https://www.scmp.com/rss/319935/feed A number of Hong Kong's housing estates found themselves at the centre of a tainted water scandal after tests commissioned by the Democratic Party in June 2015 showed that samples taken from tap water in Kai Ching Estate in Kowloon City contained amounts of lead exceeding WHO standards. Subsequent tests by the government showed water samples from at least two other public estates, in Kwai Chung and Sha Tin, also contained excessive lead. en https://assets.i-scmp.com/static/img/icons/scmp-meta-1200x630.png https://www.scmp.com Alice Wu Alice Wu It is quite unimaginable that Hong Kong continues to struggle with basic necessities such as water. However, that is the case, at least when it comes to the government. Ten years ago, opposition lawmaker Helena Wong Pik-wan found excessive levels of lead in drinking water that was later discovered to have affected 11 public housing estates, involving 29,000 households. That led to an independent, judge-led inquiry in 2016. The investigation yielded 17 recommendations, including for the water... https://www.scmp.com/opinion/hong-kong-opinion/article/3322960/water-scandal-another-blow-public-trust-hong-kong-government?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/opinion/hong-kong-opinion/article/3322960/water-scandal-another-blow-public-trust-hong-kong-government?utm_source=rss_feed Mon, 25 Aug 2025 01:30:09 +0000 The Legislative Council election feels a little surreal and we’re more than halfway into the nomination period, which ends this Friday. Only 15 applicants filed papers on the first day – less than half the number usually seen in previous Legco elections – and there are more seats up for grabs. Beijing would reportedly like to see competition, and is adamant about not having walkovers. It’s just that the competition shouldn’t get too fierce – at least, not in the open. But securing nominations is... https://www.scmp.com/comment/opinion/article/3154972/hong-kong-prepares-legco-polls-lesson-lead-water-scandal?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/comment/opinion/article/3154972/hong-kong-prepares-legco-polls-lesson-lead-water-scandal?utm_source=rss_feed Sun, 07 Nov 2021 22:45:19 +0000 Drinking water at a commercial building in Wan Chai has been found to contain an excessive amount of lead, Hong Kong officials said on Wednesday. The discovery, which was revealed by the Water Supplies Department, was the first since a government monitoring programme was launched four years ago. Authorities have refused to identify the private building concerned. Announcing the weekly monitoring data for consumers’ taps under the Enhanced Water Quality Monitoring Programme, the department said... https://www.scmp.com/news/hong-kong/health-environment/article/3154752/drinking-water-hong-kong-building-found-contain?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/news/hong-kong/health-environment/article/3154752/drinking-water-hong-kong-building-found-contain?utm_source=rss_feed Wed, 03 Nov 2021 13:22:00 +0000 Two subcontractors accused of giving false evidence in an inquiry into tainted drinking water in Hong Kong public housing estates in 2015 have been acquitted after a judge accepted they may not have known the difference between leaded and lead-free solder at the time. Defendants Mok Hoi-kwong, of Wing Hing Plumbing Drainage, and Siu Kin-wong, of Hang Lee Engineering Company, were each cleared of one count of perjury in the District Court on Saturday in a case centred on the accounts they gave... https://www.scmp.com/news/hong-kong/law-and-crime/article/3129041/hong-kong-subcontractors-cleared-perjury-charge-linked?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/news/hong-kong/law-and-crime/article/3129041/hong-kong-subcontractors-cleared-perjury-charge-linked?utm_source=rss_feed Sat, 10 Apr 2021 09:12:07 +0000 After all the debate and publicity with regard to the government’s decision to take back some of the Hong Kong Golf Club land for public housing, there hasn’t been any debate or consideration given to the large amount of land owned by the People’s Liberation Army that is not being used to its fullest potential. The government has also avoided any debate, public consultation or pressure on the Heung Yee Kuk, which controls much of the land in the New Territories that could be made available for... https://www.scmp.com/comment/letters/article/2187863/why-taking-back-land-hong-kong-golf-club-housing-red-herring?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/comment/letters/article/2187863/why-taking-back-land-hong-kong-golf-club-housing-red-herring?utm_source=rss_feed Thu, 28 Feb 2019 00:16:14 +0000 Hongkongers should watch out for shady door-to-door salesmen peddling expensive water purifiers bearing dubious promises such as disease prevention and hair smoothening, the city’s consumer watchdog warned. The Consumer Council said it had received a string of complaints involving such sales in recent years, with at least one case involving a customer conned into buying a HK$33,000 (US$4,200) “electrolyte water apparatus” capable of ridding vegetables of pesticides. The watchdog believed the... https://www.scmp.com/news/hong-kong/health-environment/article/2168683/beware-door-door-salesmen-hong-kong-selling?