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Austin Chiu

About 30 residents displaced by Friday's building collapse plan to march to the Housing Department's headquarters today after the government last night told them it would take months to relocate them to public estates.
Some 53 people in 22 families, or about two-thirds of those affected by the collapse of the five-storey building at 45J Ma Tau Wai Road in To Kwa Wan  moved into Shek Lei interim housing in Kwai Chung  yesterday.
But others said the former Shek Lei Estate  was too remote and in poor condition. They demanded to be moved to So Uk Estate  in Sham Shui Po,  which they said was closer to their original community.
At 1pm, the residents protested in front of Holy Carpenter Church. They unfurled banners and chanted slogans.
'Lunar New Year is coming,' said Ma Kwong-chung, who lived on the rooftop of block G. 'We want to have a home before that. We want to be relocated in the same district so that our normal lives are affected less.'
Residents of blocks E, F, G and H have been told they cannot go back to their flats.
Social Welfare Department  officials told the residents last night that they had to wait at least three months before they could move into public estates. Many of the angry displaced residents remained in front of the church, and plan to march to Housing Department headquarters in Ho Man Tin at 3pm today. Others stayed at the Henry G. Leong Yau Ma Tei Community Centre.  
At least seven children of displaced families did not attend school yesterday, and some adults feared that they would lose their jobs if they could not resume work soon.
An eight-year-old Pakistani boy, Aki Rahil Rhmad Erasmo, was one of the seven pupils who missed school. He developed a fever the night he moved into the shelter. 'I'm sad because I can't play with my friends and I have no one to talk to,' he said.  
The welfare department provided residents who moved into Shek Lei with dinner last night and gave them meal subsidies for a week. A Mr Ko, who moved with his wife and two children, was satisfied with the living conditions.  
People who moved into Shek Lei did not have to pay rent or electricity and water bills for three months, the Housing Department said. It told the protesting displaced residents that the temporary housing was safe. An Indian man who was unable to recover his passport and air ticket from a closed building will fly home to visit his sick wife on Friday with the help of the welfare department.
Legislator Frederick Fung Kin-kee,  who had been helping  the victims, said the welfare department had interviewed 19 families who were likely to be relocated to public estates soon on compassionate grounds. 
Debris from the fallen tenement was moved to government land in Sung On Street  about 400 metres from the scene. Among the rubble, which covered an area the size of a football pitch, were appliances, clothing, valuables and personal belongings.
Police will deploy more than 20 members of the elite search team to look for evidence and sort out residents' valuables and belongings.
'We want to find out what tools were used by the workers in the shop and look for evidence in connection with the case,' a police officer said.
The Legislative Council will discuss a motion about the incident and ways to enhance the safety of old buildings  tomorrow.  The development and housing panels will also hold a special meeting later to discuss the issues. The housing panel held a moment's silence for the victims.
Each family affected has received at least HK$28,000 in relief funds, and those who lost a family member received at least HK$100,000 in a grant from charitable organisations.



Residents displaced by loss of building to march in protest over relocation plans