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Casino tycoon Stanley Ho Hung-sun's third wife says Number 4 Shek O Headland has not been neglected and that plans have been lodged to redevelop the site.
The Sunday Morning Post revealed last week that the house had been in slow decline since Chan Un Chan  (also known as Chan Yuen-chun)   bought it from a trust through her company, Century Sino International, in March 2006.
Neighbours  in Shek O, a former  fishing village in the southeastern corner of Hong Kong Island,   said they were bemused by the decline of what was once the proudest house on the street.
The house, on a 13,000 sq ft block, has unobstructed views of the water from every room, according to former tenants, and would be worth more than HK$100 million if it were sold on the open market.
If it were rented out,  the  property would command  far more than the HK$60,000 paid monthly by the last tenant, who left in 2006.
During a visit to the crumbling house,  neighbours said the swimming pool bred mosquitoes and the wild garden was full of snakes. One said he put fish in the pool to try to contain the mosquito larvae. Unopened mail spills from the letterbox.
Metal fences surround the building, and obsolete signs in the carport declare the house off limits to those looking to park  their cars and say   the property is  owned by Mr Ho's flagship company, Shun Tak Holdings.
A company spokeswoman said the property was a private asset owned by the chairman.
In a letter last  week,  Ms Chan denied the house had been neglected since it was bought and said that it would soon be torn down.
'The house is now subject to demolition for redevelopment [on] the site,' she said.
'We are in the course of arranging the same with the Building Authority and the Lands Department.
'All relevant building plans [were] submitted to the Building Authority in 2007 ... for approval.
'Meanwhile, we have arranged to take reasonable steps to maintain the house in proper condition.'
The site where the house sits was bought in August 1958 and registered in the name of Mr Ho's first wife, Clementina Leitao Ho.
But after the couple's son, Robert, and daughter-in-law, Suki, were killed in a car accident in Portugal in June 1981, the house passed into a trust for the Ho couple's two daughters.
Clementina Leitao Ho  died in 2004.
Ms Chan bought the home, which had been rented out infrequently since 1982, for HK$60 million.



Faded Shek O gem poised for demolition, says tycoon's wife