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/news/hong-kong/health-environment/article/2168683/beware-door-door-salesmen-hong-kong-selling?utm_source=rss_feed Mon, 15 Oct 2018 23:03:35 +0000 Even the most advanced societies cannot avoid policy mishaps and, from time to time, health scares of various kinds. When the two are linked together, the consequences can be serious, as was seen with the city’s tainted-water scandal in 2015. What matters most is that the government swiftly bring the situation under control, discipline those responsible, learn the lesson and avoid repeating the problem. But three years on and it seems Hong Kong officials are still struggling to put the bitter... https://www.scmp.com/comment/insight-opinion/article/2156227/put-all-tap-water-safeguards-place?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/comment/insight-opinion/article/2156227/put-all-tap-water-safeguards-place?utm_source=rss_feed Fri, 20 Jul 2018 13:55:58 +0000 The prospect of lead contamination in Hong Kong drinking water reared its ugly head again on Thursday after samples from a new public housing estate were found to contain excessive levels of the heavy metal. But water from two of the four flats involved was later certified safe by the government after separate tests showed levels to be within limits. Democratic Party lawmaker Helena Wong Pik-wan called for a truly independent water quality watchdog. On Wednesday her party revealed that tests on... https://www.scmp.com/news/hong-kong/health-environment/article/2155910/excessive-lead-levels-found-tap-water-new-hong?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/news/hong-kong/health-environment/article/2155910/excessive-lead-levels-found-tap-water-new-hong?utm_source=rss_feed Thu, 19 Jul 2018 01:15:15 +0000 Hong Kong’s former transport chief Anthony Cheung Bing-leung has revealed that he had twice considered resigning amid delays and budget overruns at the contentious HK$84.4 billion cross-border high-speed rail link. In an interview with the Post about major controversies faced by the last government, Cheung, the former secretary for transport and housing, also said that it was civil servants, rather than a Democratic Party lawmaker as widely believed, who brought a lead-in-water scandal into... https://www.scmp.com/news/hong-kong/politics/article/2154509/former-hong-kong-minister-anthony-cheung-reveals-he-twice?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/news/hong-kong/politics/article/2154509/former-hong-kong-minister-anthony-cheung-reveals-he-twice?utm_source=rss_feed Tue, 10 Jul 2018 01:34:28 +0000 Hong Kong scientists have invented a portable device that can detect even small amounts of lead in water in just 10 minutes, and want to see it used across the city, recently hit by a series of drinking water scares. The research team from Baptist University said on Tuesday the device could detect 2 micrograms of lead per litre of water, even though the World Health Organisation and the Hong Kong government say up to 10mcg/l is acceptable. The limit is 50mcg/l on mainland China. Hong Kong... https://www.scmp.com/news/hong-kong/health-environment/article/2146223/hong-kong-baptist-university-scientists-herald?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/news/hong-kong/health-environment/article/2146223/hong-kong-baptist-university-scientists-herald?utm_source=rss_feed Tue, 15 May 2018 09:05:57 +0000 Fears of another Hong Kong water scare were ignited on Tuesday after lead and other toxic heavy metals were found in tap water at a public housing estate in Shau Kei Wan. Members of the opposition Democratic Party tested the drinking water from taps in eight households in Oi Tung Estate after residents complained of foul-smelling water and skin conditions after showering. “I do not know if it is the water but I feel itchy every time I shower,” said a woman who gave her surname as Cheng, 95, who... https://www.scmp.com/news/hong-kong/health-environment/article/2122992/fears-second-hong-kong-water-scare-heavy-metals?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/news/hong-kong/health-environment/article/2122992/fears-second-hong-kong-water-scare-heavy-metals?utm_source=rss_feed Tue, 05 Dec 2017 09:49:41 +0000 Nothing is more important to the government than the well-being of its people. Two years after 11 public housing estates were hit by the “lead-in-water” scandal, Hong Kong officials still owe the public an answer on whether our tap water is safe to drink. That affected residents are still fetching water from outdoor communal pipes today shows the health scare is far from over. What you should know about Hong Kong’s new drinking water regulations It is good that people’s worries have not been... https://www.scmp.com/comment/insight-opinion/article/2114045/hong-kong-public-left-wait-safety-tap-water?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/comment/insight-opinion/article/2114045/hong-kong-public-left-wait-safety-tap-water?utm_source=rss_feed Wed, 04 Oct 2017 19:40:31 +0000 Changes to how Hong Kong monitors and tests its drinking water were announced on Thursday, including a new approach to tap water sampling, testing for heavy metals and standards that go beyond guidelines set by the World Health Organisation. 