Yau Man-chun (inset, left) offers water from Shui Chuen O Estate to an official from the Water Supplies Department before the meeting. Photos: Headline Daily, Apple Daily
Government officials refused a drink from a public housing estate at the center of a lead contamination scandal they had come to discuss.
Only Lau Sum-yee, assistant director of the Hong Kong Observatory obliged, according to digital radio DBC.
Other officials said it was an inconvenient time to drink water and that they had only known about the offer before the meeting.
Sha Tin district councilor Yau Man-chun served the drink taken from Shui Chuen O Estate which has been found to have excessive lead in its water supply.
Chan Tze-ho, a senior engineer from the Water Supplies Department, said recent samples from some units in the complex did not exceed the lead content limit.
He said residents should not panic about the quality of their drinking water.
District councilor Chandler Chan criticized the government for doing little to solve the problem other than saying the water is safe to drink.
Chan said the government should reassure the public instead of playing down the risk.
Meanwhile, Kowloon City district councilor Lo Chiu-kit raised concern over the lack of regulatory system to monitor water supply at a committee hearing over Kai Ching Estate which sparked a scare after it was found to have lead levels more than twice the World Health Organization limit.
He said the government is handling the incident poorly.
Kowloon West legislator Priscilla Leung urged the Housing Authority to install filters in all Kai Ching units and arrange blood tests for its residents.
Translation by Charis Heung
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