An old man, driven to despair after his sister evicted him from the property he had given her, set himself and the house on fire in an act of revenge, a court heard.
Sixty-four-year-old sailor Chan On had given his sister the deed to his multi-million dollar property in Tseung Kwan O village on the condition she look after their ageing mother.
But the elder sister, Chan Yuk-lan, 60, reneged on her promise and would not move in with the mother, the District Court heard.
'The eldest sister admitted she only returned to the village to visit the mother occasionally,' said Peter Hui, defending.
'He gave his sister $240,000 to build a new house on the property, and each month he gave her half his salary as money for his mother.' Chan had supported the family for nearly 50 years. He retired in 1990, and lived with his mother for two years. During this time he gave his remaining two properties to his other sister and his ex-wife who redeveloped them and later sold them.
But when the mother died, the elder sister got a court order and turfed out Chan in November 1995, forcing him to sleep on the streets, prosecutor Ronald Mayne, told the court.
The defence said: 'Neither his sister nor wife would have him stay with them. The ones he had trusted didn't care for him any more. All he wanted to do at the time was die.' On the morning of December 11, last year he broke into the village house that his sister had left empty after she had evicted him, the court heard.
