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SCMP Reporter

Q What do you think of the LCSD's handling of the worm problem?

The Leisure and Cultural Services Department  is not doing enough  to cope with the problem of bloodworms.

Investigation into the problem should have started as soon as  the worms were discovered. However, prevention is nowhere to be seen.

If I were a member of the LCSD, I would collect water samples from every  public swimming pool to check the quality of water.

I would also ask lifeguards to check the water in swimming pools between every session.

I hope the LCSD will take some hygiene measures to stop the problem spreading to other  public pools.

Fung Wai-chung, Homantin

I would like to join professor Richard Cheung Yun-hing     of the City University in criticising the excess media coverage of the bloodworm problem.

Hong Kong is not an aseptic hospital. Have you ever lived in a country house? How many small worms and animals do you see crawling around?

The local television stations presented this small issue as the first item on the  evening news, grotesque! Considering what is happening in the world - bombs in Israel, kidnappings in Russia, famine and murder in Nigeria.

No way, it has to be the bloodworms in the swimming pools here in Hong Kong!

This shows clearly that part of the damage suffered by this city during Sars was self-inflicted.

Angelo Paratico, Mid-Levels

Can you imagine swimming with  worms? I think it's  disgusting.

I believe the LCSD should take most of the blame. It is responsible for checking everything in the public swimming pools. When there is a problem, it should solve it immediately, not wait.

The current crisis has made the public worried about the sanitation of public swimming pools and even the performance of the LCSD.

Even if the problem is resolved soon, I think the LCSD still has lots of work to do to restore public confidence in pool management.

Nini Cheng Ka Ngai,  Tai Po

Public relations, managing the media and controlling the messages you want to send out is part and parcel of any modern, transparent government.

When people blame the media for exaggerating a problem, such as the bloodworm outbreak, it just shows the LCSD can't get its act together in managing a basically minor crisis.

It has now blown into a political crisis and some heads at the department will roll, all because they have no conception of crisis management, or how to restore public confidence.

Name and address supplied

We are really disappointed with the LCSD's handling of the worm problem.  As citizens, we have the right to know the details  so that we can understand what is going on. Also, so that we can decide whether to go swimming or not. This is why the LCSD should not have concealed the truth.

Food and Environmental Hygiene Department officials found evidence that some swimming pools are good places for mosquitoes to breed.  Why did the LCSD deny this? The two departments have really confused the public.

Flora Leung Yuen-for, Lam Tin

Q Have you had a bad experience with a taxi driver?

Last week, I went to  Tsim Sha Tsui East.  I work  in Tsim Sha Tsui near the Star Ferry/Ocean Terminal. I took a taxi from the  Star Ferry and  to Tsim Sha Tsui East.

I checked to make sure the taxi line was not too long, because it's a short trip; I would hate to learn that the taxi driver had waited for an hour to get a short trip costing only $15.

That day, there was no line and a taxi drove  up  to pick me up.

The  driver did not say anything  when he heard  I wanted to  go to Tsim Sha Tsui East. And that day, I had  the exact change for the fare. I gave him all my coins, the meter said  $17.40, and I gave him  $17.80.

The  driver took my money when I got out, and  then rolled down the window and threw something out. I saw his face,  he just gave me that attitude look.

He  did not say  a word when I said thank you and got out of the taxi.

After he drove  off, I wondered what he had thrown out the window, and why he was giving me that look  when I got out. I looked at the road  and  found  80 cents.

The taxi driver had thrown my money out of the window.

What kind of attitude is that?   If everybody gave me 10 cents  each time they paid me, I wouldn't mind.

I am sure the bus companies are very happy when people give  them  extra change.

And I am sure Rome was not built in a day. Li Ka-shing did not get rich in one day. I feel very sorry for this taxi driver.

Name and address supplied

Q Do you think hospitals should provide interpreters?

In an ideal world, it would be nice  if hospitals had enough resources to employ staff who  spoke several  languages. But that is entirely unrealistic.

It should be the responsibility of the people seeking medical care to communicate with  hospital staff either in Cantonese or English.

If they  can't speak Hong Kong's primary and secondary languages, bring a friend who can. A hospital's role is to provide  medical care to those seeking it. Otherwise, what's next, someone who can speak Eskimo?

Patrick Lam, Lamma Island

On other matters...

I would like to make a clarification in connection with the story  headlined 'Ah Chi's misery tip of iceberg' that appeared  on August 30.

Uptown Plaza was completed in 1990 and it was designed in accordance with the Buildings Ordinance and other applicable regulations in force at the time.

As in the case of most private residential estates in Hong Kong, the units in Uptown Plaza are owned privately and individually, and an incorporated owners committee oversees the estate.

It is  managed by the Hong Yip Service Company Limited,  under the direction of the incorporated owners. Hong Yip is a subsidiary of Sun Hung Kai Properties.

We are aware of Ah Chi's situation and have previously brought the matter to the attention of the incorporated owners.

We have also put forward four options to assist Ah Chi, to facilitate discussion among the owners.

The owners held an extraordinary general meeting in  December  2002, where it was resolved to build a movable ramp to assist Ah Chi.

The option of building a permanent ramp was not agreed by a considerable majority of owners - 87 per cent of the undivided shares of the owners who attended the meeting.

As such, it should be kept in mind that this is a decision of the owners as a whole, and Hong Yip has no authority to overrule it.

Nevertheless, our management  has been  very conscious of Ah Chi's  needs. They have helped  Ah Chi and will continue to assist him whenever he wishes to leave the building or encounters other access difficulties.

Sun Hung Kai Properties  and its subsidiaries are committed to offering  residents the finest service.

The developer's new projects fully comply with the latest accessibility regulations.

Hong Yip has been working closely with the owners of the estates to improve access facilities wherever possible, and our staff  have been doing  all that they can to assist in older estates where facilities are not available for one reason or another.

In the meantime, Ah Chi is most welcome to contact us if we can be of any further assistance, or if he can suggest some  options.

Kitty Lee, assistant general manager, Hong Yip Service  Company Ltd

We would like to thank your reader  Andy Lau for his comments published on August 30,   regarding the MTR's station improvement programme.

Responding to passenger needs, station concourses have been  modernised and upgraded to provide passengers with a more comfortable travelling environment while offering them greater convenience through a wider variety of shops.

As a matter of fact, the new  layout of some station concourses, where  ticket machines have been relocated, is aimed at improving passenger flows in and out of the station.

Shops operating within stations are given guidelines on how to deliver and store goods to ensure safety and prevent inconvenience to passengers.

We note Mr Lau's comments on the activities of some shops that may contravene the guidelines and have asked our station staff to monitor the situation more closely.

We wish to assure Mr Lau that safety would never be compromised under any circumstances in the MTR.

Operating a safe, efficient and reliable railway service is always the MTR Corporation's top priority and the company is proud to be recognised as one of the safest urban metros in the world that is maintained to the highest industry standards.

Miranda Leung, general manager (corporate relations), MTR Corporation



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