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Olga Wong

Heritage staff spurned owner's move to preserve King Yin Lei

The government could have saved  the King Yin Lei mansion from the wreckers five months ago, it has emerged. But it ignored a letter in which a leading architect acting for the then owner proposed to preserve the historic building in Mid-Levels.

Philip Liao Yi-kang said he wrote to Chief Executive Donald Tsang Yam-kuen in April  on behalf of the owner, Stephen Yow Mok-shing, seeking talks about how to preserve the 71-year-old Chinese-style building in Stubbs Road.

Mr Tsang's office  passed the letter  to the Home Affairs Bureau - at the time responsible for heritage conservation - but it did not respond.

Three years earlier, the government had approached Mr Yow and invited him to create a 'win-win situation' for the mansion's future.

An Antiquities Advisory Board member and a conservationist said the government had not done enough to save the mansion, which was severely damaged last week by workers believed to have been hired by the new owner. It was declared a proposed monument on Saturday, halting work for the next 12 months.

Mr Liao said he was heartbroken to see what had happened to the mansion. He was hired by Mr Yow more than a year ago to make a detailed survey of its architectural value.

The architect said Mr Yow had asked him to explore options for preserving the site, before eventually selling it for HK$430 million in July to ICE Wisdom, an offshore company which property sale contracts indicate is controlled by Chongqing-born developer Cheung Chung-yiu.

'Mr Yow once asked if he could donate the mansion [to the government] and ask for a land swap,' Mr Liao said.

The architect said the government had only got in touch with himself and Mr Yow two days ago,  when  Development  Secretary Carrie Lam Cheng Yuet-ngor asked  for advice. Mr Liao  promised to help. The Development Bureau took  responsibility  for heritage conservation in July.

Mr Liao said it appeared the developer knew how to destroy the building without infringing laws.

'This is a strategy. Deface it first and redevelop,' he said.

Mr Liao was first runner-up in the architectural design competition for the West Kowloon arts hub.

Mr Yow said the head of a government bureau had approached him for a deal on the mansion in 2004. 'They invited me to reach a win-win situation. But they did not go into details,' he said. The person, who he did not name, is still in  government.

The Chief Executive's Office confirmed it had received a letter from an architect about the mansion in April, and said staff had acknowledged receipt of it  and referred the matter to the Home Affairs Bureau. A spokeswoman for this bureau  referred inquiries to the Development Bureau, which could not immediately say why the letter was  not  acted upon.

Four missed chances

2003 Planning Department inspected the mansion. No action taken

2004  Government approaches its then owner  for a deal on its future. No deal reached

2006 Owner invites Antiquities and Monuments Office staff to survey site. Office makes no proposal for site

April 2007 Architect writes to chief executive seeking talks on preserving King Yin Lei. No response received from  Home Affairs Bureau



April plan to save mansion was ignored