The New Territories West Regional Joint Office (JO) has successfully handled many water seepage cases, one of which occurred in an industrial building in Tsuen Wan in April 2021.  The flat affected was used as a warehouse to store medical supplies and the complainant worried that the quality of goods would be affected due to the water seepage problem.  The JO immediately sent a health inspector to carry out investigation.  Upon confirming that there was water seepage on the ceiling of the complainant's flat, the JO contacted the occupant of the flat upstairs straightaway.  The occupant was reluctant to cooperate with the JO in the first place.  However, after listening to the patient explanation offered by the health inspector, the occupant became aware of the handling procedures and the responsibilities of both sides and eventually allowed the JO staff to enter the flat to conduct the colour water test.  The result of the test showed that the drainage pipe of the water closet in the toilet of the flat upstairs was damaged.  Hence, the health inspector asked the occupant to carry out repairs at once.

In this case, the complainant and the occupant of the flat under complaint knew their own and each other's duties and worked together to resolve the problem satisfactorily.  The processing of the case was expedited with the assistance of the management office which provided the JO staff with the layout plans concerned and acted as a bridge of communication.  Moreover, the JO team worked hard to handle the case under the professional advice and effective leadership of their supervisor.  The effort of all these parties contributed to the success of the JO in identifying the source of seepage and resolving the seepage problem.