About 200 buyers of funeral-urn niches at a Yuen Long columbarium have been left in limbo after a court upheld a finding that the operator had violated planning rules.
At least 14 sets of remains already occupying niches at The Shrine in San Wai village will have to be removed if the operator is to comply with the regulations after losing a legal challenge. The operator also has agreements with nine charity groups to house urns.
The Consumer Council has advised those affected to liaise with the operator directly to see if they can get a refund or arrange for the urns to be moved. The Food and Health Bureau, which oversees niche operations, vowed to monitor the situation closely but showed no sign of stepping in.
Yesterday's ruling by Mr Justice Johnson Lam Man-hon was the government's first legal victory in a string of pending challenges over the legality or otherwise of private columbariums, which have mushroomed because of a shortage of public niches. It will make it more difficult for operators to convert old village houses for the purpose of storing urns.
There are, however, at least two more legal challenges pending - from Memorial Park Hong Kong and Yin Hing Monastery, over land lease restrictions and definitions of human remains - which may yet alter the picture.
The operator of The Shrine, Hong Kong Life Group Holdings, has not said whether it plans to appeal against the ruling or what it may do to comply with the planning laws.
