Companies fined for mosquito breaches

Three construction companies were fined a total of $14,500 yesterday when they pleaded guilty to allowing mosquitoes to breed on their building sites.

At Tsuen Wan Court, Chinese Resources Construction Company Ltd was fined $4,000 for the offence committed on July 4 at its site in Tsing King Road on Tsing Yi Island.

Bordon Construction Company Ltd, which committed the offence at its site in Tsuen Wan the following day, was fined $5,500, while the Fong On Construction and Engineering Company was fined $5,000 for an offence committed on July 12.

The Food and Environmental Hygiene Department, which uncovered the offences during routine inspections, said increased inspections of construction sites would continue in an effort to halt the spread of dengue fever.

Companies would receive no prior warnings of inspections, a spokesman said.

Since September 23, the department has conducted more than 1,630 inspections at construction sites throughout the territory, resulting in 113 prosecutions.