A group of slum-dwellers refused to move out yesterday because the date was inauspicious. Three families locked themselves in their units at the Kai Wang Temporary Housing Area in Kowloon Bay and refused to move after the deadline for demolition at 9 am. 'My baby was born only 10 days ago. According to the almanac, it's not good to move houses before a baby is one month old,' one resident surnamed Lau said. 'It's a tradition I have to follow for the good of my baby.' Others said the Housing Department had not done their best to resettle them. 'We've been living in hardship for these years,' another resident said. 'Now they offered either distant or noisy flats. It's unbearable.' But a department spokesman said they had offered each household 10 choices but all had been turned down. Forty staff from the Housing Department and 20 police officers were ready to evict the residents before District Board members and social workers helped to negotiate a settlement. The households were given another two weeks to pack their belongings, while other units were fenced off for future clearance.
