Drug surveillance 'should be improved'
The Health Department should step up surveillance of Western and Chinese drug firms, the Director of Audit urged in two reports. As of June, 330 wholesalers and 106 importers or exporters of Western medicine had not been inspected for at least a year, and five wholesalers were not inspected for more than five years. To avoid unregistered drugs becoming available for sale in Hong Kong, the department should also set up a tracking system for imported drugs used for re-export. Drug samples were stored in the department for up to 303 days before being taken to the government lab for testing, the report showed.
Warning for traffic forecasts
The Civil Engineering and Development Department was warned to be more careful with traffic forecasts after the traffic flow on a bypass in Tuen Mun West was overestimated by nearly 100 per cent. The audit report also said that Lung Fu Road - designed to accommodate up to 2,800 vehicles an hour - did not need such a high capacity because it was mostly used by trucks.
Account delay rapped
The Audit Commission found that the Leisure and Cultural Services Department took an average of a year and five months to inspect an audit account submitted by a sports body it funded. The commission also criticised the department for not being diligent enough to press sports bodies to submit their financial reports and statements, which were delayed by an average of 2.8 months.
