Licensed vendors in Mong Kok seek legal aid to resist eviction

Two government-licensed Mong Kok hawkers applied for legal aid yesterday to challenge eviction notices filed by Law Kar-po, son of late Bossini chain founder Law Ting-pong.

News-stand vendor Tam Kwok and fixed-pitch stall owner Law Hop-ngan, who are fighting for their decades-old pitches in Bute Street, visited the government offices in Admiralty to make their applications.

'We need to appear before court in 14 days after receiving the letter, so hopefully this will buy us some time and get us the needed finances,' Tam said.

They are backed by the Coalition of Hong Kong Newspaper and Magazine Merchants amid fears that if their evictions go ahead, any hawker, licensed or otherwise, could be similarly driven from their work locations.

Coalition chairman Liu Sair-ching and eight other news-stand owners accompanied the pair to the Legal Aid Department. 'If [Tam] and [Law] are forced to move, then there is a possibility that all newspaper stall operators in Hong Kong can get evicted,' Liu said.

Even though Law - who sells bags and suitcases - did not operate a news-stand, the coalition decided to support her because she was facing the same 'unfair treatment', he said.