Housing Department chiefs could find themselves in a row with Tung Chee-hwa unless they can explain why improvements suggested by the Ombudsman have not been implemented.
The watchdog body criticised the department in March after complaints that the routing of a salt-water piping system was a potential safety hazard.
But after more than two months, the list of recommendations to solve the problem - which could affect up to 6,000 Home Ownership Scheme flats - had been largely ignored, the Ombudsman said.
'The Housing Department has to give us an acceptable explanation for not implementing our recommendation, otherwise we will report to the Chief Executive,' said Ombudsman spokesman Alan Lam Man-ming.
About 40 households in the scheme's Kwong Ming Court, Tseung Kwan O, have complained that the design of a communal salt-water pipe, running from the corridor through the kitchen ceiling of their flats to the external wall, was not shown in the sales brochure.
'We are worried that if the pipe bursts it will jeopardise the safety of our families and damage our property,' said Yuen Yu-tin, a flat-owners' representative.
