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HONG KONG URBAN COUNCIL
prosecuted by the Department. On the other hand, many cats and dogs were not brought into food premises by customers, but rather they were kept by the owners or licensees themselves. Do our laws empower us to take actions against anybody, including food premises owners and licensees? When we eat at food premises, we sometimes see cats moving around freely under our tables so that ladies dressed in skirts screamed and squealed, frightening other customers. They sometimes jumped up to tables or chairs and then back on to the floor. Such situations were seen quite often in small eateries and wanton noodle shops. I hope members will pay attention to this aspect. What can the Department do to stop the situation from worsening so as to protect food hygiene and alleviate the psychological effect on others?
MR. JOSEPH CHAN YEUK-SUT (in Cantonese):—For the first point, if we can enforce the ban on bringing cats and dogs into food premises thoroughly, there should be no question of sharing dishes. If the situation is serious, the Department can consider a two-pronged approach whereby discussions are held with the legal adviser and amendments are made in accordance with the actual situation and the need. If the situation is indeed serious, we can enact laws to prohibit customers from using the same dishes to feed their cats and dogs. A schedule of penalties should be devised and amendments should be made accordingly. As to the problem of cats and dogs kept by operators or licensees wandering freely in the area, we will notify the Urban Services Department and step up inspection work. Special attention will be given to small food premises for the existence of cats and dogs in their vicinity. Maybe Mr. LAI can provide information as to which premises keep cats and dogs so that our staff can step up inspection or organize cats and dogs catching teams for small premises with the help of the Agriculture & Fisheries Department. Work can be done in this area.
MR. STEPHEN HUNG CHUNG-FUN (in Cantonese):—I would like to follow up on the question by Mr. LAI Chi-keong about defining the operation area of food premises. It is a question of viewpoint. I wish to point out that some wanton noodle stalls as mentioned by Mr. Lai extend on to public areas and there may be cats and dogs kept in such areas. I wonder what the Department will do to deal with it? I also want to point out that there are cooked food stalls in estates under the management of the Housing Authority throughout Hong Kong and that they should stick to proper boundaries. However, most existing stalls occupy public space. In case the owners, licensees or customers bring along cats and dogs in such extended areas, I wonder what staff of the Department can do as enforcement action? So I hope to be enlightened on this.
MR. JOSEPH CHAN YEUK-SUT (in Cantonese):—Mr. Chairman, if food premises occupy public areas so as to extend their business, they are already violating the law. USD staff can prosecute them under legislation. As to the
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