1) What prompted the government to work out new measures to tighten water safety checks and implement a stronger regulatory framework? The move was prompted by the lead contamination scandal in July 2015, when water samples from 11 public housing estates... https://www.scmp.com/news/hong-kong/health-environment/article/2112321/what-you-should-know-about-hong-kongs-new-drinking?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/news/hong-kong/health-environment/article/2112321/what-you-should-know-about-hong-kongs-new-drinking?utm_source=rss_feed Fri, 22 Sep 2017 03:45:30 +0000 The government’s action plan for enhancing drinking water safety in Hong Kong fails to tackle head-on the root of the tainted water scandal that hit the city two years ago, a lawmaker has argued, while the official overseeing the supply counters it can still detect metal contamination. Democratic Party lawmaker Helena Wong Pik-wan insisted “first draw” water samples should be collected for testing to find out whether plumbing materials were tainted or not. What you should know about Hong Kong’s... https://www.scmp.com/news/hong-kong/health-environment/article/2112281/lawmaker-hits-out-governments-tainted-water-action?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/news/hong-kong/health-environment/article/2112281/lawmaker-hits-out-governments-tainted-water-action?utm_source=rss_feed Thu, 21 Sep 2017 13:30:15 +0000 Hong Kong has launched a comprehensive safety overhaul of its drinking water and is seeking to adopt standards beyond guidelines set by the World Health Organisation after learning a bitter lesson from a lead contamination scandal in 2015. A citywide action plan announced on Thursday will involve enhanced monitoring through a new approach to tap water sampling, testing for heavy metals, using collected data to adopt better standards, and stronger regulatory control of plumbing materials and... https://www.scmp.com/news/hong-kong/health-environment/article/2112262/monitoring-standards-hong-kongs-drinking-water?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/news/hong-kong/health-environment/article/2112262/monitoring-standards-hong-kongs-drinking-water?utm_source=rss_feed Thu, 21 Sep 2017 12:00:30 +0000 The scandal in which water supply for tens of thousands of public rental flats was tainted with lead has exposed serious flaws in the monitoring of public housing projects. Subsequent investigations by auditors and lawmakers found that the follow-up actions taken by the government after the 2015 crisis were also unsatisfactory. The performance falls short of what is expected of a responsible government. Hong Kong tainted water whistle-blower to spearhead battle for compensation for victims It is... https://www.scmp.com/comment/insight-opinion/article/2089060/hong-kong-officials-lack-crisis-management-skills?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/comment/insight-opinion/article/2089060/hong-kong-officials-lack-crisis-management-skills?utm_source=rss_feed Wed, 19 Apr 2017 19:50:26 +0000 Joyce Ng,Stuart Lau,Tony Cheung,Owen Fung Joyce Ng,Stuart Lau,Tony Cheung,Owen Fung Key points: > Two localist lawmakers who pledged loyalty to “the Hong Kong nation” and a third who inserted words into his oath had their oaths rejected, while four localist legislators either inserted their own remarks before or after their oaths as the city’s 70 lawmakers were sworn in at the first meeting of the new Legislative Council term > Pan-democrats and localists sought to defer the Legco presidential election for a week over a controversy surrounding the British nationality of Andrew... https://www.scmp.com/news/hong-kong/politics/article/2027319/all-eyes-hong-kong-localist-lawmakers-legco-oaths-first-day?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/news/hong-kong/politics/article/2027319/all-eyes-hong-kong-localist-lawmakers-legco-oaths-first-day?utm_source=rss_feed Wed, 12 Oct 2016 02:45:30 +0000 The chief secretary will lead a meeting with other heads of government departments to explore what can be learnt from the tainted water scare a year after excess lead was first found in public housing drinking water. Speaking at a special House Committee meeting at the Legislative Council on Monday, Carrie Lam Cheng Yuet-ngor took the initiative to brief lawmakers on the agenda of a heads-of-departments meeting scheduled later this month. Solder and collective failure to blame for Hong Kong... https://www.scmp.com/news/hong-kong/politics/article/1988553/government-lapses-tainted-water-scare-carrie-lam-concerned?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/news/hong-kong/politics/article/1988553/government-lapses-tainted-water-scare-carrie-lam-concerned?utm_source=rss_feed Tue, 12 Jul 2016 00:04:15 +0000 Further arrests over last year’s lead-in-water scandal are “possible”, sources told the Post on Thursday after police arrested two former directors from one of the plumbing subcontractors that installed water pipes in three affected housing estates. The move came as force insiders said other related plumbing subcontractors were under police investigation following referrals by the Department of Justice. CY Leung apologises to residents affected by lead-in-water scandal On Wednesday, two former... https://www.scmp.com/news/hong-kong/health-environment/article/1969939/further-hong-kong-arrests-possible-lead-water?