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# HONG KONG PROVISIONAL URBAN COUNCIL
investigation. This obviously will involve additional time before the source of the problem is determined.
On the third part of the question, the Department has handled 7042 complaints of water seepage since January 1995. The Department was successful in identifying the source of water seepage in 2081 cases through either physical inspections or chemical dye tests.
On the fourth part of the question, as I mentioned earlier, if the Department cannot trace the source of water seepage, the complainant will be informed and the case will be referred to the Water Supplies and Buildings Departments to conduct further investigations. If these departments are likewise unable to determine the cause of the water seepage, the Urban Services Department will inform the complainant in writing that the Department is not in a position to take any further action under the provisions of the Public Health and Municipal Services Ordinance, Cap. 132. The Department will provide the complainant with a full written explanation of the factors leading to the decision.
MR. WU CHI-Wai (in Cantonese):—I am not satisfied with this answer. In the first part of my question, I want to know the average time it takes to carry out inspection after receipt of the complaint, but somehow Mr. CHAN only replied that investigation would be carried out within 7 days after receipt of the complaint. Was it because there were no such statistics?
The second follow-up question is about the average time it takes to successfully find out the cause of water seepage after receipt of the complaint. I can see from paragraph 6 in the reply document that there were 2081 cases in the past few years in which the cause of water seepage was successfully detected. Obviously the Department has a clear record of this but what about the time it takes to successfully find out the cause of water seepage after receipt of the complaint? Was it afraid to tell? I want to ask specifically once more. How long does it actually take to find out the cause of water seepage?
As the third follow-up question, I want to follow up paragraph 6 in the reply document. It mentions that since January 1995, the Department has handled a total of 7042 complaints about water seepage but only 2081 of them have had the cause of water seepage successfully identified through site inspection. About the remaining 5000 cases, what methods do we use to determine that the responsibility does not lie with the Department such that have to be referred to other departments? Or, under what circumstances are these remaining 5000 odd cases classified as ones requiring no action?
Mr. Joseph Chan Yuek-sut (in Cantonese):—Mr. Chairman, about the first question, the Department takes action within 7 working days after receipt of complaint. As to the time required, it varies from case to case. In fact, it is not possible to give the time required in each case. As to the average time required,
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