before the meeting. They hoped that that new method could help solve traffic problems.

43.7 Juvenile delinquency: the police opined that the number of youngsters involved in crimes had fluctuated because the statistical figures of the current year had been higher than those of the previous year. Some of the arrested people had been arrested during the social campaign between last September and November. There were a number of measures in society protecting youngsters at the moment. The police hoped that members of the public could understand that acts committed by arrested youngsters had been improper.

44. Mr Glenn O’NEILL, Deputy District Commander (Sau Mau Ping), HKPF, responded as follows:

44.1 The relationship between the police and the public: since officers of the PCRO were busy with many daily duties, they might not be able to respond to enquiries from Members and members of the public immediately every time when they received enquiries. Besides, they might not be able to disclose some of the details of cases to the public due to constraints imposed by the law (e.g. The Personal Data (Privacy) Ordinance) or caused by natures of cases. The police district had all along approved of and supported Police Community Relations Officers’ work. The police emphasised that they valued views Members had put forward in the meeting. Regarding complaints against individual police officers, Members might directly liaise with Police Community Relations Officers or go to police stations to make reports.

53 44.2 The explosives discovery case at the abandoned school campus at Choi Shek Lane, Kowloon Bay: the police stressed that that case was very serious because a small quantity of explosives was already enough to bring a serious impact to buildings and residents nearby. The police had also transferred the case to the Organised Crime and Triad Bureau for investigation. The police hoped that the public could understand related guidelines. If any suspected explosives or their devices were found, the police would need to cordon off the areas for public safety.

44.3 Juvenile delinquency: the police had allocated additional resources to step up patrol in the nighttime in the hope of minimising occurrence of arson and vandalism cases committed by youngsters late at night. The police also believed that if they collaborated with social workers and non-governmental organisations, results of the measures would be more significant. The police hoped that Members could express their concerns to relevant non-governmental organisations so that problems of juvenile delinquency could be alleviated.

44.4 Street prostitution: the number of street prostitutes in the district had already dropped drastically. Sau Mau Ping Police District had arrested four females in January of the current year at Hong Ning Road for contravention of conditions of stay. The police had currently been targeting places where street prostitutes appeared, and would communicate with owners and management companies of buildings.

44.5 Implementation of the group gathering prohibition: when enforcing the prohibition, the police would divide the enforcement into two phases. The first phase was public education. The public would be educated on the content of the prohibition and its grace period. During the first three to four weeks of the implementation of the prohibition, the police had not issued any fixed penalty tickets regarding the prohibition. Moreover, up till then, since the implementation of the prohibition, Sau Mau Ping Police District had issued a total of 50 pieces of advice and 26 warnings, as well as seven fixed penalty tickets.

44.6 The group gambling problem: the police understood that they needed to pay attention to the problem. They had already been frequently taken enforcement actions to crack down on stall concerned. As long as resources permitted, the police would spare no efforts in combatting those stalls. The police had also called on building management

54 companies and security guards to cooperate with the police to combat such kind of cases together. In April 2020, Sau Mau Ping Police District had solved two group gambling cases and arrested 16 people.

44.7 The illegal parking problem: in tackling illegal parking or traffic congestion problems, the police only played a minor role. That was mainly because there had always been a shortage of parking spaces in Hong Kong. When enforcing the law, the police’s main target was to minimise chances of occurrence of serious traffic congestion and accidents.

44.8 Damage to banners: the police took cases of damage to banners seriously. The cases had also been transferred to the Criminal Investigation Department for follow-up actions and investigation. Sau Mau Ping Police District had also recently arrested a person suspected of stealing political banners. That person was under investigation at the moment. 44.9 Problems about police officers’ attitudes: the police felt regretful for members of the public and Members’ being treated impolitely as claimed. The management of the police had all along been communicating with frontline officers over different issues, including the importance of emotional management, and fairness and impartiality needed when officers discharged their duties. The police opined that both the public and the police needed to take a step forward and rebuild mutual trust and a cooperation relationship between the two sides.

