Leaky and pesky: dripping air cons continue to plague Hong Kong streets as little is done to punish negligent owners

The scourge of dripping air conditioners across Hong Kong continues unabated as the city swelters through a scorching summer, with the government making only two prosecutions despite receiving almost 10,000 complaints this year.

In the first six months, 9,765 complaints about the spewing nuisances were made to the Food and Environmental Hygiene Department, with the department serving 416 notices, but only prosecuting 0.02 per cent of those responsible for the problem machines.

Concerned residents and public health experts complain that the puddles caused by the dripping units serve as breeding grounds for legionnaires’ disease, of which the elderly and the young – those with weaker immune systems – are particularly susceptible. Mosquito larvae can also make a home in these pools of putrid water.

Hong Kong is enduring an especially hot weekend with cranked-up air conditioners expected to produce bigger puddles. Temperatures have soared above 33 degrees Celcius, with the mercury rising over 35 in northern parts of the territory.

“I am gobsmacked by the number of prosecutions. I have made multiple complaints this year about dripping air conditioners and have seen very little action on the part of the department,” Mary Mulvihill, a concerned citizen, said. She has been crusading against the scourge for decades.

Originally from Ireland, Mulvihill moved to Hong Kong more than 20 years ago, after which she fought a lonely, endless campaign against this problem.