A Life-Saving Attendant at the Licensed Swimming Pool of a Private Housing Estate in Happy Valley is Suspected of Using Fraudulent Certificate

Suspected use of fraudulent life-saving attendant certificate at private housing estate's swimming pool in Happy Valley

A spokesman for the Food and Environmental Hygiene Department (FEHD) said today (August 6) that a life-saving attendant at the licensed swimming pool of a private housing estate, located at 1-5 Ventris Road, Happy Valley, is suspected of using a fraudulent life-saving attendant certificate. As the qualification of the life-saving attendant is in doubt and the swimming pool has allegedly failed to provide a sufficient number of qualified life-saving attendants as required by law, the FEHD has ordered the immediate closure of the pool and is considering prosecuting its licensee. The incident has been reported to the Police, and the FEHD has also notified the Property Management Services Authority to take parallel follow-up action.

The Food and Environmental Hygiene Department, Photo source: HKSAR Government Press Releases

Officers from the FEHD yesterday (August 5) verified a batch of lifeguard records with the Hong Kong China Life Saving Society (HKCLSS), and received the verification result today. It is discovered that the credentials of a life-saving attendant on duty at the aforementioned swimming pool yesterday did not match the records of the HKCLSS. The FEHD immediately took action regarding the pool.

The spokesman stressed, "Swimming pool licensees must strictly comply with the Swimming Pools 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."

The licensed swimming pool of the private housing estate, Photo source: online image

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. From January to the end of July this year, officers from the FEHD had conducted about 7 000 inspections of over 1 400 licensed private swimming pools across the territory, and had verified the qualifications of about 2 100 life-saving attendants through the HKCLSS. According to the records, since the implementation of enhanced regulatory measures in 2025, the FEHD also discovered a case involving the suspected employment of unqualified life-saving attendants on duty in 2025.

To ensure that licensees fulfil their responsibilities properly, the FEHD explicitly requires 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 FEHD will continue to implement the relevant measures straightly to enhance the safety standards of licensed swimming pools and safeguard the safety of swimming pool users. Members of the public are called on to take part in the monitoring and report suspected cases of irregularities to the department.

The private housing estate, located at 1-5 Ventris Road, Happy Valley, Photo source: online image

EMSD announces latest sampling results for legionella at fresh water cooling towers

The Electrical and Mechanical Services Department (EMSD) today (August 7) announced that the department tested 72 water samples collected from cooling towers in 45 buildings in its routine inspections in July 2026. None of them were detected to have a total legionella count at or above the upper threshold, which is 1 000 colony-forming units per millilitre. 

The EMSD also announced the locations of buildings which were served with nuisance notices during the preceding three-month period as the total legionella count was found in the fresh water cooling towers to be equal to or above the upper threshold. 

The EMSD publishes the latest statistics of the above information on a half-monthly basis on its website: www.emsd.gov.hk/en/other_regulatory_services/cooling_towers/water_sampling/index.html.

The EMSD reminds the owners of fresh water cooling towers that they have the responsibility to design, operate and maintain cooling towers properly. They should arrange regular inspections, timely maintenance and periodic testing of the water quality in their cooling towers in accordance with the Code of Practice for Fresh Water Cooling Towers issued by the department to prevent the proliferation of legionella.

The Electrical and Mechanical Services Department, Photo source: reference image