CHINA | Ombudsman Hong Kong presents two investigation reports

The Office of The Ombudsman held a press conference on 28 January 2016 to announce the results of a direct investigation report and a complaint investigation report, namely “Government’s Implementation of Strengthened Control of Exhaust Emissions from Petrol and LPG Vehicles” and “Handling of Food Safety Complaints by Food and Environmental Hygiene Department”.  

Government’s Implementation of Strengthened Control of Exhaust Emissions from Petrol and LPG Vehicles

In Hong Kong, the problem of air pollution, especially roadside air pollution, has worsened in recent years. As the emission of excessive nitrogen oxides (“NOx”) from petrol and liquefied petroleum gas vehicles is one of the main causes for deterioration in air quality, the Government has implemented a new emission control measure to include NOx in the regulatory regime in a bid to improve roadside air quality. Under the New Measure, the Environmental Protection Department has set up remote sensing equipment to monitor the levels of NOx and other exhaust gases at various locations. Where the equipment detects excessive exhaust emitted from passing vehicles, a notice will be issued to the vehicle owners, requiring them to send their vehicles within 12 working days for an emission test conducted with a chassis dynamometer (commonly called a “treadmill”) at one of the Designated Vehicle Emission Testing Centres. Failure to pass the test may lead to cancellation of the vehicle licenses in question by the Transport Department (“TD”).

While the new measure was introduced with good intentions, the Office of the Ombudsman evertheless received public complaints shortly after its implementation. Complainants alleged that while their vehicles had just passed TD’s annual examination, they were then notified and required to send their vehicles for the treadmill test. The Ombudsman’s investigation into those cases revealed that TD has not included NOx emissions, targeted under the New Measure, in its exhaust emission standards. Moreover, the 22 Designated Car Testing Centres currently carrying out the annual examination for TD are not equipped with treadmills for testing NOx emissions. In other words, vehicles having passed TD’s annual examination do not necessarily meet the exhaust emission standards of the treadmill test.

Handling of Food Safety Complaints by Food and Environmental Hygiene Department

Food safety is of crucial importance to people’s health and is closely related to our daily lives. Consuming food contaminated with bacteria or toxins can cause short-term or long-term harmful effects on our health, and the consequence can be serious.

Tasked with enforcing food safety legislation in Hong Kong, the Food and Environmental Hygiene Department (“FEHD”) plays a vital gatekeeper role. On receipt of reports or complaints from members of the public, FEHD should take due actions promptly if food safety is found to be at stake. To safeguard people’s health, such actions include prosecuting the restaurant/food vendor concerned, stopping the supply of food with a similar problem and giving the public a food safety warning. Nevertheless, the Office of the Ombudsman noticed two recent complaint cases that FEHD has failed to handle public complaints properly and not fulfilled its duty to ensure food safety.

Source: Office of the Ombudsman Hong Kong, China