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/news/hong-kong/health-environment/article/1969939/further-hong-kong-arrests-possible-lead-water?utm_source=rss_feed Wed, 08 Jun 2016 15:30:00 +0000 Chief Executive Leung Chun-ying has apologised for the distress caused to public estate residents affected by the last year’s lead-in-water scandal. These were his first remarks on a report released on last Tuesday by an independent investigative panel. Before he left for France on Monday night, Leung said: “We are very sorry. [It] affected many residents, who were distressed.” Hong Kong’s Water Supplies Department faces bulk of criticism in tainted-water report He said he and the government had... https://www.scmp.com/news/hong-kong/health-environment/article/1967902/cy-leung-apologises-residents-affected-lead-water?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/news/hong-kong/health-environment/article/1967902/cy-leung-apologises-residents-affected-lead-water?utm_source=rss_feed Tue, 07 Jun 2016 01:30:00 +0000 As an investigation panel blamed “a collective failure” involving the government and contractors for last year’s tainted water scandal, the Democratic Party is gearing up for a legal battle on behalf of affected residents to be spearheaded by the whistle-blower in the case, Helena Wong Pik-wan. Wong, the party lawmaker who first exposed the presence of excess lead in drinking water at an estate in Kowloon City last July after conducting her own tests, will team up with veteran barrister Martin... https://www.scmp.com/news/hong-kong/health-environment/article/1966307/hong-kong-tainted-water-whistle-blower-spearhead?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/news/hong-kong/health-environment/article/1966307/hong-kong-tainted-water-whistle-blower-spearhead?utm_source=rss_feed Sun, 05 Jun 2016 23:02:40 +0000 As fallout from the damning government inquiry into last year’s lead-in-water crisis reverberates through society, one issue is unlikely to return to the agenda for a while – higher tariffs. Twenty years of frozen water rates and a scandal that has affected 29,000 households will render any talk of raising tariffs politically toxic. But low rates will do nothing to reduce Hong Kong’s unusually high consumption. The average person uses 220 litres of water a day, including flushwater, about 30 per... https://www.scmp.com/news/hong-kong/health-environment/article/1966445/stillborn-hong-kong-tainted-water-scandal-means?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/news/hong-kong/health-environment/article/1966445/stillborn-hong-kong-tainted-water-scandal-means?utm_source=rss_feed Sun, 05 Jun 2016 15:45:15 +0000 Perhaps it’s only to be expected that when the authors of the independent investigation into the lead-tainted water scandal in Hong Kong concluded that the fiasco was “a classic case of buck-passing”, it was met with an official response displaying the ultimate form of “buck-passing”: Chief Secretary Carrie Lam Cheng Yuet-ngor’s decree that no single official should be held personally responsible for a crisis caused by systemic failures. Why Carrie Lam don’t have what it takes to be Hong Kong’s... https://www.scmp.com/comment/insight-opinion/article/1963664/hong-kong-bureaucrats-response-report-lead-tainted-water?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/comment/insight-opinion/article/1963664/hong-kong-bureaucrats-response-report-lead-tainted-water?utm_source=rss_feed Sun, 05 Jun 2016 03:02:33 +0000 The Housing Department promised in a special meeting with the housing minister on Friday that it would hold its contractors accountable for the lead-in-water scandal in accordance with their contracts. Secretary for Transport and Housing Professor Anthony Cheung Bing-leung asked the department to learn from the episode. He said a culture that emphasises safety, quality control and being conscious of risks should be encouraged and all management staff should work to improve communication within... https://www.scmp.com/news/hong-kong/health-environment/article/1964150/hong-kong-housing-department-promises-hold?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/news/hong-kong/health-environment/article/1964150/hong-kong-housing-department-promises-hold?utm_source=rss_feed Fri, 03 Jun 2016 11:54:20 +0000 Hong Kong could have tightened water quality standards more than two decades ago, according to an independent report on the lead-tainted water scandal. The release of the report from the judge-led commission of inquiry on Tuesday has renewed pressure for the director of water supplies, Enoch Lam Tin-sing, to resign. The fact-finding report dedicated 20 paragraphs in its concluding remarks to list seven criticisms against the Water Supplies Department, which was longer than the coverage on the... https://www.scmp.com/news/hong-kong/health-environment/article/1961977/hong-kongs-water-supplies-department-faces-bulk?