Hon Ching-yeung has owned land in the community for 11 years, but some villagers consider him an outsider. They say he has opened a club that attracts drunks. He says they are just afraid of the competition
A village on Lantau Island has been plunged into turmoil after a simmering row between a group of established residents and a major landowner boiled over last week into a barrage of claims and counterclaims.
After five years of disputes over everything from water use and land rights to chopped-down feng shui trees, residents of Lower Cheung Sha Village have said enough is enough, and called on the government to step in.
The opening of a private club and a row between the landowner and a villager, which resulted in police being called, proved to be the final straw, with government officials and district councillors being dragged in.
Fronting picturesque Cheung Sha beach, a 20-minute drive from Mui Wo ferry terminal, the primitive fishing village has long been popular with holidaymakers and people flocking in at weekends.
But beneath the surface, a village feud has been building up.