HONG KONG URBAN COUNCIL
223
three months to complete. I hope Mr. CHAN can confirm this. Another thing is why we need as long as one month to complete a search on the title of units concerned. In fact, for private companies, they are able to search the ownership of premises at the Land Registry within a very short period of time. I don't understand at all why the Department has to take as long as one month to check the ownership of a unit.
MR. JOSEPH CHAN YUEK-SUT (in Cantonese):—If you have not received the reply, I have to check with the Secretariat to see if they missed or were late in sending it to you.
Chairman (in Cantonese):--He thinks that part four of the question has not been answered.
MR. JOSEPH CHAN YUEK-SUT (in Cantonese):-You think that I have not replied to part four of your question. Well, Mr. Chairman, I have put together the question of timing and procedures in my reply because it is very difficult to reply to them separately. As for water dripping from air-conditioners at night, it has to do with more people switching on their air-conditioners at night. As for multi-storey buildings mentioned in paragraph 8, if there is only one air-conditioner in a building, it will be easy to locate. There should not be any problem. The question is that during the night time, there are many air-conditioners in operation in multi-storey buildings. It is mostly to do with old buildings. There are no problems as far as new buildings are concerned because, according to current building specifications, spaces for air-conditioners are provided and usually with water outlets too. There is no problem. The only thing is with old buildings with no spaces for air-conditioners. As the standards of living of residents improve, people install air-conditioners by erecting frames for them outside the buildings. At night, when a lot of or more than a hundred air-conditioners are at work at the same time in a multi-storey building, there is definite difficulty in tracing the source of water dripping.
MR. STEVEN HUNG CHUNG-FUN (in Cantonese):-Paragraph 7 of the reply refers to the Nuisance Notices issued by District Health Inspectors to occupiers of premises. I want to know the viewpoints of occupiers. For Home Ownership Schemes or public housing units of the Housing Department or rental flats of the Housing Society with past cases of water dripping problems. I understand that the Department referred them to the authorities concerned, namely the Housing Department or the Housing Society. From what I see, authorities shirked responsibility and thus the problem of water dripping from air-conditioners could not be solved. I would like to seek clarification in paragraph 7 about the issuance of Nuisance Notices by Health Inspectors. Are the Notices issued to property owners, property occupiers or owners of air-conditioners?
Page 228 of 498
Page 228 of 498