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Following is a question by the Hon TSANG Yok-sing and a written reply by the Secretary for Transport and Housing, Ms Eva CHENG, in the Legislative Council today (January 23):
Question:
It has been reported that the water in some pools inside the leisure parks managed by the Housing Department or the Leisure and Cultural Services Department is over 50 centimetres ("cm") deep and the water in one pool is even 90 cm deep. It has also been reported that there are hidden corners, lighting facilities are insufficient and there are no fences around some of the pools. In this connection, will the Government inform this Council:
(a) in the past three years, of the number of cases of members of the public accidentally falling into the pools of the above leisure parks and the number of casualties involved;
(b) whether it has measures to prevent members of the public (especially children) from falling into such pools accidentally; if it has, of the details of the relevant measures; if not, whether it will review if it is necessary to take measures to prevent such accidents; and
(c) of the criteria and guidelines for designing such pools adopted by government departments or contractors responsible for building them; and whether the Government will, focusing on the hazards posed by such pools to members of the public, review the relevant standards and guidelines?
Reply
Madam President,
My reply is as follows:
(a) In November 2007, an accident occurred in the Housing Authority (HA)'s Butterfly Estate where a child fell into a pool. The child was hospitalised but subsequently pronounced death. The Coroner has been provided with the relevant information of the case and is considering whether an inquest is required. According to the HA's records, there have been no other accidents of this type in the HA's housing estates in the past.
In the past three years, there has been one case of injury occurring in the pools in the Leisure and Cultural Service Department (LCSD)'s parks. The incident occurred in Tuen Mun Park in January 2005 when a visitor disregarded the warning sign, went past the kerbs and flower beds of the ornamental lake to wash his hands at the lakeside, and fell into the water accidentally. He sustained a minor injury.
(b) To prevent accidents, the HA has installed sufficient lighting facilities and put up safety warning signs at conspicuous spots near the pools in its public rental housing estates for residents' attention. After the accident in Butterfly Estate, the Housing Department suspended the operation of all the pools in its public rental housing estates immediately and drained away the water to review whether the safety measures for the pools were adequate. The Housing Department has completed the review and found all the pools safe. Most of the pools have now been reopened. We are also taking this opportunity to consult the Estate Management Advisory Committees on whether some of these pools should be converted into other more suitable estate facilities. In addition, the Housing Department has reminded its management staff to pay increased attention to the surrounding environment of the pools during patrols in order to prevent accidents.
The LCSD will also put up pool-side fences where necessary to prevent visitors from accidentally falling into the pools, as well as safety warning signs for visitors' attention.
(c) The HA has in place a set of internal guidelines on the design of new pools. The guidelines set out the requirements on the depth of pools, pool-side lighting, and the provision of pool-side fences where necessary. The HA will review the design guidelines regularly to keep up with the times to ensure that the facilities will not pose any danger to residents.
Park facilities (including pools) under the LCSD are planned having regard to the overall design of the parks. The Architectural Services Department designs such facilities with reference to the LCSD's project scope and the prevailing building-related legislation. The departments concerned will carefully design all the facilities, in particular the depth and the shape of pools, to ensure that they would not pose any danger to park visitors. The LCSD will adopt shallow-water design for new ornamental pools as far as possible.
Ends/Wednesday, January 23, 2008
Issued at HKT 13:00
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