HONG KONG - The Food and Environmental Hygiene Department intends to submit a bill to amend Hong Kong’s hygiene laws by the end of the year to deal with thorny environmental hygiene problems, from pest infestations to shopfront extensions, Secretary for Environment and Ecology Tse Chin-wan said Wednesday.  

Speaking at the special meeting of the Legislative Council Finance Committee, Tse said they have finished the second-stage review of the city’s laws and proposed to amend the Public Health and Municipal Services Ordinance and other related ordinances.

Tse said the FEHD conducted more than 20,000 special cleansing operations at about 200 hygiene blackspots last year

“We briefed the Panel on Food Safety and Environmental Hygiene (the Panel) of the Legislative Council on the outcome of the public consultation and the relevant legislative amendment proposals in March this year,” Tse said.

“Subject to the drafting progress, we target to submit the relevant amendment bill by the fourth quarter of this year at the earliest,” he added.

The initial proposed amendments include empowering the FEHD to remove obstructing articles and dispose of the perishable goods removed, encouraging and assisting owners of buildings to install common drainage pipes for air-conditioners, adding “articles” to the current definition of “litter”, and raising the penalty for non-compliance with the “Notice of Elimination of Vermin”.

Tse said the FEHD conducted more than 20,000 special cleansing operations at about 200 hygiene blackspots last year.

At present, more than 90 percent of the hygiene blackspots under the FEHD's purview have been removed, he added.