Private operator of former public funeral home in Hung Hom angry at condition of building
Officials said nothing about disrepair before we moved in, says firm running old public facility
Operators of the former public funeral home in Hung Hom have lashed out at the Food and Environmental Hygiene Department for not telling them the 37-year-old facility was in such bad shape before they took it over three years ago.
Plagued by flooding and cracks, the Grand Peace Funeral Parlour's operator accused the department of ignoring its concerns and breaching "contractual obligations" to conduct maintenance on structural damage at the site before handing over the premises.
The operator also said it was not told of how badly construction work on the Sha Tin to Central MTR link would affect the building. Manager Rebecca Ip Yuen-yee said hammering at the MTR site late last year made the building shake.
She believed the hammering was responsible for cracks that started to appear in ceilings and walls, allowing rainwater to seep through and cause flooding.
"Some of our clients asked why there was such shaking," Ip said. "This was embarrassing for us. This has affected our business." The air conditioners were also beyond repair.
Ip said repairs had already cost more than HK$3 million and were affecting the company's operations. "The defects are structural problems which could not be fixed by our in-house maintenance staff," she said.