The Hong Kong government said yesterday it will pro-secute a supermarket chain owned by the city's richest man, Li Ka-shing, after finding cholera in a fish tank at one of its stores.

Parknshop will be charged with violating a food busi-ness regulation requiring shops to keep their fish tanks free of bacteria that lead to human illness, said Food and Environmental Hygiene Department spokeswoman Iris Au.

The charge carries a maximum penalty of 10,000 Hong Kong dollars (US$1,282) and one-month imprisonment, Au said.

The cholera was found in a sample from a tank at a ParknShop store in resi-dential Pok Fu Lam district on August 26.

Parknshop spokeswoman Teresa Pang said the company has not been informed of any charges.

She said ParknShop has closed the fish tanks at all its stores after the cholera discovery - the second time the bacteria has been found in Hong Kong this year.

Pang said the company is looking at its fish suppliers as a possible source of the contamination.

Four cases of cholera were reported in the city last year. Symptoms include diarrhea, vomiting and cramps.

Meanwhile, Au said officials have taken samples from food stalls in the coastal Aberdeen district following speculation cholera might be breeding there.

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