queries about haunted offices don't stand a ghost of a chance
Lai See knows what it's like to work with ghosts - and we're talking about the real thing here, not gweilo. He's been ensconced for ages in the SCMP's famous haunted office in Taikoo Place, where our proprietors kindly consented to hold a 'cleansing' ceremony five years ago after some of our female colleagues saw ghosts in the ladies room.
Once they move into a building, however, ghosts can prove very difficult to dislodge. Or that's what a member of the staff of our upstairs neighbour Citic Ka Wah Bank thinks might be the problem.
This individual says that since taking over the office from American Express early this year, the bank's staff has used more sick leaves than usual.
Apparently ghostly apparitions were reported when American Express had the office, too. SmarTone Telecommunications staff, located a few floors down but now in the midst of moving, used to talk about seeing ghosts back in the late '90s. Here at the SCMP, though, we have been ghost-free since the Buddhist monks performed their ritual.
A Citic Ka Wah Bank spokeswoman seemed to think your humble correspondent ought to have better things to do with his time. She said there was nothing unusual to report, not even a spike in sick leaves. The landlord, Swire Properties, took the high-minded approach. 'We'll not respond to non-scientific rumours,' said a spokeswoman, adding that any ailments suffered by occupants of the building might be due to air pollution.
