Academic in battle with City University over housing
CityU tells staffer and family to leave their HK$30,000-a-month Kowloon Tong home over disputes with his neighbours
A City University academic is being evicted from his staff residence for quarrelling with his neighbours.
Hans Richard Mahncke, a senior co-ordinator in the Office of the Provost, was shocked to receive a written notice from the university's human resources department last Monday ordering him and his family out of their HK$30,000-a-month Kowloon Tong home.
Mahncke, his wife, their 18-month-old son and eight-month-old daughter have been given a month to find a new home.
The German academic has lodged a number of complaints with the university over an incident on July 4, when he says he was knocked down by his neighbour's daughter who was riding a bicycle in the grounds of the staff quarters, where that was prohibited.
Mahncke - who has worked at the university for seven years and whose contract was renewed for two years in April - also complained that he was verbally abused by the girl's mainlander mother and her friends. He says he was told in English to "go back to your home country".
The removal notice says Mahncke is being evicted from the 1,500 sq ft flat due to his use of offensive language during "conflicts" with his neighbours. City University says the eviction is an internal matter. It says Mahncke gave a one-sided story, but the university refuses to provide details of the matter so as to protect the privacy of the parties.
The university 's staff quarters are rented under a licence agreement that can allow a tenant to be evicted without being given a reason or paid compensation.