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HONG KONG URBAN COUNCIL
73
"RESOLVED that in view of the deterioration in the water quality in the Victoria Harbour and the potential health hazard to the public posed by restaurants using such untreated sea water to keep seafood, this Council urges the Government to amend the Public Health and Municipal Services Ordinance so as to empower the Urban Council to require suppliers of water to restaurants for keeping seafood to comply with specific hygienic standards.'
He said (in Cantonese):—Mr. Chairman, 3 years ago, the Eastern District Board discussed the question of seawater suppliers getting polluted water from the Causeway Bay Typhoon Shelter and supplying such seawater to some seafood restaurants. At that time, the Government also expressed concern on the problem and promised to follow up the question. However, up to now the problem still exists and citizens are still consuming seafood kept in polluted sea water. Their health is therefore put at risk. The water quality of the Victoria Harbour continues to deteriorate. Recently, there were reported cases of the public consuming seafood kept in contaminated water and they were sent to hospitals. This contaminated water contains heavy metals as well as E. coli bacteria above internationally acceptable levels and also poisonous and insoluble materials. These substances pose a health hazard and create a lot of problems. Will the Government allow the problem to deteriorate? Water suppliers get water from typhoon shelters or Victoria Harbour simply for convenience's sake. They even get water from the sewage pipes or pump untreated water from urinal pipes and supply it to food establishments managed by the Urban Council.
The present method of testing the quality of water is to take random samples of seawater in food establishments. If it is found to be below the stipulated standard, prosecution will be instituted. But the food establishment operators cannot control the sources of such seawater, and if we only prosecute them, it is rather unfair.
A better and more fundamental way is to adopt a licensing system to restrict seawater suppliers from obtaining water from contaminated sources. At present, there is no legislation empowering the Urban Council to monitor the work of these seawater suppliers. This has posed difficulty in taking enforcement action, and we find our hands tied. A responsible Government should adopt some effective means to plug this legal loophole. My conclusion is that, in view of the deterioration in the water quality in the Victoria Harbour, caterers using this water to keep fish and other seafood would pose a health hazard to the public, so I resolve that the Public Health and Municipal Services Ordinance be amended to empower the Urban Council to require seawater suppliers to comply with specific hygienic standards. Mr. Chairman, with the above remarks, I beg to move.
Ms. Christina Ting Yuk-Cheung (in Cantonese):--We have heard many cases of citizens consuming seafood and then becoming ill. The reason is that some
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