Government groups reject Aw family home
The historic Haw Par Mansion remains vacant despite escaping Cheung Kong's bulldozers in 2002 because no government department wants to take over the former residence of the late flamboyant billionaire Aw Boon Haw.
Secretary for Home Affairs Patrick Ho Chi-ping said the government was still considering what to do with the 72-year-old Tai Hang mansion, which needs extensive work before it can be opened to the public.
'We have asked all departments but none of them wanted it,' he said.
The mansion is vacant as residents prepare to move into the adjacent luxury development built on the site of the Tiger Balm Gardens that once surrounded the residence with world-famous plaster images of hell.
Mr Ho said this paradox - that the gardens, once one of the city's most popular parks, were bulldozed while the mansion, which few members of the public had ever visited, was kept - illustrated the need for a new heritage conservation policy.
The Antiquities Advisory Board recommended the mansion's preservation because of its historical and architectural merit, rarity and integrity and the government struck a deal with Cheung Kong to keep it in return for greater density in the property development.