Replies to LegCo questions
LCQ9: Dealing with mosquito breeding on vacant land
Following is a question by the Hon Albert Chan and a written reply
by the Secretary for Food and Health, Dr York Chow, in the Legislative
Council today (October 24):
Question:
Recently, some members of the public have reflected to me that larvae
of mosquitoes had been found breeding in a public housing estate, and the
Government had prosecuted, under sections 27(3A) and 150 of the Public
Health and Municipal Services Ordinance (Cap. 132), the person in charge
of the cleansing company responsible for the estate's cleansing work for
failure to properly remove the accumulation of water. However, the
Government had failed to properly deal with the problem of mosquitoes
breeding on vacant government land, while the problem on deserted farmland
owned by land developers is also very serious. In this connection, will
the Government inform this Council, in the past three years:
(a) of the number of prosecutions instituted under the above legal
provisions each year and, among such prosecutions, the respective numbers
of cases involving land owners, property management companies and
cleansing companies; and
(b) whether it had instituted prosecutions in relation to the breeding of
mosquitoes found on vacant government land as well as private and deserted
farmland respectively; if so, of the details; if not, the reasons for
that?
Reply:
Madam President,
(a) Section 27 of the Public Health and Municipal Services Ordinance (the
Ordinance) as amended by the Public Health and Municipal Services
(Amendment) Ordinance 2006 is designed to encourage private property
owners and their property management companies as well as contractors of
building sites to take appropriate actions (including removal of
accumulated water and any articles that may cause accumulation of water)
for the prevention of mosquito breeding. The Ordinance also empowers the
Food and Environmental Hygiene Department (FEHD) to institute prosecution
against defaulted persons or organisations.
The FEHD will conduct inspections of mosquito breeding blackspots
from time to time and pay special visits in response to complaints. Where
accumulation of water conducive to mosquito-breeding is found on the
premises, the FEHD will, as its standard practice, first advise the owner
or the property management company to remove the accumulated water and
other articles capable of causing accumulation of water. In cases of more
severe mosquito breeding in premises or refusal by the relevant parties to
comply with the FEHD's advice, the FEHD will institute prosecution, and
take immediate mosquito control actions on the spot and recover the costs
from the parties concerned afterwards in cases where the mosquito breeding
problem is serious.
The amended Ordinance came into effect on May 12, 2006. As at
September 30, 2007, a total of 79 prosecutions had been instituted by the
FEHD under Sections 27(3A) and 150 of the Ordinance. The numbers of
prosecutions involving land owners, property management companies and
cleansing companies are as follows:
Number of Prosecutions
May 12, 2006 - September 30, 2007
Land Owners
3
Property Management Companies 66
Cleansing Companies
6
Others (e.g. Property Occupiers)
4
Total
79
(b) Mosquito control on government land is carried out by relevant
government departments (including, among others, the FEHD; Leisure and
Cultural Services Department; Agriculture, Fisheries and Conservation
Department; and Housing Department) under their respective jurisdictions.
The FEHD is responsible for mosquito control in general public areas. As
for unallocated government land, the Lands Department will carry out
mosquito control by cutting grass and spraying mosquito larvicidal oil.
If the FEHD finds potential mosquito breeding in places under the
jurisdiction of other department(s), it will inform the department(s)
concerned of the situation and request the latter to take immediate
follow-up action. The FEHD will provide professional advice and technical
support if and when necessary.
In addition, District Anti-mosquito Task Forces set up across the
territory and chaired by the District Officers concerned will coordinate
mosquito control efforts of relevant government departments, school
management authorities, management bodies of residential buildings and
private organisations, so as to better mosquito control efforts in their
respective districts.
As regards farmland, mosquito control on farmland is the
responsibility of its occupiers or owners as with other private properties
and land. As stated above, where accumulation of water conducive to
mosquito-breeding is found on the premises, the FEHD will, as its standard
practice, first advise the owner or the property management company to
remove the accumulated water and other articles capable of causing
accumulation of water. Farmland occupiers or owners are usually receptive
to the FEHD's advice and carry out anti-mosquito measures as soon as
possible. For this reason, no prosecution against mosquito breeding on
farmland had been instituted by the FEHD in the past three years.
Nevertheless, in the event that the occupiers or owners in question fail
to comply with the FEHD's advice, the FEHD will consider prosecution.
Ends/Wednesday, October 24, 2007
Issued at HKT 15:07
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