Hongkongers are divided on whether Paul Chan Mo-po should become the second scandal-hit development chief to quit the government in as many months.
While some believe Chan's admission that he knew a flat owned by his wife's company in Kowloon had been subdivided illegally is not 'fatal', others say he should step down, just a week after taking over when Mak Chai-kwong resigned following his arrest by graft-busters.
While Chan and his wife Frieda Hui Po-ming last week denied knowing the details of the rental of a flat in Tai Kok Tsui, Chan admitted at midnight on Sunday he did know one of the flats had been sub-let, implying he also knew it was subdivided.
'Chan may not have a clear picture, but it's impossible that his wife doesn't know about it at all,' said Tai Kok Tsui resident Au Wai-kwan, 58, adding that Chan should be given time to rectify the 'small mistake'.
'The explanations [that he made] mean that he has already admitted the mistakes,' he said, referring to Chan's statement, in which he claimed his previous denial of knowledge referred only to the 'present situation' of the flats.
But others did not believe Chan's explanation and said they had lost faith in the former lawmaker.