A Buddhist nun resisting her eviction from a temple in Yuen Long fears that she is being intimidated into leaving by business interests who want to turn the site into a columbarium.
Defiant Sik Chi-sin is continuing to stand firm at the Kung Um Meditation Master Temple, which is about 100 years old and which she has looked after since 1998.
She said her troubles began in January, when a man she knew only by his surname of Wong came 'to talk business'.
'The man said he was backed by mainland capital and wanted to renovate the temple with a new layout for a million-dollar business,' said Sik, 56, who worked in real estate before turning to the Buddhist faith on a visit to Tibet 14 years ago.
'He didn't specify it was for [urn] niches but said the plan was to 'make spaces,'' said Sik. She said she feared her temple was being targeted by the lucrative urn business, amid a shortage of niches at public facilities.
'He also said I can continue to take care of the place and cook vegetarian meals for people.
'I suspect the man was talking about urns because otherwise, why would we need a new layout for meditation?'