Hero sets terms on $6m offer
Robbery hero Yeung Hoi-keung will accept a $6 million ex-gratia payment to compensate for his injuries if the Government will keep paying his social welfare benefit.
Mr Yeung, 39, who became paralysed in the lower body and left hand after being shot by a robber he chased in 1989, initially refused to accept the $6 million offer, saying that it was far less than the $20 million he could expect from a civil claim.
But yesterday Mr Yeung said he had asked the Government to guarantee the provision of free medical treatment, including regular home visits by registered nurses.
He also wants a guarantee that the public housing the family rented for $2,300 a month and the $1,100 monthly benefits for the disabled would not be taken away.
'We don't want to be regarded as a millionaire family because every dollar we spend is important to us,' he said.
A Security Branch spokesman said officials were discussing Mr Yeung's requests.
The ex-gratia payment would be made in a lump sum if approved. He would also be exempted from repaying emergency funds of $149,580 to the Social Welfare Department.
After seven years in hospitals, Mr Yeung is due to return home next month.
He is keen to run a florist's and fruit shop in the Queen Elizabeth Hospital.