Page 105 of 485
Page 105 of 485
105 of 485
82
HONG KONG URBAN COUNCIL
are also subject to licensing. But this is not so in this particular case. We have given up this major principle of licensing at source. Last year, the Chief Secretary said that seawater is public property so we should not impose control on it. Besides, it was said that seawater is not food stuff, its management is outside the management of the Council. Both assertions are ridiculous and are not acceptable. If I am talking about taking seawater to bathe, then control is unnecessary. But these people are getting seawater for commercial use which directly affects food hygiene so we should again license at source. I don't know why control is unnecessary. I still insist to suggest that control of water suppliers can only be made through the licensing system. By doing so, we can get samples of water supplied by water suppliers and we can therefore be empowered to spot check and examine the tank water to see whether the water is up to the required standards. Only through this licensing system, we can establish a mechanism whereby water suppliers can be asked to do some processing work, filtration and chemical analysis before they are transported to food establishments. Only through this licensing at source principle can public health be protected.
MR. CHAN NOI-YUE (in Cantonese):---I have suggested to defer discussion of the motion to the PH Select Committee. I am not saying that I do not support Mr. To's motion, but I feel that we will be spending a lot of time to discuss this motion today. If we were to discuss it in the PH Select Committee, we can even have more detailed discussions to come up with better ways to enact some fair and reasonable legislation to contain the problem of water suppliers supplying contaminated water to keep seafood. This is all that I want to say.
MR. WONG KING-CHEUNG (in Cantonese): Last summer we detected cholera bacteria in our typhoon shelter, such as the Aberdeen Typhoon Shelter. In order to prevent people from taking water from the Aberdeen Typhoon Shelter, the Government has put up some warning signposts. The spirit of Mr. To's motion today has my support but I feel that the USD staff have difficulty in enforcing the law because the health inspectors cannot determine on the spot whether the water is up to health standards. If they take the water back for examination I don't know whether the operators of food establishment would be convinced that the water analysis result is reliable. Mr. Mok Ying-fan has just mentioned some figures. Since July last year, after the adoption of the bylaw, successful prosecutions have been very few in number. The measure does not seem to have a deterrent effect. So I think in the long run, the Government should set up an inter-departmental working group comprising representatives from Director of Health, USD, RSD and EPD. The working group can examine the issue with a view to devising a comprehensive licensing system in order to deter food establishments from using contaminated water to keep seafood. We hope to avoid the recurrence of last year's situation. In the short run, the USD is persuading the food establishments to use distilled apparatus with ultra-violet light or to use salt to convert water into seawater so that water to keep seafood can comply with international standards.
Page 105
Page 106