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HONG KONG URBAN COUNCIL
CHAIRMAN: --For which duties, Mr. CHEONG-LEEN?
MR. CHEONG-LEEN: -Health Inspectors for recruitment to the Urban Services Department staff as a whole.
CHAIRMAN: -We have a certain establishment and I have just said we are having difficulty in filling Health Inspector posts. I am not saying the establishment is insufficient.
MR. CHEONG-LEEN: -Sir, I don't quite understand. If we are having difficulty that means we are still looking out for more Health Inspectors, are we not, Sir?
CHAIRMAN: That is correct.
MR. CHEONG-LEEN: -So we are short of staff then?
CHAIRMAN: -If you will, Sir.
MR. CHEONG-LEEN: -Thank you.
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pletely satisfied with the source from which it is made and what steps has he taken to protect the public health when it is used in licensed establishments?
THE CHAIRMAN replied as follows:-
I am aware that some ice sold in the urban areas is ice which has been manufactured in the New Territories and subsequently brought into the urban area by lorry. The volume of this trade amounts to not more than six lorry loads daily, and the ice is manufactured in a factory situated at San Hui, Castle Peak. The factory was established to meet the needs of the fishing fleet at Castle Peak, but some ice may be sent on occasions to the urban area. This is the only ice factory in the New Territories known to me. It is a registered factory, and manufactures ice from mains water under entirely hygienic conditions. No specific steps to safeguard public health are taken in respect of this ice.
DR. R. H. S. LEE asked the following question :-
Is the Chairman aware of sub-letting in the market stalls and what steps has he taken to arrest this malpractice?
THE CHAIRMAN replied as follows:
I am aware that many lessees of market stalls either do not attend at the stalls in person or do not appear to conduct the day-to-day business of the stalls themselves. However, it is not feasible for the staff of the department to distinguish between cases of sub-letting and cases where the business of the stall is conducted by a servant, agent or legal personal representative within the spirit of Market By-law 5, particularly as it is always the lessee of the stall who pays Government's demand note for the monthly rent. Partly for these reasons, and partly because the Council allows free and unrestricted transfers of market stall leases from one party to another, no action has been taken against sub-letting; nor would any appear to be feasible.
DR. R. H. S. LEE asked the following question :·
Is the Chairman aware of lorry loads of ice blocks being sent from the New Territories into the urban areas for sale? Does he know the volume of such trade and is he com-
MR. CHEUNG WING-IN asked the following question:
Can the Chairman give an indication to what extent sub-letting exists in Resettlement Estates and what is being done to keep the situation under control?
THE COMMISSIONER FOR RESETTLEMENT replied as follows:-
On the basis of all the evidence available to me, I do not consider that the illegal sub-letting of domestic rooms is common or a serious problem. On the other hand, I have reason to believe that the sub-letting of shops and workshops in estates is more common, partly because the financial incentive is greater, and partly it is more difficult for the department to establish the existence of sleeping partners.
The following statistics may serve to illustrate the extent of the problem so far as domestic rooms are concerned. In the Shek Kip Mei Estate, which has now been in existence for 9 years, there were, in the past 6 months, 37 cases where preliminary warning letters were sent for illegal sub-letting of domestic rooms and 5 for shops. A further 13 final warning letters, of which 11 were for rooms and 2 for shops, had to be sent for non-compliance. In the Wong Tai Sin Estate of 80,000 persons, which has
Page 99 of 194
of 194
Page 99 of 194
180
HONG KONG URBAN COUNCIL
CHAIRMAN: --For which duties, Mr. CHEONG-LEEN?
MR. CHEONG-LEEN:-Health Inspectors for recruitment to the Urban Services Department staff as a whole.
CHAIRMAN: -We have a certain establishment and I have just said we are having difficulty in filling Health Inspector posts. I am not saying the establishment is insufficient.
MR. CHEONG-LEEN:-Sir, I don't quite understand. If we are having difficulty that means we are still looking out for more Health Inspectors, are we not, Sir?
CHAIRMAN: That is correct.
MR. CHEONG-LEEN:-So we are short of staff then?
CHAIRMAN: -If you will, Sir.
MR. CHEONG-LEEN:-Thank you.
HONG KONG URBAN COUNCIL
181
pletely satisfied with the source from which it is made and what steps has he taken to protect the public health when it is used in licensed establishments?
THE CHAIRMAN replied as follows:-
I am aware that some ice sold in the urban areas is ice which has been manufactured in the New Territories and sub- sequently brought into the urban area by lorry. The volume of this trade amounts to not more than six lorry loads daily, and the ice is manufactured in a factory situated at San Hui, Castle Peak. The factory was established to meet the needs of the fishing fleet at Castle Peak, but some ice may be sent on occasions to the urban area. This is the only ice factory in the New Territories known to me. It is a registered factory, and manufactures ice from mains water under entirely hygienic conditions. No specific steps to safeguard public health are taken in respect of this ice.
DR. R. H. S. LEE asked the following question :-
Is the Chairman aware of sub-letting in the market stalls and
what steps has he taken to arrest this malpractice?
THE CHAIRMAN replied as follows:
I am aware that many lessees of market stalls either do not attend at the stalls in person or do not appear to conduct the day-to-day business of the stalls themselves. How- ever, it is not feasible for the staff of the department to distinguish between cases of sub-letting and cases where the business of the stall is conducted by a servant, agent or legal personal representative within the spirit of Market By-law 5, particularly as it is always the lessee of the stall who pays Government's demand note for the monthly rent. Partly for these reasons, and partly because the Council allows free and unrestricted transfers of market stall leases from one party to another, no action has been taken against sub-letting; nor would any appear to be feasible.
DR. R. H. S. LEE asked the following question :·
Is the Chairman aware of lorry loads of ice blocks being sent from the New Territories into the urban areas for sale? Does he know the volume of such trade and is he com-
MR. CHEUNG WING-IN asked the following question:
Can the Chairman give an indication to what extent sub-letting exists in Resettlement Estates and what is being done to keep the situation under control?
THE COMMISSIONER FOR RESETTLEMENT replied as follows:-
On the basis of all the evidence available to me, I do not consider that the illegal sub-letting of domestic rooms is common or a serious problem. On the other hand, I have reason to believe that the sub-letting of shops and work- shops in estates is more common, partly because the financial incentive is greater, and partly it is more difficult for the department to establish the existence of sleeping partners.
The following statistics may serve to illustrate the extent of the problem so far as domestic rooms are concerned. In the Shek Kip Mei Estate, which has now been in existence for 9 years, there were, in the past 6 months, 37 cases where preliminary warning letters were sent for illegal sub-letting of domestic rooms and 5 for shops. A further 13 final warning letters, of which 11 were for rooms and 2 for shops, had to be sent for non-compliance. In the Wong Tai Sin Estate of 80,000 persons, which has
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