Homeless man, 86, finds a peaceful place to call home
When he was forcibly moved on from a mall, Wong Wah found himself a much better life
Partly disabled rough sleeper Wong Wah has no hard feelings towards staff who manhandled him out of a Mong Kok shopping mall last month, despite public outrage.
And the incident had a silver lining: it brought him to the attention of a priest who specialises in helping people in similar predicaments and who has offered him a place to live.
I was blocking their fire escape. I just slept there because it had rained a lot for a few days
On June 17, Wong had been sleeping on the fire escape of the Pioneer Centre for one night when staff grabbed his arms and legs and dragged him 100 metres to a nearby empty shop.
That sparked widespread criticism in online forums and protests outside the mall next day.
Asked how he felt about it now, Wong, 86, said the staff had a right to move him.
"I was blocking their fire escape. I just slept there because it had rained a lot for a few days and I wasn't sleeping well as a result. I knew I shouldn't have been there."
He now has a bed in the Lord Grace Home for the Aged in Tai Kok Tsui, one of four such homes overseen by Lord Grace Church's Reverend Lee Mo-fan. Lee says he hopes Wong will stay on although he has already gone back to the streets once, returning after the priest found him begging outside Mong Kok police station on July 3.