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/news/hong-kong/health-environment/article/1961977/hong-kongs-water-supplies-department-faces-bulk?utm_source=rss_feed Wed, 01 Jun 2016 14:58:03 +0000 The method of testing lead levels in water has once again come under scrutiny, as the government set up an expert panel to study testing standards following the commission of inquiry’s report on the lead-in-water scandal. Speaking on Commercial Radio on Wednesday, Director of Water Supplies Enoch Lam Tin-sing said the government was willing to follow the recommendations and establish a water quality standard in Hong Kong. The official said authorities would study experiences abroad to enhance... https://www.scmp.com/news/hong-kong/health-environment/article/1961343/still-or-running-water-new-hong-kong-lead-test?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/news/hong-kong/health-environment/article/1961343/still-or-running-water-new-hong-kong-lead-test?utm_source=rss_feed Wed, 01 Jun 2016 03:52:57 +0000 A judge-led inquiry into last year’s tainted water scare said Hong Kong had no safety standards for drinking water and warned that government supervision should not just stop at the end of the water pipe. It should go further to make sure water from the tap would be safe for drinking, said the ­commission. The commission, established to probe the causes of the excess lead found in drinking water on 11 public housing estates, affecting 29,000 households, urged the government to review the laws... https://www.scmp.com/news/hong-kong/health-environment/article/1960985/hong-kong-tainted-water-probe-calls-action?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/news/hong-kong/health-environment/article/1960985/hong-kong-tainted-water-probe-calls-action?utm_source=rss_feed Tue, 31 May 2016 16:21:01 +0000 An independent investigative panel issued a damning report on Tuesday on last year’s lead-in-water scandal, blaming it on a “classic case of buck-passing” and urging the government to retest drinking water at all the city’s ­public housing estates. The commission of inquiry’s investigative report was released minus redacted paragraphs on three out of 377 pages to avoid “any prejudice” to related criminal investigations and possible prosecutions. The missing information concerns three plumbing... https://www.scmp.com/news/hong-kong/health-environment/article/1960477/solder-and-collective-failure-blame-hong-kong?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/news/hong-kong/health-environment/article/1960477/solder-and-collective-failure-blame-hong-kong?utm_source=rss_feed Tue, 31 May 2016 09:30:30 +0000 It has been nearly a year since four out of 30 samples of drinking water in the Kai Ching Estate were found to have levels of lead in excess of the World Health Organisation standard of 10 parts per billion (ppb). The highest was 23ppb. This revelation set off a circular firing squad of accusations and investigations centring on how lead solder, which has long been banned, found its way into the estate’s water pipes. Terms such as “scare”, “scandal”, “dangerous”, “crisis” and “toxic” filled the... https://www.scmp.com/comment/insight-opinion/article/1947379/why-theres-no-safe-amount-lead-tap-water-hong-kong-or?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/comment/insight-opinion/article/1947379/why-theres-no-safe-amount-lead-tap-water-hong-kong-or?utm_source=rss_feed Thu, 19 May 2016 09:15:26 +0000 Finding out she was finally being allotted a public housing unit following draw after draw, in a city with a waiting list of 290,000 applicants, was cause for great joy for Fanny Ng Suet-fan. But her celebrations were quickly marred when Hong Kong’s lead-in-water scandal erupted last year, and it emerged that there was poisonous lead in the flat’s drinking water. “New estate, new building, of course we wanted it,” Ng said of her decision to move into Kai Ching Estate in Kowloon City. “Who knew... https://www.scmp.com/news/hong-kong/health-environment/article/1944041/we-use-lead-water-shower-tainted-water-nightmare?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/news/hong-kong/health-environment/article/1944041/we-use-lead-water-shower-tainted-water-nightmare?utm_source=rss_feed Thu, 12 May 2016 06:00:15 +0000 When a judge-led commission of inquiry was set up to probe the causes of Hong Kong’s lead-in-water scandal, it was expected to expose the city’s lax drinking water safety standards. But what it has also inadvertently revealed is the insular approach of government agencies and the silo-ed nature of how they operate. The scandal broke in summer last year, when tests showed tap water at Kai Ching Estate in Kowloon City contained amounts of lead exceeding World Health Organisation standards.... https://www.scmp.com/news/hong-kong/health-environment/article/1943981/silo-culture-what-lead-water-scandal-tells-us?