Village fury after illegal dumper covers rubble with soil instead of removing it
Tai Po villagers who were delighted when debris dumped illegally on their land began to be cleared early this month have had the smiles wiped off their faces.
Instead of clearing away all the debris, they say, the company responsible has just dumped a cosmetic layer of earth over much of it. Now they fear the government, which had given a deadline of Wednesday for the debris to be cleared from the land at the remote village of Ting Kok Tsuen, may take action against them.
A Post inspection of the site yesterday found most of the dumped building debris was still on the site, covered by a layer of muddy soil apparently taken from an adjoining site.
'This is unbelievable. If you don't get closer and look, it is hard to believe that the illegal construction waste is buried below,' said villager Pang Pak-shing, a member of Ting Kok Tsuen rural committee, who assisted affected overseas landowners in their battle to have the land cleared. 'All the diggers and trucks left the illegal dumping site without a word last Saturday. They have not come back.'
China King Properties, which owns other land in the area, said earlier that trucks hired by it had dumped the debris on the villagers' land by mistake. Yesterday the company manager, who had previously spoken on condition of anonymity, refused to comment and hung up when the Post called.
One elderly owner said he was so upset he felt like killing himself. 'We have done everything we can to pin down the culprit but in vain,' said Lo Tung-tai, 85. 'I just want my land back the way it was, clean and tidy. If the government is going to sue us, I am going to commit suicide to show my anger. Frankly, I am too old to go through the hassles and I have thought about giving up my land. It's just too troublesome and tedious.'
The Planning Department was to inspect the site on Wednesday but had to delay it a day because of Severe Tropical Storm Fengshen. When inspectors went to the site on Thursday they found the order to clear it had been flouted. The department is seeking advice from the Department of Justice on possible legal action.
The department said a stop notice issued on May 14 required the landowners and responsible people to discontinue the dumping on May 15 and to remove the rubble by June 25.
'Based on the information collected from the latest visit, the unauthorised landfilling activity had been discontinued, but there are still fill materials remaining on the site,' a department spokesman said.
'Further enforcement and prosecution action would depend on the evidence collected and the legal advice received.'
Mr Pang said the clearance operation had been too slow.
'Since early June, only around 150 truck trips were made to remove waste. With nearly 600 lorries of waste dumped here, this is far too slow. They have simply showed up without the honest willingness and determination to clear the site,' he said.
Meanwhile, the Environmental Protection Department has completed an investigation and is now reviewing the case to see whether a prosecution should be launched under the Waste Disposal Ordinance.
