FEHD Enhances Regulations for Lifeguards at Private Pools This Summer to Ensure User Safety

FEHD continues to strengthen regulation of life-saving attendants at private swimming pools to enhance management and monitoring standards

A spokesman for the Food and Environmental Hygiene Department (FEHD) said today (April 27) that, to safeguard the safety of swimming pool users, the department will continue to implement regulatory measures for life-saving attendants at private swimming pools this summer, and will further strengthen related management and monitoring work.

Since May 2025, the FEHD has implemented a series of enhancement measures, including stepping up surprise inspections, clearly stipulating the responsibility of licensees to verify the qualifications of life-saving attendants, introducing a tiered penalty mechanism, and strengthening collaboration with relevant organisations. In 2025, the department had conducted about 11 000 inspections of over 1 400 licensed private swimming pools across the territory, and had verified the qualifications of more than 5 000 life-saving attendants through the Hong Kong China Life Saving Society (HKCLSS). One case involving suspected use of a fraudulent life-saving attendant certificate was identified. The FEHD had reported the case to the Police and initiated two prosecutions against the swimming pool licensee concerned for failing to provide a sufficient number of qualified life-saving attendants during pool opening hours on two occasions. In addition, the FEHD initiated two prosecutions against the licensees of two other premises for failing to provide a sufficient number of qualified life-saving attendants. The licensees concerned in the above four cases were subsequently convicted at the magistrate's courts for contravening the Swimming Pools Regulation (Section 12 of Cap. 132CA).

The spokesman stressed, "Swimming pool licensees must strictly comply with the Regulation (Cap. 132CA) and the licensing conditions, ensuring that sufficient qualified life-saving attendants are on duty during the opening hours of the pool. The FEHD will continue to implement various regulatory measures, including stepping up surprise inspections and increasing the frequency of spot checks during the peak swimming season."

Under the existing penalty mechanism, if a licensee is found twice within a year to have insufficient qualified life-saving attendants on duty during the opening hours of the swimming pool, the FEHD will consider suspending its licence for six months and require the licensee to report the situation to relevant persons such as the Owners' Corporation. In case three violations are recorded within a year, the licence may be cancelled, and the licensee or related persons will not be allowed to apply for a swimming pool licence in respect of the same location within 12 months.

To ensure that licensees fulfil their responsibilities properly, the FEHD will explicitly require them through licensing conditions to verify the identity documents of life-saving attendants before employment, and to keep copies of their Pool Lifeguard Awards and personal logbooks on proper record. The FEHD has also established a standard template of life-saving attendants' duty records. Licensees are required to clearly record the relevant information of life-saving attendants on duty in accordance with the prescribed format, and the records have to be verified and signed by both the inspecting staff assigned by the licensees and the life-saving attendants. FEHD officers will check the relevant records as necessary during inspections or complaint investigations, and will follow up on any violations.

In addition, the FEHD will continue to maintain close collaboration with relevant organisations and regulatory bodies to enhance compliance with the regulatory measures. This includes sustaining close liaison with the HKCLSS and making good use of its mechanism for verifying life-saving attendants' qualifications, and strengthening co-operation with the Property Management Services Authority to require property management companies to exercise strict gatekeeping over the recruitment procedures of life-saving attendants.

The spokesman said that the FEHD will continue to review the effectiveness of the measures and appealed to members of the public to assist in monitoring by reporting suspected irregularities to the department. The FEHD looks forward to further collaboration with the trade to jointly uphold high standards of swimming pool management and monitoring, thereby effectively safeguarding the safety of swimming pool users.

Source: AI-found images

Government concludes eighth-day arrangements for Wang Fuk Court residents returning to their units

Today (April 27) is the eighth day of phased arrangements for residents of seven blocks of Wang Fuk Court in Tai Po to return to their units. Five high-zone floors of Wang Cheong House and 10 middle-zone floors of Wang Tao House were opened. The access arrangements were carried out in an orderly manner and operated smoothly.

A total of 116 households (403 people) registered to return to their units today through the "one social worker per household" service, while 119 households (443 people) actually turned up.

The average time residents spent entering and leaving the building today was two hours and 32 minutes, with the shortest time being 17 minutes and the longest three hours and 45 minutes. About 65 per cent of the residents stayed in the building for less than three hours. About 23 per cent of the residents stayed in the building for less than two hours. About 5 per cent of the residents stayed in the building for less than one hour.

A total of 60 households (124 people) went up and down the building more than once. Among them, 30 households (74 people) made one additional trip, 17 households (31 people) made two additional trips, 9 households (13 people) made three additional trips, 1 household (3 people) made four additional trips, and 3 households (3 people) made five additional trips.

The integrated enquiry counter set up by relevant departments today received 10 cases requesting police assistance.

The 10 cases requesting police assistance involved suspected loss of property, including watches, jewellery, cash and gold items. Officers were immediately deployed to assist in searches, and lost property was recovered in three cases. In two cases, the units concerned were severely damaged and residents believed after investigation that the property might have been destroyed by fire. In another three cases, there were no signs of ransacking in the units, and the residents could not provide details on the property concerned. For the remaining two cases, the Police will make further investigation.

The Government spares no effort in supporting the residents returning to their units. Each day, the Government deploys over 1 000 personnel from various departments, including the Police, the Civil Aid Service, the Fire Services Department, the Auxiliary Medical Service, the Home Affairs Department, the Social Welfare Department (SWD), the Housing Department, and the Housing Bureau, as well as District Services and Community Care Teams members. The "Government-wide Mobilisation" mechanism has also been activated to bring together greater interdepartmental resources to support residents.

Under the "Government-wide Mobilisation" mechanism, the Civil Service Bureau has co-ordinated nine government departments to mobilise civil servants to form the Government Quick Response Unit to support these access arrangements. These civil servants come from the Agriculture, Fisheries and Conservation Department (AFCD), the Architectural Services Department, the Electrical and Mechanical Services Department (EMSD), the Environmental Protection Department, the Food and Environmental Hygiene Department, the Lands Department (LandsD), the Leisure and Cultural Services Department (LCSD), the Post Office, and the Water Supplies Department (WSD). They will form dedicated teams with social workers and clinical psychologists from the SWD, stationed on different floors to provide support to residents returning to their units. The civil servants mobilised in the first three days were from the AFCD, those mobilised from the fourth day to the sixth day are from the EMSD and the LCSD, while those mobilised from the seventh day to the ninth day (including today) are from the LandsD and the WSD.

Government concludes eighth-day arrangements for Wang Fuk Court residents returning to their units Source: HKSAR Government Press Releases

Government concludes eighth-day arrangements for Wang Fuk Court residents returning to their units Source: HKSAR Government Press Releases

Government concludes eighth-day arrangements for Wang Fuk Court residents returning to their units Source: HKSAR Government Press Releases