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/news/hong-kong/health-environment/article/1943981/silo-culture-what-lead-water-scandal-tells-us?utm_source=rss_feed Thu, 12 May 2016 04:20:21 +0000 The government is considering whether to release a full report on last year’s tainted water scare that affected about 29,000 households on 11 public housing estates, or if it should redact certain information before release. The move has prompted concern that possible concealment could help officials and building contractors involved in the water safety scandal shirk responsibility. Some worried residents also questioned the need to withhold the findings from the public. Hong Kong tainted water... https://www.scmp.com/news/hong-kong/health-environment/article/1943934/we-need-answer-concerns-rise-over-hong-kong-report?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/news/hong-kong/health-environment/article/1943934/we-need-answer-concerns-rise-over-hong-kong-report?utm_source=rss_feed Wed, 11 May 2016 14:30:00 +0000 The finger-pointing over last year’s tainted water scare continued right up to the end of the five-month probe, which ended yesterday, with key parties all insisting they had not been told about the health risks posed by excessive lead in drinking water. While the inquiry did not aim to apportion blame, a lawyer tasked with the fact-finding mission questioned whether the work culture of local government departments and authorities had contributed to the imbroglio. The scandal broke in June last... https://www.scmp.com/news/hong-kong/law-crime/article/1926400/hong-kong-tainted-water-parties-maintain-they-were-unaware?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/news/hong-kong/law-crime/article/1926400/hong-kong-tainted-water-parties-maintain-they-were-unaware?utm_source=rss_feed Thu, 17 Mar 2016 08:15:30 +0000 Some of Hong Kong’s top government officials did not dare to face the truth, a lawyer told an inquiry into last year’s tainted water scandal on Wednesday. In making his closing submission for the five-month-long probe, Martin Lee Chu-ming SC, for the concerned residents, questioned whether the government had carried out an exhaustive investigation as promised. The scandal broke in June last year, when tests showed tap water at Kai Ching Estate in Kowloon City contained amounts of lead exceeding... https://www.scmp.com/news/hong-kong/health-environment/article/1925795/three-monkeys-top-level-government-lawyer-calls?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/news/hong-kong/health-environment/article/1925795/three-monkeys-top-level-government-lawyer-calls?utm_source=rss_feed Wed, 16 Mar 2016 06:10:00 +0000 The Water Supplies Department denied it was unaware of the health risks posed by excessive lead in drinking water, an inquiry into last year’s tainted water scare heard on Tuesday. In his closing submission for the department, William Wong Ming-fung SC, said the authority had been “universally condemned” for its alleged failure to alert different parties to the risks. “The department has reservations about these criticisms,” Wong told the inquiry. The scandal broke in June last year when tests... https://www.scmp.com/news/hong-kong/health-environment/article/1925204/plumbers-should-have-known-materials-containing?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/news/hong-kong/health-environment/article/1925204/plumbers-should-have-known-materials-containing?utm_source=rss_feed Tue, 15 Mar 2016 08:16:20 +0000 Nobody has responsibility for ensuring the quality of drinking water in Hong Kong, an independent consultant on water safety and environment said on Wednesday. “It’s unfortunate but that is the case,” Professor John Fawell told an inquiry into the tainted water scare in the city. The scandal broke in June 2015 when tests showed tap water at Kai Ching Estate in Kowloon City contained amounts of lead exceeding standards set by the World Health Organisation. READ MORE: Hong Kong water authority’s... https://www.scmp.com/news/hong-kong/health-environment/article/1913712/no-one-responsible-quality-hong-kong-drinking?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/news/hong-kong/health-environment/article/1913712/no-one-responsible-quality-hong-kong-drinking?utm_source=rss_feed Wed, 17 Feb 2016 07:44:31 +0000 The extent of lead contamination in the city’s drinking water is significantly greater and more widespread than previously suggested, according to an expert report submitted to a government-appointed commission of inquiry into the scandal. This is because testing was conducted using fully flushed water samples instead of first-draw ones, the report states. The findings also reveal lead-tainted tap water was found in 11 samples at five more public housing estates previously labelled as... https://www.scmp.com/news/hong-kong/health-environment/article/1909935/independent-tests-show-higher-levels-lead-water?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/news/hong-kong/health-environment/article/1909935/independent-tests-show-higher-levels-lead-water?utm_source=rss_feed Fri, 05 Feb 2016 15:00:30 +0000 Hong Kong’s water authority required developers and contractors to ensure materials used in waterworks met specific standards, a top official told an inquiry into the tainted water scandal on Monday. Director of Water Supplies Enoch Lam Tin-sing, the first official from the authority to testify before the inquiry commission, stressed all parties were tasked with different responsibilities. He said the department, as regulator, had made specifications for materials, to prevent contamination. The... https://www.scmp.com/news/hong-kong/health-environment/article/1908110/hong-kong-water-authoritys-responsibility-safety?