'I will work hard to repay the owner for offering me this opportunity,' said Mr Tse, who has no experience in the catering industry and was educated only up to Primary One.

The restaurant's owner, Christopher Gallaga, said he offered Mr Tse a job because he had been homeless himself and only got through the tough time, which included a spell in jail, when friends helped him and he was offered a job.

Mr Gallaga, who is also a chef at his restaurant, said that in a humane society people should help their fellow citizens rather than relying on the government.

'If I can help Mr Tse, if I happen to have a vacancy and I can help him, that costs everybody in Hong Kong zero,' he said. 'I need an employee, I'm going to pay that salary anyway and here is a person who needs work.

'It benefits society because he becomes more productive and, hopefully, continues his growth and pays taxes, rather than society saying every social problem is the government's problem.'

Mr Tse said he would still apply for public housing, and his case could be one of those taken to court by concern groups pushing for a judicial review of the Housing Authority's decision on the grounds of age discrimination.

'Lawyers are now reviewing the information and there should be a decision on when to lodge the application by early next week,' said Sze Lai-shan of the Society for Community Organisation.

But the deputy director of housing, Tam Wing-pong, said the government would not back down because of a possible legal challenge, adding the consensus of society was that the housing needs of the elderly should be looked after first.