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HONG KONG URBAN COUNCIL
MR. DANIEL TO BOON-MAN (in Cantonese):-Thank you for supplying accurate figures for us, Mr. WONG. The figures show that in the three years 1993, 1994 and 1995, Kowloon Park Swimming Pool already became a black spot with 76% of theft cases happening there. For the first seven months of this year, there has been an increase of 32.4% over the last three years. This is an alarming figure. The focus of my question is: how to effectively combat well-planned thieves who can break open 20 lockers within 20 minutes by duplicating keys professionally. How are we going to tackle this problem? We have to discard old systems which make duplication of locker keys handy. I hope Mr. Wong will follow up on this closely with the authorities concerned. Besides, I would also like to call on swimmers not to bring along too much money (in fact I think they would not). I think credit cards are attractions to thieves because they provide chances to draw money. As a responsible Council, I hope we can follow up on this.
THE HON. MOK YING-FAN (in Cantonese):—May I remind the meeting that in accordance with standing orders, questions should be raised on policies, but not the discussion of individual cases.
CHAIRMAN (in Cantonese):-No, this is not a discussion about the details of cases and this is not a matter of giving opinions. This is asking questions and giving answers.
THE HON. MOK YING-FAN (in Cantonese):-Moreover, I think we should stop lengthy individual statements of comments.
CHAIRMAN (in Cantonese):-Thank you. Now that Mr. To has asked his question, will Mr. WONG reply to it?
MR. RONNIE WONG MAN-CHIU (in Cantonese):—I would like to thank Mr. To for his suggestions. In fact, in paragraphs 6 and 7 of my reply, it was mentioned that the Department was putting on trial in Kowloon Park Swimming Pool a new locker system that would render key duplication difficult by stalls outside. If duplication of keys is difficult and costly, even if it is feasible, I think there will be a deterrent effect. As I have just said, the sudden upsurge of theft figures for Kowloon Park Swimming Pool is serious and the Department is studying the causes together with the Police. This may not be just theft, and it may be related to different circumstances, like a huge criminal syndicate. It is not appropriate for me to make guesses here. This year's swimming season has more than a month to go. As soon as investigations into this are completed, I will take it back to the Recreation Select Committee for discussion.
MR. PAO PING-WING (in Cantonese):-Mr. Chairman, Mr. Wong has just referred to paragraphs 6 and 7 of the reply, saying that a new locker system is being tried out and he is looking forward to improvement. I would like to ask if
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