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Following is a question by the Dr Hon Chiang Lai-wan and a written reply by the Secretary for Food and Health, Dr Ko Wing-man, in the Legislative Council today (July 17):
Question:
The temperature in Hong Kong has continued to rise since June and the Hong Kong Observatory has issued Very Hot Weather Warnings for several consecutive days. Quite a number of members of the public keep their air-conditioners running for long periods of time to relieve the heat, but this may also cause the problem of water dripping from air-conditioners at the same time. Recently, my office has received quite a number of complaints about water dripping from air-conditioners. As the condensation drain pipes for air-conditioners installed at the external walls of some buildings have ruptured due to the lack of maintenance, and some air-conditioners are not provided with drain pipes at all, condensation water from air-conditioners falls like raindrops, and passers-by have to dodge such water drips. Moreover, pavements have been made slippery by the dripping water, which may easily cause accidents of passers-by slipping and falling. In this connection, will the Government inform this Council:
(a) of the respective numbers of complaints received, Nuisance Notices issued and prosecutions instituted by the authorities in each of the past 10 years about water dripping from air-conditioners;
(b) of the normal time gap between the receipt of a complaint and a site inspection conducted by the authorities; given that most complaints were lodged by members of the public who found water dripping from air-conditioners after they had returned home from work at night-time, whether the authorities will deploy staff to conduct investigations at night-time; if they will not, how the authorities adduce relevant evidence, as well as investigate and verify whether the complaints are substantiated;
(c) whether the authorities will deploy staff to carry out surprise inspections at individual black spots of water dripping from air-conditioners; if they will, of the details; if not, the reasons for that; when no improvement has been made to the problem of water dripping at those black spots, of the way in which the authorities will tackle the problem;
(d) whether the authorities will consider accepting other means of adducing evidence to expedite the procedure for handling complaints about water dripping from air-conditioners (e.g. using the video images provided by building management offices or the complainants); if they will, of the details; if not, the reasons for that; and
(e) given that under the Public Health and Municipal Services Ordinance (Cap. 132), any person who fails to comply with the requirements of a Nuisance Notice within the period specified therein is guilty of an offence and liable to a maximum fine of $10,000 and a daily fine of $200, of the number of days normally given by the authorities to a complainee to make the necessary improvements; regarding complaint cases in which the requirements of such notices have not been complied with within the specified period, how members of the public can lodge follow-up complaints?
Reply:
President,
My reply to the various parts of the question is as follows:
(a) The number of complaints received about water dripping from air-conditioners and the number of nuisance notices issued by the Food and Environmental Hygiene Department (FEHD) from 2004 to 2013 (up to May 31) are set out in the table below:
Year No. of Complaints No. of nuisance
notices issued
2004 10 116 304
2005 10 648 308
2006 11 736 395
2007 12 848 266
2008 13 363 299
2009 17 710 517
2010 18 508 490
2011 17 486 486
2012 20 092 631
2013 3 408 26
(up to May 31)
Total 135 915 3 722
In most cases, as and when FEHD issues a rectification request or nuisance notice after investigation, the flat owners or occupants concerned would rectify the water dripping problem on their own accord. Where such is the case, prosecution action is not required. In the past ten years, there were one and two cases of prosecution in 2010 and 2011 respectively.
(b) In general, FEHD will conduct investigations within six working days and issue a reply to the complainant within ten days upon receipt of a complaint. On the basis of the time cited by the complainant, FEHD would conduct site inspections, during different hours of the day including early morning and late evening, to identify the source of nuisance. When the source of nuisance is identified, FEHD will request the owner/occupant concerned to rectify the problem within three days. If the nuisance is not abated in time, a nuisance notice will be issued requiring the owner/occupier concerned to abate the nuisance within a specified period, or risk prosecution by FEHD.
(c) FEHD has all along been vigilant about the nuisance caused by water dripping from air-conditioners. Apart from handling complaints, FEHD conducts special inspections for dripping air-conditioners at black spots with heavy pedestrian flow (such as roadside bus stops, public light bus stands and pedestrian crossings) during different hours of the day including early morning and late evening. In 2012 and the first five months of 2013, FEHD has carried out 510 and 172 special inspections respectively and issued 266 nuisance notices.
(d) Upon receiving a complaint, FEHD officers will conduct site inspections to identify the source of nuisance. If the building management offices or complainants provide relevant information such as videos or photographs, the same will be used as a reference when gathering evidence.
Since the problem of dripping air-conditioners could be resolved, in most cases, through co-operation among neighbours and simple repair works, FEHD initiated in 2005 a scheme that encourages "Participation by Property Management Agents in Tackling Dripping Air-conditioners" (the Scheme). The Scheme was set up with a view to handling complaints about dripping air-conditioners in private housing estates during the summer season with the assistance of the respective property management agents (PMAs). Under the Scheme, the participating PMAs will, in the course of performing routine management duties in the housing estate, help identify the source of water dripping and advise the occupier concerned to rectify the problem. If the PMAs fail to resolve the complaints, FEHD will take up the cases accordingly.
FEHD will continue to roll out the Scheme this summer. Currently, 22 PMAs covering 53 private housing estates participated in the Scheme.
Preventing or resolving the problem of dripping air-conditioners is not difficult. In order to raise public awareness, FEHD disseminates relevant messages in the summer through releasing Announcements in the Public Interest on television and radio, and distributing posters and leaflets to owners' corporations, mutual aid committees, property management companies of buildings and members of the public.
(e) If, upon investigation, FEHD identifies the source of nuisance being caused by water dripping from air-conditioners, FEHD may issue a nuisance notice to the person causing the nuisance/owner of the relevant premises under section 127 of the Public Health and Municipal Services Ordinance (Cap. 132), requiring him to abate the nuisance within a specified period (normally three days). Should he fail to comply with the requirements stated in the nuisance notice, he may be prosecuted. Upon conviction, the offender is liable to a maximum penalty of $10,000 and a daily fine of $200 should the offence persist.
Where any person has been convicted of the above offence, should the nuisance which gives rise to the offence continue to exist, FEHD may apply to the court for a nuisance order requiring the person concerned to comply with the requirement within a certain period. Failure to comply with the requirement of the nuisance order may lead to prosecution. Upon conviction, the offender is liable to a maximum penalty of $25,000 and a daily fine of $450 should the offence persist.
Ends/Wednesday, July 17, 2013
Issued at HKT 15:10
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