Church faces unholy row over 'crowding'
Deacon says legal action claiming it is breaking safety rules by packing too many worshippers into its premises has an ulterior motive
A church being sued for allegedly cramming too many worshipers into its North Point commercial building says its problems only began when it was asked to sell its properties.
"I suspect there is a commercial agenda behind this litigation," said Hong Kong Mandarin Bible Church deacon Timothy Li, who is a partner of global law firm Sidley Austin.
The non-denominational Christian fellowship catering for Putonghua speakers is being sued by the Incorporated Owners of the China United Centre, where the church owns three units and a floor.
The incorporated owners say in court filings that it is taking action because it fears an insurance policy would be void if the management failed to take "reasonable precautions" to ensure legal obligations were met.
It cites the code of practice on fire safety, which says there should be no more than one person for every nine square metres of space in an office.
It alleges the church squeezes up to 120 people into three offices measuring 240 square metres on Sundays. On another floor, up to 179 people were in a 667-square-metre space. The owners' corporation claims the capacity of the three offices is 27 people, while only 74 should have been on the other floor.
"We have been there for 10 years with no problems. Now someone is trying to interfere with us," said church elder Vincent Shen, a retired computer sciences professor.