Abby Choi’s former father-in-law’s case prompts Hong Kong authorities to review asset policy for subsidised flat buyers
- Kwong Kau had HK$73 million property in his name when purchasing subsidised flat sparking concerns about loopholes in policy
- Permanent Secretary says government has not checked income and assets of some applicants since launching scheme in 1970s
Hong Kong authorities will review how the assets of prospective buyers of subsidised flats are assessed, after it emerged the former father-in-law of slain model Abby Choi Tin-fung owned one such home at the same time a HK$73 million (US$9.2 million) property was bought under his name.
Permanent Secretary for Housing Agnes Wong Tin-yu revealed the move on Monday when lawmakers questioned her about loopholes in the eligibility vetting system for subsidised flats after details of the property holdings of the Kwong family came to light.
While Wong refused to comment on individual cases, she added that “after such an extreme example”, the government would review its policy.
“We aim to implement the new arrangement in the next round of subsidised housing sales,” Wong said.
Choi’s former father-in-law Kwong Kau, 65, was listed as the owner of a 291 sq ft subsidised flat at Sheung Man Court in Kwai Chung sold under the Home Ownership Scheme for HK$2.18 million in July 2020. A HK$2.1 million mortgage was taken out to buy the property.
People living in public rental units or those whose income and assets do not exceed a certain threshold can apply for the scheme’s flats, which are offered at a discounted price. Sheung Man Court was sold at 59 per cent of the market value.
Kwong’s mortgage suggested he had made a down payment of HK$110,000, or 5 per cent of the flat’s price, which is the minimum required from applicants.
The HK$73 million flat measuring 1,820 sq ft in the exclusive Kadoorie Hill neighbourhood in Ho Man Tin was bought under Kwong’s name in October 2019, nine months before the transaction on the subsidised flat was completed.
Abby Choi’s ex-relative owned both subsidised flat and luxury property in Hong Kong
The scheme allows for two types of applicants. White Form applicants must provide proof of their earnings and assets, while no such requirement exists for Green Form ones. To be eligible for the White Form, a Hong Kong family cannot make more than HK$66,000 in gross monthly income or hold assets greater than HK$1.85 million, while the threshold for individuals is half those levels. They must also make a 10 per cent down payment, twice what Green Form homebuyers are required to supply.
Kwong’s down payment was the same proportion required for Green Form applicants.
Wong said the government had not checked the income and assets of Green Form applicants since launching the scheme in the 1970s.
“We hope to encourage the financially capable applicants to quickly purchase subsidised housing to give their public rental flats to others,” she said, adding that one-third of the 9,300 returned to the government last year came from subsidised homebuyers.
“We have good intentions with the policy, but we have to review whether there is an issue as time goes by.”
As of December last year, the average waiting time for public housing was 5.5 years, with about 133,700 general applicants in the line.
Lawmaker Scott Leung Man-kwong, for the geographical constituency of Kowloon West, suggested taking inspiration from the existing policy that covers better-off public housing tenants, which states households with all members aged 60 or above could be exempted from declaring their income and assets.
“For other applicants, the government can request them to declare their assets. If they have violated the terms, the government can hold them accountable and take back the subsidised flats,” he said.
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But Leung cautioned the new arrangement should not be too stringent or it would slow down the turnaround of public housing.
Kwong, a former police officer, and his two sons, one of them Choi’s ex-husband Alex Kwong Kong-chi, have been charged with the murder of the socialite, whose body parts were found in a flat in a three-storey house in Tai Po’s Lung Mei Tsuen on February 21.
Kwong’s 63-year-old wife faces a charge of perverting the course of justice for allegedly destroying evidence during a police investigation.
Another 41-year-old man has been charged for assisting an offender after he was said to have organised the attempted escape of Choi’s ex-husband.
A woman believed to be Kwong’s lover was earlier arrested and accused of helping the former police officer to rent the flat of the village house where Choi’s remains were discovered.
