1986 — Page 192

342

HONG KONG URBAN COUNCIL

MR. MAN SAI-CHEONG (in Cantonese):-Mr. Chairman, in answering this question, Mr. Samuel WONG has pointed out that we might preserve some of the old buildings as special museum. So could you elaborate on the subject of the special museum because Lei Yue Mun is a very special area and has been used for military purposes? Also could you elaborate on the concept of having a special museum there?

MR. SAMUEL P. W. WONG (in Cantonese): This is exactly what the Urban Services Department and the Urban Council are considering the possibility as the site concerned is a barrack and had gone through the second world war.

(Mr. Frederick K. K. FUNG arrived at 2.50 p.m.)

6. MISS VICTORIA Y. CHAN asked the following question (in Cantonese):-- Most restaurants serving Chinese cuisine hand out wet towels to their customers for use:

(a) to what extent is the Council responsible to monitor the hygiene standard of such common towels;

(b) what legal provisions are available to regulate the hygiene standard of these common towels;

(c) whether there have been prosecutions in the last 12 months for breach of anyone or more of such regulations and if so, the number and outcome or record of such prosecutions.

MISS CECILIA L. Y. YEUNG, CHAIRMAN OF THE FOOD HYGIENE SELECT COMMITTEE, replied as follows (in Cantonese):—The question, which contains three parts, concerns the serving of wet towels to customers in restaurants.

The answers to the question are as follows: To ensure that wet towels, if served to and used by customers in restaurants, are clean, the health staff of the department, during their regular inspections to these establishments, would see, among other things, that adequate sterilization facilities used exclusively for this purpose are provided and used. It must be pointed out, however, that not all the restaurants serve wet towels to their customers.

Legal provisions to regulate the hygiene standard of these common towels are provided in By-law 20 of the Food Business (UC) By-laws, which reads-

'No person engaged in any food business involving the serving of meals to customers shall provide for use by customers any napkin or cleansing towel unless, since the last occasion upon which such napkin or cleansing towel was used for any purpose, it has been immersed for not less than one minute in boiling water used exclusively for that purpose.'

Any person in breach of this by-law is subject to prosecution and is liable to a fine of $2,000 and imprisonment of 3 months.

HONG KONG URBAN COUNCIL

Page 192 of 201

343

In addition, a licensing condition is also imposed on restaurants where wet towels are provided for use by customers. This licensing condition reads-

'If wet towels are provided for use of customers, a steriliser must be provided and used."

Any licensee who fails to observe this licensing condition is warned, either verbally or in writing to rectify the irregularity; further breaches of the condition will lead to suspension/cancellation of his restaurant licence in accordance with the Council's policy.

In the last 12 months, there have been 94 verbal warnings issued to restaurants for not properly sterilising wet towels before they are served to customers; but no restaurants have been prosecuted for breach of B/L 20. Meanwhile the health staff will continue with surveillance over the use of wet towels in restaurants.

MR. STEPHEN M. L. LAU (in Cantonese):-Mr. Chairman, I would like to ask whether the By-laws stipulate that the restaurants must provide wet towels? If the restaurants decide not to provide wet towels, what other facilities will be available? What about the paper towel? Are there any regulations governing paper towels?

CHAIRMAN (in English):--This is a hypothetical question. Strictly speaking it is out of order, but you may try to attempt to answer if you like, Miss YEUNG.

MISS CECILIA L. Y. YEUNG (in Cantonese):—I can answer part of the question. The Urban Council does not require the restaurants to provide wet towels. As for the other questions, I am not going to answer them.

MR. MARVIN K. T. CHEUNG (in English):-I understand that there has been no prosecution for breach of By-law 20. Assuming the By-law 20 has been in existence for a period of time, can I ask whether or not the Council feels that this By-law is enforceable bearing in mind that it is probably very difficult to prove whether the napkins have been immersed in boiling liquid for thirty seconds or more.

MISS CECILIA L. Y. YEUNG (in Cantonese):-Mr. Chairman, in connection with the By-law, I think it is not difficult to ascertain whether they have breached the law or not because this can be detected quite easily. In fact, most of the restaurants are co-operative. As far as By-law 20 is concerned, nobody has breached that particular section. As regards whether people have immersed the towels into boiling water for a minute, it is of course difficult to ascertain. However, we can easily detect whether a towel is clean or not by looking at it.

MR. JOSEPH Y. S. CHAN (in Cantonese):-Mr. Chairman, I patronize restaurants quite often and I use their wet towels. Sometimes the towels are put inside a plastic bag and at one time I opened it, there was a lot of unpleasant stuff. I know there are