Dripping air conditioners trigger tidal wave of complaints across Hong Kong
Authorities receive thousands of complaints every year about leaking air-conditioning units, but only a tiny fraction of cases get resolved
The problem of dripping air conditioners across Hong Kong has become a scourge that is going mostly unchecked, with the government prosecuting only a fraction of cases despite complaints doubling over the past decade.
Residents irked by constantly leaking air cons filed 170,407 complaints with the Food and Environmental Hygiene Department from 2004 to last year, but only 5,256 owners were issued warning notices, and just 12 cases were prosecuted.
Resolving the problem of dripping air conditioners is not difficult
Last year alone, there were 19,700 complaints, but prosecution was pursued against only three owners. And this year, as of June, 8,900 complaints have been lodged, but no one has been prosecuted to date.
"Obviously, tackling the problem of dripping air cons is not [the department's] top priority," said Chan Wai-keung, a Yau Tsim Mong district councillor. "Usually [they] are not effective in dealing with the complaints … They seldom enforce the law."
Chan said that only a third of the complaints he forwards to the department are resolved each year. He described the dripping problem as unique to Hong Kong as the leaking units are stacked atop one another in high-rise buildings owing to the city's over-reliance on indoor cooling and poor enforcement by authorities.
Owning an air conditioner that drips grimy water onto the city's streets and passers-by below is illegal, and offenders face a fine of up to HK$10,000 upon conviction.
DON'T MISS: Dripping Hong Kong air-conditioning units spew unresolved nuisances
