Just one day after the funeral of 'Monkey Man' Chan Yat-biu, his son was yesterday granted a government licence to keep the family's pet, Kam Ying.
'It is a joy for both me and Kam Ying, and I guess she knows it as well,' said Chan's son, Chan Yiu-wing. 'I will buy some good fruit for her and we'll celebrate together.'
Conservation officers rang Mr Chan yesterday morning saying they had decided to issue a licence for him to keep the eight-year-old rhesus monkey - adding, however, that his case would be an exception.
On hearing the news, Mr Chan, 51, who is single, immediately went to the Agriculture, Fisheries and Conservation Department headquarters in Cheung Sha Wan to sign the documents.
Under laws governing wild animals and endangered species in Hong Kong, it is illegal to possess and rear monkeys unless a special permit is granted by the government.
'We decided to issue a licence to Mr Chan as the monkey has been reared by a human for years and it is impossible to return her to the wild,' a department spokesman said.
'She has also developed a close companionship with Mr Chan, who actually took care of the animal in the past two years.'