PHILA SIU
PHILA.SIU@SCMP.COM
PUBLISHED : Wednesday, 07 October, 2015, 11:59am
UPDATED : Wednesday, 07 October, 2015, 11:59am
Democrat Helena Wong says only a Legislative Council probe can get to the bottom of the lead-in-water scare. Photo: David Wong
The interim report by a committee under the Housing Authority has failed to completely get to the bottom of the lead-in-water scandal and the truth can only be told if lawmakers invoke their special powers to launch an investigation, according to Democratic Party lawmaker Helena Wong Pik-wan.
Wong, who first exposed the scandal in July, said the report had only focused on how soldering materials of pipes installed in public housing estates should be subjected to stringent checks.
“I am extremely disappointed about the report. It has failed to let us know the truth behind the incident,” Wong told RTHK.
She said the report had focused on the lead content found in the soldering materials while in fact other parts of the fresh water supply system, such as water taps, had also previously been found to contain excessive lead.
The report also failed to identify which government officials should be punished, she added.
I am extremely disappointed about the report. It has failed to let us know the truth behind the incident
DEMOCRAT HELENA WONG
The committee yesterday issued an interim report suggesting that water and soldering materials of pipes installed in public housing estates should be subject to more layers of stringent tests for lead and other heavy metals before flat occupants moved in.
Other suggestions included the central procurement of soldering materials, the quarantining of soldering materials upon delivery to site, the recording of on-site movements of soldering materials and frequent on-site checks using quick test methods.
In response to Wong’s criticism, committee chairman Cheung Tat-tong told RTHK that the committee’s duties were limited by its terms of reference.
Hugo Kan Kwok-leung, a former chairman of the Chartered Institute of Plumbing and Heating Engineering’s Hong Kong branch, said it would not be difficult for contractors to put the committee’s recommendations into practice because contractors working on big projects had already been doing so.
http://m.scmp.com/news/hong-kong/health-environment/article/1864849/democratic-party-whistle-blower-slams-hong-kong
