ExclusiveA dead Indonesian woman, a sick Indian rubber tree, and the two closely linked Hong Kong companies handed multimillion-dollar deals to care for it

Post investigation raises questions about relationship between City Landscaping and C.K. Garden, the two firms responsible for maintaining branch that fell and killed domestic helper Jumiati Supadi

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An tree surgeon works on a tree next to the Indian rubber that was involved in the death of Jumiati Supadi at tje Shun Lee estate. Photo: Dickson Lee

Published: 9:30am, 27 Aug 2018Updated: 4:35pm, 27 Aug 2018

Two companies separately awarded multimillion-dollar contracts to maintain trees in a public housing estate where a branch fell and killed a domestic helper last week are closely connected, while doubts have been raised as to whether one of the firms is even qualified to carry out the work, a Post investigation has discovered.

The owners of City Landscaping Company, which is responsible for risk assessment, and C.K. Garden Company, which is tasked with pruning, share the same residential address, set up companies together, and are involved in the same property transactions.

However, under the Housing Authority’s tendering conditions for contracts for tree remedial work and tree risk assessment, the contractor shall not be the same for both in the same region.

Police at the scene on New Clear Water Bay Road, where Indonesian helper Jumiati Supadi was killed. Photo: Winson Wong

In the case of the trees at Shun Lee Estate in Sau Mau Ping, where Jumiati Supadi was hit by a 30kg branch from an Indian rubber tree, the companies involved in the maintenance of some 21,000 trees are closely linked.

C.K. Garden is also not on the authority’s approved list of soft landscape contractors, and a tree expert who observed their work said the firm was either “irresponsibly fast, or they just don’t have the knowledge or skills”.