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/news/hong-kong/health-environment/article/1908110/hong-kong-water-authoritys-responsibility-safety?utm_source=rss_feed Mon, 01 Feb 2016 07:38:41 +0000 A former licensed plumber has admitted to the inquiry on tainted water that he was partially responsible for the incident, but said he was also a victim as he trusted his company to source lead-free solder. Hence he said it was “not fair” and “very dangerous” for media reports to lay the full blame on him. Lam Tak-sum’s statement also questioned why his license was revoked before the commission of inquiry had released its findings. The scandal broke in June 2015 when tests commissioned by the... https://www.scmp.com/news/hong-kong/health-environment/article/1902313/im-victim-too-plumber-tells-tainted-water-inquiry?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/news/hong-kong/health-environment/article/1902313/im-victim-too-plumber-tells-tainted-water-inquiry?utm_source=rss_feed Mon, 18 Jan 2016 08:22:56 +0000 A plumbing subcontractor admitted he never thought of ensuring all pipes were lead-free before the tainted drinking water scandal broke out in July at the public Kai Ching Estate where his firm carried out work. Ho Man-piu, managing director of Ho Biu Kee Construction Engineering, also told an inquiry into the lead-in-water scandal on Tuesday he was unaware that lead-free solder must be used, and that the responsibility of ensuring water was untainted fell to the plumber. When his assistant told... https://www.scmp.com/news/hong-kong/article/1900470/plumbing-contractor-hong-kong-tainted-water-scandal-says-he-was?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/news/hong-kong/article/1900470/plumbing-contractor-hong-kong-tainted-water-scandal-says-he-was?utm_source=rss_feed Tue, 12 Jan 2016 12:15:45 +0000 A plumbing subcontractor’s former director admitted to an inquiry that she forged documents to cover up lead solder deliveries, following an alleged insinuation to do so by a project manager who oversaw plumbing works for three estates tainted by lead in drinking water. But Golden Day Engineering Company’s project manager Yung Kwok-choi on Wednesday denied his involvement. The alleged forgery came to light during main contractor Paul Y General Contractors’ presentation of evidence, when it... https://www.scmp.com/news/hong-kong/health-environment/article/1898371/senior-plumbing-subcontractor-employee-admits?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/news/hong-kong/health-environment/article/1898371/senior-plumbing-subcontractor-employee-admits?utm_source=rss_feed Wed, 06 Jan 2016 08:24:40 +0000 Documents revealed that a plumbing subcontractor’s deliveries may have been forged to cover up orders of lead solder, the tainted water inquiry heard yesterday. The suggestion emerged as subcontractor Golden Day Engineering’s managing director, Cheung Tat-yam, revealed that .one of his employees involved in procurement, Lam Lai-king, told him she forged delivery notes that were sent to main contractor Paul Y General Contractors. READ MORE: ‘We weren’t alert enough’: Hong Kong contractor in... https://www.scmp.com/news/hong-kong/health-environment/article/1898226/plumbing-deliveries-may-have-been-forged-hong-kong?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/news/hong-kong/health-environment/article/1898226/plumbing-deliveries-may-have-been-forged-hong-kong?utm_source=rss_feed Tue, 05 Jan 2016 23:00:51 +0000 The Hong Kong Housing Authority plans to put aside at least HK$30 million in the coming fiscal year in preparation for extra expenditures relating to the tainted water scare. The developer of the city’s public rental housing said the money would be reserved for the hiring of temporary workers to replace pipes and for potential litigation after the same amount had been earmarked for this financial year. “I don’t think we still need to buy bottled water for residents in the 2016/17 period,” said... https://www.scmp.com/news/hong-kong/health-environment/article/1898088/hong-kong-housing-authority-set-aside-another-hk30?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/news/hong-kong/health-environment/article/1898088/hong-kong-housing-authority-set-aside-another-hk30?utm_source=rss_feed Tue, 05 Jan 2016 04:52:38 +0000 A judge has rejected a Cheung Chau resident’s application for a judicial review of a government decision on plumbing work at public housing estates found to have tainted drinking water. Mr Justice Kevin Zervos ruled that an independent inquiry would deal with the matter. Kwok Cheuk-kin filed the application to the High Court against the heads of three departments: Transport and Housing, Water Supplies and the Housing Authority. He wanted to challenge the departments’ failure to hire qualified... https://www.scmp.com/news/hong-kong/health-environment/article/1897978/judge-rejects-judicial-review-bid-over-plumbing?