MR HSU She-hua is an orchid fanatic. In fact, his penchant for wild orchids has cost him more than $20,000 and at least seven trips in and out of courtrooms in the past year.
In his large Tai Po flat, the eccentric Mr Hsu indulges his hobbies of breeding orchids and fiery red ants.
He is proud of his ants, but it is his orchid collection which regularly lands him in trouble.
Wild orchids are regarded as an endangered species, and are protected under Hongkong law.
The unemployed 44-year-old, who freelances for the American magazine Orchid Digest, maintains the court's fines of $17,200, $5,000 in lawyers fees and a six-month prison sentence suspended for two years, were ''outrageous''.
''They charged me for these common orchids that nobody wants!'' Mr Hsu said after his latest conviction for illegal possession of the wild orchids.
Mr Hsu has more than 50 pots of orchids sitting on his covered terrace, and thousands of ants crawl around in a wooden box.