AN INQUEST jury's call last month for tougher safety standards at public swimming pools after the death of a seven-year-old last summer has been snubbed by the Urban Services Department (USD).
The inquest into Yeung Jun-ming's drowning in a crowded Kowloon Park outdoor pool recommended the creation of a panel to work out regulations for parks, pools and other USD facilities.
But the department has rejected the call for new rules. A spokeswoman said: ''There was no need to follow the jury's recommendation,'' and that the USD ''should not react to one incident''.
''After receiving the one-page report on the [inquest's] recommendations we did an internal review. We discussed existing practice on the management of pools . . . we did not set up a panel,'' she said.
The council conducted a detailed review of the management of pools in 1985, which concluded the USD's safety standards were adequate.
The USD has since adopted a standard stipulating a temporary and a permanent lifeguard are responsible for up to 100 and 150 swimmers respectively.