NEWS that owners of overseas property will be eligible for cash help under the controversial ''sandwich class'' home purchase scheme prompted outrage among legislators last night.
Designed to help middle-income families afford their own homes, the first phase of the $2-billion scheme comes into operation on Monday.
Originally, the Government had said that families owning property in the two years prior to an application would be disqualified. But yesterday it revealed that the restriction only applied to local property.
Officials from the Hong Kong Housing Society, appointed by the Government to approve grant payments, said it was impossible to check if applicants already owned property overseas and therefore the scheme was open to abuse.
''It would give rise to enormous administrative difficulties,'' director of estate management Wong Lai-chun said.
To be an eligible ''sandwich class'' family, applicants must have at least three members and a total monthly income of between $20,001 and $40,000.