Update | Main contractors 'have responsibility to make things right' for lead-in-water scare at Hong Kong public housing estates
The main building contractors behind three Hong Kong public housing estates at the centre of a lead-in-water scare would be held responsible for the affair, the government said.
The main building contractors behind three Hong Kong public housing estates at the centre of a lead-in-water scare would be held responsible for the affair, the government said today.
Secretary for Transport and Housing Professor Anthony Cheung Bing-leung said two companies, China State Construction Engineering (Hong Kong) and Socam Development, “have the responsibility to make things right again” after excessive levels of lead were found in water samples at the estates.
China State Construction Engineering built the Kai Ching Estate in Kowloon City and Shui Chuen O Estate in Sha Tin, while Socam was the main contractor for the Kwai Luen Estate in Kwai Chung, where levels of lead exceeding World Health Organisation guidelines were found.
According to Cheung, there were many subcontractors on the projects but the main contractor should be the one held responsible.
“The Housing Authority will chase the two main contractors for responsibility … they have the responsibility to make things right again,” Cheung said, following a meeting of around 30 government officials and Housing Authority committee members this afternoon.
“We are now in the process of discussion and so far [the two main contractors] have agreed to build pipes [to bring water from roof level water tanks] into each floor [of the affected buildings].”
The authority would also form a review committee to examine if there were any problems with the existing mechanisms of quality assurance, Cheung added.
Although there were no specific candidates yet, Cheung said the committee would have around 10 members and would include professionals.
Earlier, licensed plumber Lam Tak-sum said he should not be held responsible for the water scare as he accused Chief Executive Leung Chun-ying of making him a scapegoat for the scandal.
Giving a full public account of his role in the affair for the first time, Lam, who worked on pipes in all three estates, said he was not accountable for the quality of water pipes and soldering materials used in the projects.
The plumber said the materials were purchased by engineering firm Ho Biu Kee, which hired him, and were then approved by government inspectors.
Lam’s job was to submit related documents and certificates on these materials to Housing and Water Supplies Departments for their approval, he told RTHK.
“The firm’s merchandising branch bought the materials. The process was something I could not supervise,” he said.
The court has not even given any verdict and [Leung] has already made a ruling on me
He said the materials were inspected and approved by Housing Department officers on the construction sites. Workers started installation only after the materials were approved by the department, he said.
Ho Biu Kee was a subcontractor under main contractor China State Construction Engineering (Hong Kong) in the building of the Kai Ching Estate.
The government earlier said soldering materials containing lead were “most likely” to blame for the contamination.
READ MORE: Residents admit lead contamination fears as water samples taken at 10 Hong Kong estates
The plumber however, said documents he submitted to the Water Supplies Department contained a list of materials to be used in the projects, with certificate numbers and other details.
“The Water Supplies Department looked at the list to check the brands, their manufacturers, their country origins, and their certificate numbers. The department would check these documents [to make sure they are] accepted in Hong Kong law before works could begin,” he said.
Lam said he felt he had been made a scapegoat in the scandal after government officials named him as the person to be held responsible.
“The chief executive said on TV that Lam Tak-sum should be responsible. [I] did not know what [I should be held responsible for],” he said.
“The court has not even given any verdict and [Leung] has already made a ruling on me.”
Lam said the government should seek answers from main contractor China State Construction Engineering, instead of him.
Meanwhile, more water samples taken from the Shui Chuen O Estate were found to contain excessive levels of lead.
The tests, commissioned by the NeoDemocrats, showed lead levels in three out of 20 tap water samples from four blocks in the estate were between 11 and 37 micrograms per litre, higher than the WHO standard of 10mg/l.
Secretary for Food and Health Dr Ko Wing-man said this morning that as of last night, the Health Department had received more than 1,100 phone calls from the public seeking help.
Nearly 700 residents have already registered for blood tests at two hospitals.
Ko expected the preliminary results of those tests to be available this weekend.
On the suggestion of conducting blood tests door-to-door for residents of the estates affected by the scandal, Ko said: “Blood tests for children need to be done by qualified and experienced medical staff.”
“To ensure accuracy of the blood tests, they have to be done in a medical environment. That’s why the Housing Department has made arrangements to transport residents to hospitals to do blood tests,” Ko said, adding that the process would take time because public hospitals only had the capacity to conduct several hundred tests per week.
