Replies to LegCo questions
LCQ1: Funeral business regulation
Following is a question by the Dr Hon Priscilla Leung and a reply by the
Secretary for Food and Health, Dr York Chow, in the Legislative Council today
(December 10):
Question:
I have received a number of complaints in recent months alleging that the
continuous expansion of the funeral and related trades in Hung Hom over the last
few years has affected the environmental hygiene, property prices and business
development of the district. The owners' corporation of a building which sought
assistance from the District Council pointed out that the owners of a row of
shops on the ground floor of that building had let their shops for the operation
of funeral parlours, oblivious to the objection of 99% of the occupants of the
building. In this connection, will the Government inform this Council of:
(a) the number of complaints received by the authorities in the past three years
about the nuisance caused by the operation of funeral parlours to residents in
the neighbourhood, the main subjects of such complaints and how the authorities
dealt with the complaints; and
(b) the licensing procedure for the operation of funeral and related businesses,
as well as the relevant details, including the government departments involved,
whether the psychological impact on the residents nearby and funeral affairs
being a taboo subject of Chinese people are considerations for the issuance of
licences, as well as whether the authorities would consult the residents nearby
before issuing such licences; if they would, how they deal with the residents'
objection; if not, of the reasons for that and whether they will consider
conducting consultation before issuing such licences?
Reply:
President,
(a) As regards the Hung Hom District, the Food and Environmental Hygiene
Department (FEHD), the Kowloon City District Office (KCDO) and the Planning
Department (PlanD) received a total of 39 complaints about the funeral business
over the past three years. As a person might complain to different departments
in tandem, some cases might have been double-counted. These complaints mainly
concern objections against operation of funeral business in buildings or
requests for tighter regulation of the funeral trade and related businesses.
Others are about street obstruction caused by coffins and paper-made sacrificial
articles, smoke nuisance and potential fire risk caused by burning joss paper,
and suspected contravention of the land lease etc..
Government departments will take appropriate follow-up actions upon receipt of a
complaint. KCDO will refer complaints to relevant departments for follow-up.
PlanD will handle issues regarding land use planning and respond to the
complainants. Upon receipt of a complaint, FEHD officers will carry out
investigation as soon as possible. If the complaint also involves other
government departments (e.g. the Environmental Protection Department and the
Fire Services Department), FEHD will refer the case to them for joint follow-up
actions.
If any person causes environmental hygiene nuisance, FEHD may issue a Nuisance
Notice to the person for removing such nuisance within a specified period of
time under Section 12 of the Public Health and Municipal Services Ordinance
(Cap. 132). Where the complaint is made against a licensed funeral parlour or
undertaker of burials for breach of law or licensing conditions, FEHD will take
appropriate action against the licensee under the relevant legislation or
licensing conditions if the complaint is found to be substantiated. Such actions
include warning and prosecution or, in serious cases, cancellation of licence.
Where necessary, the government departments concerned will exercise the powers
under the relevant legislations to inspect premises of funeral business and take
appropriate enforcement actions.
(b) Under the Public Health and Municipal Services Ordinance (Cap 132), anyone
who wishes to carry on the business of a funeral parlour or as an undertaker of
burials shall first obtain a licence issued by FEHD. According to standing
procedures, FEHD will consult the relevant District Office and the Lands
Department (LandsD) upon receipt of an application.
Taking the Hung Hom district as an example, KCDO will conduct local
consultations, covering the local district council members as well as district
organisations, institutions and residents of buildings located within 100 meters
of the premises under application for licence. As far as the residents are
concerned, they will be consulted through owners' corporations, mutual aid
committees or management companies of their buildings. The District Office will
also issue consultation letters directly to individual residents living in
buildings without any residents' organisations. As for LandsD, it will ascertain
whether the application is permissible under the conditions of the Government
lease. If FEHD is aware of any comments from residents on the application, it
will also consult relevant Government departments, for example, PlanD, with
reference to comments received. If no objection is received from the relevant
departments, FEHD will issue a Letter of Requirement to the applicant. A licence
will be issued to the applicant upon his/her compliance with all the licensing
conditions.
FEHD will, after taking into account advice from the departments concerned and
the views of residents collected by the relevant District Office, decide whether
or not to grant a licence and whether to impose specific licensing conditions to
regulate the business activities conducted under the licence. For instance,
coffins should not be kept in the premises for display, storage or any other
purposes. Signboards of the funeral parlour should not contain any reference to
and/or any description suggestive of funeral services. The imposition of
specific licensing conditions aims to minimise psychological impact on the
residents as far as possible while allowing the applicants to operate within the
law.
Ends/Wednesday, December 10, 2008
Issued at HKT 16:47
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