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Joyce Ng

A second block damaged by the collapse of a To Kwa Wan tenement could face the wrecking ball, a government contractor said, as residents were told to return to the street today to claim valuables.
Thomas Wong Kam-chuen, of the contractor YSK2 Engineering,  hired to demolish Block H at 45 Ma Tau Wai Road, said yesterday that he believed Block G would probably have to be torn down as well.
'It will depend on whether the actual condition of Block G is the same as the structural plan. If it is, it's very likely the block will have to be knocked down,' Wong said.
According to the building plans, blocks G, H and J, which stood side by side, were planned as a group and had the same layout and structure when they were built in the 1950s.
The collapse of Block J on January 29 damaged Block H, which is in the process of being demolished after it was deemed dangerous. 
The incident killed four people and left dozens homeless. 
An investigation into the cause of the collapse is expected to be completed later this month.
Demolition work began on Block H on Thursday and was suspended yesterday afternoon. It will not resume until after the Lunar New Year. 
'Members of the public can rest easy,' a Buildings Department spokesman said.
Police have since yesterday retrieved about 1,000 items belonging to the former residents of Block H from the rubble of the building, which was moved to the former Kai Tak airport  site, a police officer at the scene said. Former residents will be able to collect belongings today.
Meanwhile, a closure notice was lifted yesterday on some units in the newer residential block at 49 Ma Tau Wai Road, on the other side of the collapsed building site.
The government has yet to announce whether Block G will be demolished. But Raymond Ng, who lives on a rooftop unit of the building, said he was told by police to meet officers in Ma Tau Wai Road today to claim his valuables.
'They said we will have 15 minutes to collect only personal belongings, not furniture,' he said. 
Ng said he was offered a public housing flat on the Chuk Yuen South Estate.  Ng and his wife have been waiting for public housing for a year.
But he said his landlord had insisted they pay rent of HK$1,500 for February - even though his building was closed after Block J collapsed.
'I will try to get the money back - and also the deposit of two months' rent,' Ng said.
Half of the 30 families that were affected by Block J's collapse who are eligible for public housing have been offered new homes by the Housing Department.  
Pang Kung-nok, who lost his home in Block J, was offered a flat on the Ho Man Tin Estate.  Pang has been seeing a clinical psychologist since the incident to calm his nerves.
'I'm feeling better now. Earlier, whenever I closed my eyes I'd recall the scene of the building falling down,' he said.
'The owner hasn't shown up at all since it happened or sent us a message. She is very irresponsible,' Pang said, adding that he would seek compensation once the government determined the cause of the collapse.
Another former resident of Block J, surnamed Chan, who lost his stepfather in the incident, said he hoped the investigation would provide some answers. 'All I want is justice. Tell me who is responsible.'
Block J was solely owned by Chak Oi-luen,  who held the property through two companies. The owner has not appeared in public but a woman identifying herself as Chak said in an interview with a magazine that she wanted to apologise to all the tenants and the families of those who died in the collapse.



Second block may be torn down after collapse