Soap opera ending for music fountain

The HK$50 million music fountain at Kwun Tong promenade will be closed within less than a week of opening, and the culprit is "liquid soap."

The Leisure and Cultural Services Department closed the music fountain yesterday due to suspected contamination of the water with liquid soap, which has resulted in a great deal of foam at the fountain and interactive wet play areas.

The place will be temporarily closed to drain the water and carry out thorough cleaning. Music fountain performances will also be temporarily suspended until further notice.

This came days after local actor Wong Kar-wai, known by his stage name Tung Fong-shing, mocked the new music fountains as a "white elephant" by taking a shower there.

Wong joined in the fun by playing with water jets on Saturday, saying the people of Hong Kong should use it as much as possible as it was built with HK$50 million of public money. He then proceeded to take a shower wearing a shower cap, mask and purple shorts.

Without naming Wong, the LCSD said on Sunday that staffers at the scene immediately stopped him from using soap to avoid citizens slipping.

According to official documents submitted to the Legislative Council's finance committee, the government said the fountain will contain sanitizing and cleaning functions to ensure its water quality is in line with swimming pool standards.