Ombudsman slams government for hoarding niches

The Ombudsman yesterday criticised the government for hoarding columbarium niches while tens of thousands of people in need have been left unable to buy one.

In 2012, the government completed 45,250 new niches - 43,710 at Wo Hop Shek Public Cemetery in Fanling and the other 1,540 at Diamond Hill Crematorium.

But although all the niches were ready in 2012, the Food and Environmental Hygiene Department decided to release them in three phases, starting with about 10,000 which went on sale in September 2012, about 15,000 in June last year and about 20,000 in June this year. This meant 20,000 niches were left empty for almost two years.

An investigation by the Office of the Ombudsman found even more - over 20,000 niches at Wo Hop Shek and over 500 at Diamond Hill - were left empty because people gave up their niches allocated in the first two phases and the newly available niches were not reallocated but hoarded.

Over 83,600 applications have been received during the three phases, and the government's random lottery allocation method means tens of thousands who failed to get a niche in the first phase might still fail in the second and third rounds.

"The government has been creating an illusion of a continuous supply of niches over the years," said Ombudsman Connie Lau Yin-hing. "It's just hoarding the niches and releasing them in batches."