In closing submission, counsel for concerned residents questioned if thorough investigation had been carried out, or if authorities had chosen to ‘see no evil, hear no evil, speak no evil’
EDDIE.LEE@SCMP.COM
UPDATED : Wednesday, 16 March, 2016, 2:09pm
Excessive lead was found in materials used to solder pipes in flats in the public housing estates last year, prompting the government to set up the commission of inquiry. Photo: Sam Tsang
Some of Hong Kong’s top government officials did not dare to face the truth, a lawyer told an inquiry into last year’s tainted water scandal on Wednesday.
In making his closing submission for the five-month-long probe, Martin Lee Chu-ming SC, for the concerned residents, questioned whether the government had carried out an exhaustive investigation as promised.
The scandal broke in June last year, when tests showed tap water at Kai Ching Estate in Kowloon City contained amounts of lead exceeding World Health Organisation standards. Government tests later found similar levels at several other public housing estates.
Lee asked why experts at the Water Supplies Department had refused to test the first draw tap samples, which were said by some to be the most representative, from public housing flats in the morning, querying whether it was a decision from the top.
“They may not want to know the truth,” he said.
This is a year of the Monkey. There are ‘three monkeys’ at the top level of the government – who are resolved to see no evil, hear no evil and speak no evil.
MARTIN LEE CHU-MING SC
“This is a Year of the Monkey. There are ‘three monkeys’ at the top level of the government – who are resolved to see no evil, hear no evil and speak no evil,” Lee told the inquiry.
The lawyer did not name these officials. But he added that the Housing Department, the Water Supplies Department, contractors, project supervisors and plumbers were also responsible for the fiasco “to some extent”.
Excessive lead was found in materials used to solder pipes in flats in the public housing estates, prompting the government to set up the commission of inquiry in early November.
The inquiry continues before commission chairman Mr Justice Andrew Chan Hing-wai. It will ascertain the causes of excess lead found in drinking water and make recommendations to ensure water safety, in May at the soonest.
http://m.scmp.com/news/hong-kong/health-environment/article/1925795/three-monkeys-top-level-government-lawyer-calls
