Hong Kong to investigate claims of dirty Sinopec LPG

HONG KONG -- Hong Kong's government will investigate claims that dirty liquefied petroleum gas sold at filling stations operated by China Petroleum and Chemical Corp. has led to a spate of breakdowns by taxis and minibuses. 

The government will take samples from the stations and hold talks with company representatives and taxi drivers, according to a statement released Monday by the city's Electrical and Mechanical Services Department. Huang Wensheng, a Beijing-based spokesman for the company known as Sinopec, didn't answer calls made to his mobile phone.

The Motor Transport Workers General Union advised taxi drivers not to use Sinopec fuel and to keep receipts of costs incurred from breakdowns so that the group can press for compensation, the South China Morning Post reported Monday, citing the director of the union's taxi branch To Sun-tong.