Public housing tenants hit by health scare will be heard by commission of inquiry

Three public tenants affected by lead-contaminated water will join the hearing by the judge-led Commission of Inquiry into Excessive Lead Found in Drinking Water, it was established on Tuesday, as the commission held its one-day preliminary hearing at the former building of the Court of Final Appeal.

The investigative hearings, which will start on Nov 2, are expected to last for more than seven weeks. More than a dozen lawyers, representing 13 parties, have swamped the former court, including four main contractors, three pipeline constructors and three plumbers, and the Housing Authority and the Water Supplies Department.

In his opening address, Paul Shieh Wing-tai, senior counsel representing the commission, said three experts would be called to provide insights on the matter. They are civil engineering expert and pro-vice-chancellor of the Hong Kong University of Science and Technology Joseph Lee Hun-wei, biologist and toxicologist John Fawell from Britain, and neurologist and psychologist David Bellinger from Harvard School of Public Health.

The commission is also considering inviting another expert on plumbing.

The two-member commission, led by Judge Andrew Chan Hing-wai, will look into the cause of excessive lead found in 11 public housing estates this summer. It will also review the regulations on drinking water safety in the city. Ultimately, the commission is bound to provide suggestions for ensuring safe drinking water.

A total of 15 summons letters were sent to relevant parties. Shieh revealed that three sub-subcontractors, responsible for the water pipes in affected estates, did not respond to the commission's letters.

In Tuesday morning's hearing, Martin Lee Chu-ming, representing the three residents from Kwai Luen and Kai Ching estates, had his request that they be included in the hearing granted.

Lee asked the government to pay for their legal fees. But Chan, chairman of the commission, rejected this request as the commission was not entrusted to deal with legal fees.

Apart from that of Secretary for Housing and Transport Anthony Cheung Bing-leung, more than two dozen witness statements will be provided by the Housing Authority. These include statements from chief architects and building services engineers for each of the 11 affected estates.

Director of Water Supplies Enoch Lam Tin-sing will also give a statement, along with his right-hand, Deputy Director of Water Supplies Wong Chung-leung, and the chief chemist of the department.

At Tuesday's hearing, all parties asked the commission to delay the deadline for submitting the witness statements. Contractors and subcontractors requested the deadline be set at two weeks after they received the statements from the government. Despite a slight extension on the deadline, the commission said the hearing will start as scheduled.

Last month, preliminary findings announced by a task force led by Water Supplies Department officials and experts cited lead-contained soldering materials as the prime suspect for excessive lead in drinking water.

Two weeks ago, the Housing Authority admitted in an interim report by its review committee that it had failed to regulate the soldering materials at construction sites properly due to a lack of awareness.

stushadow@chinadailyhk.com