Nail house owner vows to fight on

The Hong Kong owner of a Shenzhen 'nail house' said yesterday he would appeal against 'inadequate' compensation ordered for the demolition of his home.

In a ruling on Monday, the Shenzhen Housing and Land Resources Bureau ordered Choi Chu-cheung, the 57-year-old owner of the six-storey home, to accept 5.06 million yuan in compensation from the developer and move out.

Mr Choi said he would take the bureau to court because the payout was well below the 14 million yuan he had demanded.

In the past two years, Mr Choi has fought developers wanting to turn the site where his home stands into an 88-storey building. He also demanded a new block of land of similar size nearby, so he could rebuild, or increased compensation.

For months, a banner with the words 'No violations of legitimate private property' has hung from the house roof. Mr Choi said he had gathered stones and would aim them at anybody who tried to destroy his house. 'We will fight to the last minute,' he said.