Feng shui issues and fears of disturbing the dead stump Hong Kong officials dealing with illegal graves, Ombudsman says
- Government watchdog takes lands and home affairs departments to task for ‘lax attitude’ to such burials
- Some tombs as far as 333 metres away from permitted sites
Excuses about feng shui and concerns over disturbing the dead were stumping officials trying to deal with illegal graves on public land, Hong Kong’s government watchdog said in a report on Wednesday.
The Ombudsman took the city’s lands and home affairs departments to task for their “lax attitude” in tackling burials outside permitted areas across the New Territories, which it said was encouraging rule breaking and damaging the environment. This is the second time in four years the watchdog has raised the issue.
Ombudsman Connie Lau Yin-hing’s latest direct investigation found that officials were often unable to take enforcement action and were too accommodating to the villagers’ excuses and dawdling.
While many hillside graves outside designated areas were probably dug there by accident, the report said, in some cases, the graves were several hundred metres beyond the boundaries and “could hardly be excused as inadvertent mistakes”.
‘Hundreds of graves’ lying in Hong Kong's country parks and green belts
“If the departments concerned fail to rectify such irregularities, it will not only cause damage to the natural environment but also encourage other people to follow suit and aggravate the problem of burials outside permitted burial grounds,” it added.