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Following is a question by the Hon Albert Chan and a written reply by the Secretary for Food and Health, Dr York Chow, in the Legislative Council today (October 24):
Question:
Recently, some members of the public have reflected to me that larvae of mosquitoes had been found breeding in a public housing estate, and the Government had prosecuted, under sections 27(3A) and 150 of the Public Health and Municipal Services Ordinance (Cap. 132), the person in charge of the cleansing company responsible for the estate's cleansing work for failure to properly remove the accumulation of water. However, the Government had failed to properly deal with the problem of mosquitoes breeding on vacant government land, while the problem on deserted farmland owned by land developers is also very serious. In this connection, will the Government inform this Council, in the past three years:
(a) of the number of prosecutions instituted under the above legal provisions each year and, among such prosecutions, the respective numbers of cases involving land owners, property management companies and cleansing companies; and
(b) whether it had instituted prosecutions in relation to the breeding of mosquitoes found on vacant government land as well as private and deserted farmland respectively; if so, of the details; if not, the reasons for that?
Reply:
Madam President,
(a) Section 27 of the Public Health and Municipal Services Ordinance (the Ordinance) as amended by the Public Health and Municipal Services (Amendment) Ordinance 2006 is designed to encourage private property owners and their property management companies as well as contractors of building sites to take appropriate actions (including removal of accumulated water and any articles that may cause accumulation of water) for the prevention of mosquito breeding. The Ordinance also empowers the Food and Environmental Hygiene Department (FEHD) to institute prosecution against defaulted persons or organisations.
The FEHD will conduct inspections of mosquito breeding blackspots from time to time and pay special visits in response to complaints. Where accumulation of water conducive to mosquito-breeding is found on the premises, the FEHD will, as its standard practice, first advise the owner or the property management company to remove the accumulated water and other articles capable of causing accumulation of water. In cases of more severe mosquito breeding in premises or refusal by the relevant parties to comply with the FEHD's advice, the FEHD will institute prosecution, and take immediate mosquito control actions on the spot and recover the costs from the parties concerned afterwards in cases where the mosquito breeding problem is serious.
The amended Ordinance came into effect on May 12, 2006. As at September 30, 2007, a total of 79 prosecutions had been instituted by the FEHD under Sections 27(3A) and 150 of the Ordinance. The numbers of prosecutions involving land owners, property management companies and cleansing companies are as follows:
Number of Prosecutions
May 12, 2006 - September 30, 2007
Land Owners 3
Property Management Companies 66
Cleansing Companies 6
Others (e.g. Property Occupiers) 4
Total 79
(b) Mosquito control on government land is carried out by relevant government departments (including, among others, the FEHD; Leisure and Cultural Services Department; Agriculture, Fisheries and Conservation Department; and Housing Department) under their respective jurisdictions. The FEHD is responsible for mosquito control in general public areas. As for unallocated government land, the Lands Department will carry out mosquito control by cutting grass and spraying mosquito larvicidal oil.
If the FEHD finds potential mosquito breeding in places under the jurisdiction of other department(s), it will inform the department(s) concerned of the situation and request the latter to take immediate follow-up action. The FEHD will provide professional advice and technical support if and when necessary.
In addition, District Anti-mosquito Task Forces set up across the territory and chaired by the District Officers concerned will coordinate mosquito control efforts of relevant government departments, school management authorities, management bodies of residential buildings and private organisations, so as to better mosquito control efforts in their respective districts.
As regards farmland, mosquito control on farmland is the responsibility of its occupiers or owners as with other private properties and land. As stated above, where accumulation of water conducive to mosquito-breeding is found on the premises, the FEHD will, as its standard practice, first advise the owner or the property management company to remove the accumulated water and other articles capable of causing accumulation of water. Farmland occupiers or owners are usually receptive to the FEHD's advice and carry out anti-mosquito measures as soon as possible. For this reason, no prosecution against mosquito breeding on farmland had been instituted by the FEHD in the past three years. Nevertheless, in the event that the occupiers or owners in question fail to comply with the FEHD's advice, the FEHD will consider prosecution.
Ends/Wednesday, October 24, 2007
Issued at HKT 15:07
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