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/news/hong-kong/health-environment/article/1897978/judge-rejects-judicial-review-bid-over-plumbing?utm_source=rss_feed Mon, 04 Jan 2016 11:03:47 +0000 A major contractor admitted to an inquiry on Monday that it had overrelied on its subcontractor for compliance in plumbing works at its two public housing estates tainted by lead in drinking water. But Paul Y. General Contractors’ technical director Leung Wai-keung, a thirty-year veteran, said this was in accordance with industry practice and has recommended that main contractors be included in future dealings between licensed plumbers and the Water Authority as his company is still pondering if... https://www.scmp.com/news/hong-kong/health-environment/article/1897930/hong-kong-contractor-admits-relying-too-much?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/news/hong-kong/health-environment/article/1897930/hong-kong-contractor-admits-relying-too-much?utm_source=rss_feed Mon, 04 Jan 2016 08:33:26 +0000 A contractor apologised this morning for overlooking the use of lead solders in its construction of Kwai Luen Estate, after admitting to an inquiry that no specific measures were taken to ensure the safety and quality of the drinking water. Shui On Building Contractors deputy general manager Au Choi-wa testified that he did not know how lead solders came to be used. But he suggested they might have been mistakenly ordered or delivered to site, or that the plumbing subcontractor, Ho Biu Kee... https://www.scmp.com/news/hong-kong/health-environment/article/1892186/tainted-water-scandal-hong-kong-contractor-sorry?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/news/hong-kong/health-environment/article/1892186/tainted-water-scandal-hong-kong-contractor-sorry?utm_source=rss_feed Wed, 16 Dec 2015 12:39:14 +0000 A Harvard health expert this morning told an inquiry into the tainted water scandal that children who drank water with excessive levels of lead were unlikely to show signs of lead toxicity and the impact on their long-term health would not be very serious. The assurance came as Harvard Medical School professor David Bellinger also explained that it is difficult to have a zero level of lead in the blood because it is a “multimedia pollutant”. Lead can enter human bodies through many sources such... https://www.scmp.com/news/hong-kong/health-environment/article/1891365/hong-kong-lead-water-scandal-us-expert-sees-no?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/news/hong-kong/health-environment/article/1891365/hong-kong-lead-water-scandal-us-expert-sees-no?utm_source=rss_feed Tue, 15 Dec 2015 09:01:41 +0000 A main contractor has claimed it did not know how excessive lead came to taint its drinking water at a public housing estate in Kowloon City, an inquiry heard. Kai Ching Estate was the first of 11 public housing developments in the city to report excessive lead in drinking water this past summer. It was built by China State Construction Engineering, with its plumbing works subcontracted to Ho Biu Kee Construction Engineering Company, which was responsible for procuring all plumbing materials... https://www.scmp.com/news/hong-kong/health-environment/article/1888960/hong-kong-housing-estates-main-contractor-denies?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/news/hong-kong/health-environment/article/1888960/hong-kong-housing-estates-main-contractor-denies?utm_source=rss_feed Wed, 09 Dec 2015 07:45:15 +0000 China State Construction Engineering this morning expressed regret over the presence of excessive lead in drinking water of two housing estates it had built, an inquiry heard. Michael Sung Tsang-hung, the company’s building construction department general manager and a China State Group director, also said the company was “extremely concerned and troubled” when news of excessive lead found in drinking water broke in July. The company was the main contractor of Hung Hom Estate Phase 2 and Kai... https://www.scmp.com/news/hong-kong/health-environment/article/1888027/building-contractor-expresses-regret-over-hong?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/news/hong-kong/health-environment/article/1888027/building-contractor-expresses-regret-over-hong?utm_source=rss_feed Mon, 07 Dec 2015 08:30:30 +0000 Excessive lead levels that measure 60 per cent above the recommended limit have for the first time been found in drinking water at a hospital in Hong Kong. The sample was collected from a water boiler in a day care centre for children and adolescent psychiatric patients in Alice Ho Miu Ling Nethersole Hospital in Tai Po, the Hospital Authority announced on Friday night. The sample contained 15.95 micrograms of lead per litre of water, exceeding the World Health Organisation’s suggested level of... https://www.scmp.com/news/hong-kong/health-environment/article/1886916/excessive-lead-found-water-first-time-hong-kong?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/news/hong-kong/health-environment/article/1886916/excessive-lead-found-water-first-time-hong-kong?utm_source=rss_feed Fri, 04 Dec 2015 23:00:45 +0000