A lawyer for the lead water victims said the current testing method used by the government will not show the real picture. File photo: RTHK
An independent commission of inquiry looking into lead-tainted water at some public housing estates has heard that officials at the top level of government do not want to face the real picture.
Eleven public housing estates were earlier identified by the administration as having excessive levels of lead in their drinking water.
In his closing submission, the lawyer representing the victims of the scandal, Senior Counsel Martin Lee, pointed out that water samples taken for tests in the affected estates were only taken from taps that had been running for two minutes. He said if samples of stagnant or overnight water had been taken, they would have shown higher levels of lead and even bring into question estates that were previously cleared by the government.
Lee said the government could be downplaying the extent of the problem and did not want to know how bad the situation really is. Without naming anyone, he said there were three monkeys at the top of the administration who did not want to see, hear or ask about the real picture.
Also making final submissions were lawyers for contractors connected to the scandal.
Senior Counsel Ian Pennicott who is representing China State Construction which built Kai Ching Estate in Kowloon City – the first estate identified with excessive lead in tap water – said a review is needed of standards and certifications used by the government.
He said the Water Supplies Department had been inconsistent by having an "approved list" of building materials, including those that could fail to comply with its own standards and regulations.
http://news.rthk.hk/rthk/en/component/k2/1248891-20160316.htm
