VlogJ

A dead rat was found in a flower bed near Tseung Kwan O Swimming Pool yesterday, one day after a live rat was spotted in a main pool.

The pool was closed between 10am and 7.30pm for a regular cleanup, which the Leisure and Cultural Services Department said had been planned.

'The pool is closed for a weekly cleanup,' a department spokeswoman said. 'It is just a coincidence that the cleaning day is one day after the rat was spotted.'

At about 6.45am on Sunday, a swimmer spotted a live rat in the pool while about 40 people were in it.

The department said the rat died while it was being captured and had been given to the Food and Environmental Hygiene Department. The pool was closed for cleaning and disinfection, and reopened at 10.15am.

The Leisure and Cultural Services Department said the incident was rare and said an investigation would be held to find out how the rat had got into the pool.

The Environmental Hygiene Department said an inspection had been made to check on the public area near the swimming pool, including a rubbish collection point in Wan Lung Road.

'No trace of rats has been found in the past few months,' the department said. 'An inspection was also carried out and no sight of rodents was spotted. The department's contractor conducted anti-rodent work in the area and found a dead rat in a flower bed, and the body was removed immediately.'

Sai Kung district councillor Chan Kai-wai suspected the problem might have been caused by a rubbish collection point near the pool.

'There is no backstreet or wet market in the area near the swimming pool,' Mr Chan said. 'So, the trash collection point might be the problem.'

Swimmers expressed concern about pool hygiene and said they would not use the facilities. Carol Lam, a Tseung Kwan O resident, said she would not take her children to the pool.

'I saw some children urinating in the water and some elderly spitting near the swimming area,' she said. 'It is risky for children to swim there.'

She urged the government to provide more civic education to teach people how to behave in the pool.

Tom Pin, who visited the pool on Sunday morning, also expressed concerns. 'The water quality is not good,' he said. 'I could not see anything clearly in the water. The drainage may be dirty so it provides good conditions for rats.'

He said he would go to a pool at a clubhouse instead.

Another Tseung Kwan O resident, a Mr Lam in his 50s, said he planned to swim, but the pool was closed. 'My friend has found insects in the pool before. The hygiene is not good enough. I may swim later because this is the only public swimming pool near my home.'

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