Housing Society denies threats to widow, 85
The Housing Society has denied threatening an 85-year old widow with jail and a fine of $100 a day if she does not clear out of her residence in an urban renewal zone in Shamshuipo.
The Sunday Morning Post reported last week that Leung Kwai owns an illegal structure on a roof in the Un Chau Street renewal zone where she has been living for more than 40 years.
She had been threatened by a Mr Lee from the Housing Society if she refused to leave by the end of next month.
Ms Leung is not entitled to public or temporary housing as she owns a small unit that she rents out in Mongkok. But the lease runs out next June, and until then she would have nowhere else to stay.
A Housing Society spokeswoman said the penalty had been 'explained' to Ms Leung when she agreed to a $14,000 compensation package in March, which may have been misunderstood as a threat.
'The difference [between an explanation and a threat] is in the tone of voice. We just informed Ms Leung we have this penalty for those who have agreed to the compensation then refuse to move. We have the right to explain that policy. Jail was never mentioned,' she said.
She added that the Housing Society had been working with social workers to provide Ms Leung with counselling and practical assistance in finding a new flat.
Social workers also helped her draft a letter to the Housing Society asking for a deferment to vacate her premises, which was granted until the end of October.
But Ms Leung was adamant the threat of both jail and a fine had been made when she met Mr Lee, and she had never heard of any such penalty when she agreed to the compensation in March.
'It is easy for them to say I am old and confused,' she said.
'I may be a little deaf but I don't have Alzheimer's disease.'
She claimed Mr Lee had visited her again last week and had told her not to bother speaking to 'gweilo reporters'.
The response from the Housing Society did not sit well with members of the Shamshuipo District Council's panel dealing with urban renewal problems, which convened last Thursday to discuss Ms Leung's plight.
District councillor and panel chairman Leung Yau-fong criticised the officers.
'Lo Lin-fat [officer in charge of the Un Chau Street Urban Renewal] initially denied any of the comments were made,' he said. 'When we asked them how he knew, he just said he had asked his officer and he believed him.
'He hasn't even been to see Ms Leung. There has been no investigation, no impartial judgment.
'Then there is the fact that this penalty exists, which we [panel members] didn't even know about. If we don't know, how could Ms Leung possibly know?'
The panel has asked the Housing Society to investigate, produce a report on the handling of the case and to set up an impartial mechanism for handling complaints.
