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Following is a question by the Dr Hon Priscilla Leung and a reply by the Secretary for Food and Health, Dr York Chow, in the Legislative Council today (December 10):
Question:
I have received a number of complaints in recent months alleging that the continuous expansion of the funeral and related trades in Hung Hom over the last few years has affected the environmental hygiene, property prices and business development of the district. The owners' corporation of a building which sought assistance from the District Council pointed out that the owners of a row of shops on the ground floor of that building had let their shops for the operation of funeral parlours, oblivious to the objection of 99% of the occupants of the building. In this connection, will the Government inform this Council of:
(a) the number of complaints received by the authorities in the past three years about the nuisance caused by the operation of funeral parlours to residents in the neighbourhood, the main subjects of such complaints and how the authorities dealt with the complaints; and
(b) the licensing procedure for the operation of funeral and related businesses, as well as the relevant details, including the government departments involved, whether the psychological impact on the residents nearby and funeral affairs being a taboo subject of Chinese people are considerations for the issuance of licences, as well as whether the authorities would consult the residents nearby before issuing such licences; if they would, how they deal with the residents' objection; if not, of the reasons for that and whether they will consider conducting consultation before issuing such licences?
Reply:
President,
(a) As regards the Hung Hom District, the Food and Environmental Hygiene Department (FEHD), the Kowloon City District Office (KCDO) and the Planning Department (PlanD) received a total of 39 complaints about the funeral business over the past three years. As a person might complain to different departments in tandem, some cases might have been double-counted. These complaints mainly concern objections against operation of funeral business in buildings or requests for tighter regulation of the funeral trade and related businesses. Others are about street obstruction caused by coffins and paper-made sacrificial articles, smoke nuisance and potential fire risk caused by burning joss paper, and suspected contravention of the land lease etc..
Government departments will take appropriate follow-up actions upon receipt of a complaint. KCDO will refer complaints to relevant departments for follow-up. PlanD will handle issues regarding land use planning and respond to the complainants. Upon receipt of a complaint, FEHD officers will carry out investigation as soon as possible. If the complaint also involves other government departments (e.g. the Environmental Protection Department and the Fire Services Department), FEHD will refer the case to them for joint follow-up actions.
If any person causes environmental hygiene nuisance, FEHD may issue a Nuisance Notice to the person for removing such nuisance within a specified period of time under Section 12 of the Public Health and Municipal Services Ordinance (Cap. 132). Where the complaint is made against a licensed funeral parlour or undertaker of burials for breach of law or licensing conditions, FEHD will take appropriate action against the licensee under the relevant legislation or licensing conditions if the complaint is found to be substantiated. Such actions include warning and prosecution or, in serious cases, cancellation of licence. Where necessary, the government departments concerned will exercise the powers under the relevant legislations to inspect premises of funeral business and take appropriate enforcement actions.
(b) Under the Public Health and Municipal Services Ordinance (Cap 132), anyone who wishes to carry on the business of a funeral parlour or as an undertaker of burials shall first obtain a licence issued by FEHD. According to standing procedures, FEHD will consult the relevant District Office and the Lands Department (LandsD) upon receipt of an application.
Taking the Hung Hom district as an example, KCDO will conduct local consultations, covering the local district council members as well as district organisations, institutions and residents of buildings located within 100 meters of the premises under application for licence. As far as the residents are concerned, they will be consulted through owners' corporations, mutual aid committees or management companies of their buildings. The District Office will also issue consultation letters directly to individual residents living in buildings without any residents' organisations. As for LandsD, it will ascertain whether the application is permissible under the conditions of the Government lease. If FEHD is aware of any comments from residents on the application, it will also consult relevant Government departments, for example, PlanD, with reference to comments received. If no objection is received from the relevant departments, FEHD will issue a Letter of Requirement to the applicant. A licence will be issued to the applicant upon his/her compliance with all the licensing conditions.
FEHD will, after taking into account advice from the departments concerned and the views of residents collected by the relevant District Office, decide whether or not to grant a licence and whether to impose specific licensing conditions to regulate the business activities conducted under the licence. For instance, coffins should not be kept in the premises for display, storage or any other purposes. Signboards of the funeral parlour should not contain any reference to and/or any description suggestive of funeral services. The imposition of specific licensing conditions aims to minimise psychological impact on the residents as far as possible while allowing the applicants to operate within the law.
Ends/Wednesday, December 10, 2008
Issued at HKT 16:47
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