‘Haunted’ flat, scene of 1996 gas-poison murders in Hong Kong, sells with heavy discount — still makes a profit

A haunted flat in Tsuen Wan in which six people were poisoned and gassed to death in 1996 has finally found a buyer, who paid half the market price for the unit no one would touch.

Veteran haunted-home investor Chan Ying-kai, who owned the apartment, confirmed the sale, saying the deal was concluded on New Year’s Eve.

“It was sold for HK$1.6 million and the buyer was a Catholic couple,” he told the South China Morning Post yesterday. That translates to HK$4,278 per sq ft, 54 per cent below the average transaction price in the housing estate, according to Centaline Property Agency.

In 1996, a man killed his wife, three children and two tenants at the flat with a combination of poison and gas. The family had rented the flat but had fallen behind on payments because of business difficulties, forcing the family to sublet the 374 square foot to two other people.

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The man, Chan Ying-cheung, the sole survivor of that tragedy, was sentenced to an indefinite term at Siu Lam psychiatric centre.

Owner Chan Ying-kai will pocket a gain of HK$420,000 from the deal. He bought the 374 square foot unit of Tai Yuan House in Tsuen Wan Centre for HK$1.18 million in 2011.