POLICE confirmed early today that a woman had been gang-raped at the notorious Chungking Mansions. The Indian victim was 26, and the rapists were her friends, police said. She was attacked at 4 am last Wednesday and the rapists left two hours later. Neighbours heard the woman screaming in her home more than six hours later and called police. Last Wednesday was the first day of the on-going electricity blackout at the Tsim Sha Tsui buildings. A group of shopkeepers at the mansions said yesterday they had been told a woman had been gang-raped by three men who had broken into her home in darkness. Meanwhile, shopkeepers and residents at the buildings are being forced to sleep in nearby parks and relatives' homes as a result of the blackout. Until electricity is completely restored on Tuesday, residents will have to put up with people using stairwells as toilets, as the lack of power means water pumps do not work and toilets are out of order. Stairwells are soiled with urine and excrement. Almost 90 per cent of the shops on the ground and first floors were closed yesterday. A few shops and restaurants managed to open again after power was temporarily restored at 6 pm on Friday. Mr Sahul Hamid Farooq, 49, was sitting forlornly outside his restaurant, which was dimly lit by candles. He estimated his shop had lost $20,000. ''We are paying a rent of $22,000 plus $2,000 rates. I'm not going to pay the rent for this month because the landlord has not fixed up the electricity supply.'' Although he had a flat on the 16th floor, Mr Farooq said he was unable to stay there without water and electricity. ''I, my wife and my two children aged seven and 12, had to sleep here on the corridor or in a nearby park at night.'' A restaurant owner, Mr Liu Yuen-pun, said his shop was losing $5,000-$6,000 a day because of the power failure. He said police were patrolling the building in teams of five about two or three times during the day. He complained about poor security, saying his shop had been broken into twice this month.
