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Housing Department to launch territory-wide public education campaign
Following is a question by the Hon Zachary Wong and a written reply by the Secretary for Housing, Mr Dominic Wong, in the Legislative Council today (Wednesday):
Question:
At the LegCo sitting on 16 October 1996, the Secretary for Housing stated that the occurrence of incidents of injuries caused by falling objects in public housing estates was more obvious in Tseung Kwan O and Tuen Mun. In this connection, does the Government know:
(a)
(b)
Answer:
Mr President,
of the five districts in which the problem of incidents of injuries caused by falling objects was most serious in the last three years, together with the number of such incidents in each district; and
of public housing estates in the districts mentioned in the answer to (a) above which are not provided with covered walkways; and what measures have been put in place by the Authority concerned to ensure the safety of residents living in these estates?
In the past three years, there were 38 reported incidents of injury caused by falling objects in public housing estates. The highest number of incidents occurred in Tseung Kwan O (seven incidents), Tuen Mun (six incidents), Shatin (five incidents), Kowloon West (three incidents), and Hong Kong West (three incidents). A breakdown by estates is at Annex.
Covered walkways have been provided in all the estates listed in the Annex, except Tin King Estate, Sha Kok Estate and Cheung Sha Wan Estate. A covered walkway in Sha Kok Estate will be completed by the end of this month. Construction work for a covered walkway in Tin King Estate 2 will begin in mid-1997. No covered walkway can be provided in Cheung Sha Wan Estate owing to site constraints. Nevertheless, alternative measures, such as increased patrol and regular use of estate newsletters and posters to remind residents of the danger resulting from falling objects, are in place to safeguard residents' safety.