45. The Chairman clarified that he himself had not allowed Members to speak foul language during meetings. He also concluded that the police did step up enforcement actions against local traffic problems. However, he hoped the police would continue to enhance their enforcement efforts. As for future enforcement problems about local traffic offences, they would be transferred to the Security and Constitutional Affairs Committee for (“SCAC”) follow-up actions. In addition, Members were also highly concerned about enforcement problems about the group gathering prohibition and group gathering, as well as the street prostitution problem at Hong Ning Road and Hip Wo Street. As regards the latter, the police had adopted effective measures to handle that. At present, the police might draw experience from the approach at that time. Moreover, he emphasised that the KTDC had all along kept a good relationship with the police, and the security level of Kwun Tong District had been acceptable up till then. He believed that that had been a result constituted by efforts of both Kwun Tong Police District and Sau Mau Ping Police District. Yet, after the serious of incidents the previous year, the relationship between the police and the public had

55 become tense. He understood that the police needed to discharge their duties. However, police officers had often lost control of their emotion and called members of the public different names during interception. Such speeches had been very improper. The Commissioner of Police had earlier attended meetings of other district councils. During the meetings, he had said that police officers should not call members of the public names. Therefore, the Chairman hoped that the police could improve that. He opined that the relationship between the police and the public was very importance on the community level, and therefore he hoped that the police could have more communication with frontline officers. If police officers could have better communication with the public, many conflicts between the police and the public could be avoided. Regarding the police’s response, Members could further address it in the SCAC if they had any follow-up view or enquiries.

(b) ICAC Regional Office (Kowloon East/Sai Kung)

46. Ms May FAN, Regional Officer/Kowloon/Sai Kung, Independent Commission Against Corruption (“ICAC”), presented the paper.

47. Members raised enquiries and views as follows:

47.1 Mr FUNG Ka-lung said that apart from the need to carry out public education, it was also very important for the ICAC to deal with cases efficiently. Some of the cases happening the previous year had involved the police. The Member hoped that the ICAC could disclose the investigation progress of those cases. Besides, there had recently been a case of a licensed squatter structure contravening the law and reports that senior officers of the police had meals with individual people. Therefore, the Member asked if the ICAC would take the initiative to look into the matters.

47.2 Mr Raymond TANG said that the establishment of the ICAC had been highly related to the case of Godber. Therefore, when introducing the ICAC, the ICAC should include the history of conflicts between the police and incorruptibility. Besides, the Member asked when the ICAC wrote teaching materials or produce publicity materials, whether it would avoid sensitive issues and whether the materials could be publicized only after being censored. In addition, he hoped that the ICAC could keep its slogan “Times change. The mission continues” because incorruptibility was one of the core values of Hong Kong.

56 47.3 Mr LI Ka-tat remarked that members of the public still value incorruptibility very much. Regarding public trust on the ICAC, he asked the ICAC about related figures. Moreover, he had all along appreciated the ICAC’s work because it attached great importance to youngsters’ participation. He also suggested: i) including introduction of the ICAC’s work and the police’s behaviour and history back then into the guided tour, Anti-corruption Walk; ii) stepping up publicity to members of the public on messages of anti-bribery in elections and vote-rigging; iii) the ICAC invite youngsters to take part in voluntary work of verifying voters’ registered addresses. Furthermore, he said that he thought highly of the Operation Building Bright 2.0, and suggested the ICAC put more efforts in promotion on the scheme since conflicts of interests often happened when buildings underwent large-scale maintenance works. He hoped that the ICAC would play a more active role in monitoring or check on a random basis housing estates or buildings that had not joined the scheme.

47.4 Mr Eason CHAN related that the ICAC had been established in 1974. The aim of its establishment had been combatting corruption and investigating the police force’s corruption problems. Yet, since 2019, the ICAC had played no role in the social campaign and failed to deal with or look into any abusive behaviour of the police. He opined that the ICAC had been downgraded into a publicity organisation instead of a law enforcement agency. He also remarked that one of the functions of the ICAC was to investigate public officers’ improper behaviour, and therefore the ICAC, as a law enforcement agency, should conduct investigation to judge whether the police had problems. In addition, he enquired: i) about the number of complaints against the police that the ICAC had received since June 2019; ii) the number of complaints about the police’s suspected improper behaviour during their enforcement of the law; iii) having regard to substantial public doubts about the police, whether the ICAC had any plan to ease public worries; and iv) how the ICAC would respond to and monitor problems about conduct within the police force.

47.5 Mr LEE Kwan-chak remarked that regarding bid-rigging related to building maintenance, the URA had the scheme, Smart Tender, to help residents. Therefore, the Member asked if the ICAC had monitored the scheme to ensure its smooth implementation.

57 48. The ICAC responded as follows:

48.1 Publicity and education: the PCRO’s work was to carry out education on anti-corruption messages in various districts, as well as seeking public support for anti-corruption work. The ICAC’s pamphlet “Weekend Integrity Walk” (in Chinese, “週末誠行”) recorded the ICAC’s work and anti-corruption history over the years, including the police force’s bribery cases and Yau Ma Tei Wholesale Fruit Market Case. In the 70’s, the police had suffered corruption problems. That was part of the history. The ICAC would not avoid sensitive issues for convenience, but it would not and did not need to focus on a particular government department. In an annual public opinion poll by the ICAC in 2019, 96.3% of members of the public had opined that the ICAC’s work had been worth support. Regarding the proportion of the number of complaints against bribery in the past, privately-operated organisations had accounted for two-thirds while government departments and public bodies had accounted for one-third.

