ILLEGAL Tsuen Wan rooftop residents yesterday vowed to barricade their homes in a last-ditch effort to prevent the authorities from moving in to evict them at 9.30 am today. The 24 illegal households in the Cheuk Ming and Tak Yan buildings in Tsuen Wan Market Street are scheduled for demolition today when Buildings Department officials accompanied by police will enact the closure order issued on October 19. Chiu Chi-sum, 44, and wife, who have three children, have lived in their rooftop flat for 22 years. He said he would remain defiant to the end and do all he could to prevent officials from entering his home. 'I am staying put with my three children, I'm not going to let them tear down our home. I do not want to leave, it's my home - they will have to forcibly remove us,' he said. The hotel engineer said the family would lock themselves in to make things difficult for the officials. 'I'm not going to give up and walk down the steps with them. They will have to drag me out,' Mr Chiu said. He had no wish to be resettled elsewhere. 'My parents are retired and my father is crippled so we have to take care of him. That is why we're staying. Even if the authorities offer to rehouse us in another area we will refuse - we need to be near my parents,' he explained. Ho Nga-ying, 42, paid $92,000 for her rooftop flat in 1985. She and her husband will lock themselves in, determined to stay and defend their home. 'I don't know what to do because there is nowhere for us to go. We bought the flat legally, we pay rates and property tax and now the Government say it's illegal. We are not leaving - we have no other option, they say our home is illegal, if we sleep on the streets it's illegal - where else can we go?' she asked. District Commander Tsuen Wan District, Chief Superintendent Norrie Rae, said the police would have sufficient numbers to cope with the situation. 'We are expecting one or two may resist but we are hoping the majority will leave peacefully to let the Buildings Department get on with their work. We are not looking for confrontation,' he said. Mr Rae said three roads in the area would be closed for safety reasons to ensure smooth running of the operation. The police would attempt to evict residents one block at a time. The illegal rooftop dwellers staged a last-minute protest in Tsuen Wan Market Street yesterday urging the Government to give them a reprieve. Police presence ensured there was no repeat of the drama on Wednesday when 30 people from the Cheuk Ming and Tak Yan buildings staged a sit-in in Garden Road, Central, against the Building Department's action.
