Every cloud has a silver lining as they say, apart from finding excessive levels of lead in your drinking water perhaps.
No. Wait. Scratch that.
Banking sector lawmaker Ng Leung-sing raised a few smiles in a LegCo meeting yesterday when he asked, seemingly in all seriousness, if drinking water with excessive levels of lead it in could actually be good for your health.
Ng’s question came at a special meeting of a LegCo committee held to discuss the lead-in-water scandal at Hong Kong’s housing estates, which is now in its third month.
“People’s life expectancy has been increasing. Will the government conduct any scientific study to see if drinking lead-containing water is one of the factors leading to this trend? Is there evidence suggesting that consuming water with an appropriate level of lead can strengthen one’s health and extend life?,” Ng said, according to the SCMP.
Clearly baffled, Chief Secretary Carrie Lam handed the question over to Health Minister Dr. Ko Wing-man, who gave an impressively measured reply.
“So far I have not seen any medical literature or evidence that suggests lead can benefit our health. The health effects of lead still needs a lot of research for understanding in more depth,” Ko said.
To be fair, Ko neither confirmed or denied the possibility.
Maybe old Ng’s onto something… or maybe he should forge a new career in PR.
Photo: Steve Johnson
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