A chicken seller's tenancy at a market stall has been terminated after he was found to have violated rest day conditions.
The decision by the Food and Environmental Hygiene Department yesterday was the first time a tenancy has been terminated over rest day violations, an indication the government is determined to implement strict rules on hygiene.
During an inspection of poultry stalls at Ngau Tau Kok Market last night, officers found 51 live chickens at stall NoP8. The stall was unattended.
Rest day conditions require that retailers slaughter all live poultry remaining on their premises before the rest day, when businesses must give their premises a thorough cleaning.
Officials yesterday reminded sellers that failure to comply with the conditions would result in immediate termination of stall tenancies and cancellation of fresh provision shop licences.
Meanwhile, authorities on the mainland are ready to export chickens to Hong Kong to ease the imminent shortage of poultry supplies in local farms, said legislator Wong Yung-kan, who returned from Beijing on Wednesday.