Hard knock life for Sham Shui Po street sleeper

Ah Sam always has sleepy eyes. His skin is yellow like wax, his hair grey. Scars from mosquito bites and working mark his hands and arms. When he takes off his grey-and-yellow coat, an odour spreads.

He is one of about 35 people who sleep in front of the Jade Market, part of the Tung Chau Street Temporary Market in Sham Shui Po, one of the poorest districts in Hong Kong. Fifteen Vietnamese refugees also sleep there, and about 10 in the parks nearby, he said.

Ah Sam, 48, does not give his real name because he said he felt ashamed and did not want his family to know his situation.

A nonprofit organisation, the Society for Community Organization (SoCO), said about half of Hong Kong’s street sleepers find shelter in Sham Shui Po, of an estimated 1,200 in the city. The Social Welfare Department, which keeps a Street Sleepers Registry, reported 595 homeless people citywide in March.

Sham Shui Po has long been a hub of activity. Hundreds of hawkers sold jade on its streets before the government set up the Jade Market in 2005 to clean up the environment. But business has cooled in recent years; as much as 70 per cent of the Tung Chau Street Temporary Market is unoccupied, according to a property agency. Many stall owners complain about the street sleepers nearby.