Villagers concede defeat and reluctantly walk away from their Tuen Mun homes

After a six-month battle, a Tuen Mun village has finally been vacated by residents to make way for a public housing estate.

About 80 villagers had vowed to 'defend our homes to the death' on Monday, as the deadline for a government clearance order passed.

But the contingent of 100 police officers and Lands Department workers met little resistance as they moved in to clear the 72 remaining households in Tsz Tin Tsuen.

The eviction resumed after a court on Friday dismissed judicial review applications from six residents to stop the demolition.

It was a tense start. As police and lands workers approached their home shortly before 9am, the Ho family put three gas cylinders in their path, threatening to ignite them.

After a two-hour standoff at the family's 2,000 square foot home - which they had lived in for more than 40 years - the 12 residents reluctantly agreed to leave. 'We are very upset about the compensation. In fact, we haven't received a single penny,' a teary Ho yin-fan said. Since they were tenants, the family will be moved to public housing and is not entitled to compensation for the land or house.

Win Win Chow, who had lived in a 1,000 square foot home in the village for 40 years, also gave in - along with her family of 10 - after pleading with officers for two hours seeking more time to pack. 'We only got HK$1.2 million. It's a very tiny sum,' she said.