48.2 Enquiries about individual cases: the ICAC understood that members of the public were concerned about the ICAC’s law enforcement efficiency. If Members had any questions about the ICAC enforcement work, the PCRO’s officers would definitely try their best to answer their questions. Nonetheless, generally speaking, the ICAC would not comment on individual cases.

48.3 Integrity training and cases involving public officers: the ICAC confirmed that it had received suspected corruption complaints involving civil servants and related to the anti-extradition law amendment bill movement. It had also set up a special duty team tasked with handling of the cases. The number of related cases was 28, among which 26 involved police officers.

48.4 Anti-corruption work concerning building management: the ICAC was highly concerned about property management. It also took the initiative to contact newly established OCs, as well as housing estates and buildings that received the Buildings Department’s maintenance orders or fire safety instructions. Yet, the responses were usually unsatisfactory. When district offices organsied district theme seminars, the ICAC would also try its best to assign officers to the

58 seminars to explain anti-corruption legislation and anti-corruption suggestions related to building maintenance. Moreover, the Corruption Prevention Department had also given advice on the Government’s new subsidy schemes, such as Smart Tender, the Operation Building Bright 2.0, etc. The ICAC hoped that Members could serve as a bridge. When OCs needed the ICAC’s assistance, Members could inform the ICAC. It also believed that if OCs could learn more about related legislation and anti-corruption measures during tendering exercises or prior to commencement of maintenance works, that would be helpful to the entire maintenance works.

48.5 Integrity training for the HKPF: the ICAC had all along provided anti-corruption and integrity training for newly recruited police officers, and arranged regular refresher courses for serving police officers. The PCRO would continue to maintain close liaison with Hong Kong Police College.

49. The Chairman added that the representatives from the ICAC to the present meeting were from the PCRO instead of the Administration Branch. If Members were interested in the ICAC’s investigation work, the KTDC could make other arrangements to invite the Administration Branch to assign representatives to meetings.

Item IV – Matters on District Minor Works (KTDC Paper No. 18/2020)

50. The Secretary presented the paper.

51. The meeting endorsed the paper.

Item V – Proposed Allocation of a Small Central Reserve under the District Minor Works Block Vote (KTDC Paper No. 19/2020)

52. The Secretary presented the paper.

53. Mr FUNG Ka-lung asked about how the allocation concerned would be used to serve emergency purposes.

59 54. Miss Amy CHOW, Senior Executive Officer (District Management), KTDO, responded that the allocation concerned would mainly be used to apply for Permits to Dig, as well as covering expenses of the HAD’s traveling to various districts to carry out inspections of works. In the previous three years, expenses of emergency works could be covered by allocations absorbed from various relevant departments or districts. It was expected that the related arrangement could continue.

55. The meeting endorsed the paper.

Item VI – Reports of Chairmen of Standing Committees and Task Forces (KTDC Paper No. 20/2020)

56. The Secretary presented the paper.

57. The meeting noted the paper.

Item VII – Any Other Business

(1) Increasing the KTDC’s Reserve

58. In the third meeting of the Food, Environment and Hygiene Committee on 21 April 2020, members of the committee had endorsed purchase of face masks with $300,000 from its funds for distribution to local residents. In the meeting, it was also said that the above amount had been inadequate and it would be impossible for benefit all the residents.

59. Regarding the above opinions, the Chairman suggested transferring 10% of the funds of the various committees and task force for the current year to the Finance and Administration Committee as reserve.

60. The meeting endorsed the above suggestion.

(2) The 11th “Quit to Win” Smoke-free Community Campaign

61. The Hong Kong Council on Smoking and Health had written to invite the KTDC to support the 11th “Quit to Win” Smoke-free Community Campaign and agreed to use the KTDC logo in relevant publicity projects and activities. As the above campaign, which aimed to spread smoke-free messages in the community, was very meaningful, the meeting endorsed acceptance of the invitation.

60 Item VIII – Date of Next Meeting

62. The next meeting was scheduled to be held on 7 July 2020 (Tuesday).

63. There being no other business, the meeting was adjourned at 5:29 p.m.

The minutes of the meeting were confirmed on 7 July 2020.

Kwun Tong District Council Secretariat June 2020

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