owner operator Next Magazine's 'Detective' column exposes embarrassing or indiscreet behaviour by Government officials and celebrities. Recently it reported that the boss of the Hong Kong Trade Development Council, Michael Sze, used the council's yacht one Sunday for a private gathering. According to Next, about 10 owners of apartments in South Bay Tower, where Sze lives, boarded the Hong Kong Trader at Sai Kung. The magazine also printed a copy of a notice for an owners' committee meeting which gives the Hong Kong Trader as the venue. When quizzed, a council spokesman said Sze had invited several PRC factory owners for a day out. It was pure coincidence that they owned apartments in the same building.
love is the drug A Taiwanese couple have been saved from drug addiction by true love, reports the United Evening News. The two had been addicted to drugs for about 20 years ago and have each seen the inside of a prison cell. To indulge her habit, the woman had even left her baby, from a previous marriage, with her mother's family to be raised. When she was sent to a rehabilitation centre four years ago, the 1.72-metre nightclub hostess weighed just 38 kilos.
She met her new husband - who had a similar background - in the rehab centre. They fell in love, decided to quit drugs and start a new life. They married last week. At the wedding, they said they would continue to work at the centre and serve as living examples to encourage other people to quit drugs.
gilded cage Next Magazine has attempted to cheer up recession-hit Hong Kong with a rags-to-riches tale of a cageman construction worker who recently retired at 46 with $2 million in the bank. The Guangzhou immigrant, who had little education and started working at age 12, lived in a cage in Kowloon City for almost 30 years until his savings reached $2 million last year. His target reached, he moved to Guangdong, bought three apartments, four shops and married a local woman.
early birds Early morning is the busiest time for mainland prostitutes in Sham Shui Po. Oriental Daily News reports that instead of trying to compete with local girls, the hookers, who came to Hong Kong on tourist visas, have taken to working the morning shift, starting at 6 am. Most of their clients are old men taking their early morning constitutionals, or night-shift workers on their way home.
The 'morning chickens' also tout for business outside residential buildings and among hawkers. The newspaper says they charge just $150, partly because they enjoy off-peak discounts from short-stay hotels.