Panel under fire over home developer cheats

HOMEBUYERS might still lose out despite proposals by the Law Reform Commission to control developers' sales leaflets, some Sai Kung district board members said yesterday.

Members were briefed by commission secretary Stuart Stoker on the proposals.

They criticised the commission for failing to require a developer to disclose in detail the land use adjacent to its development.

They believed that was especially important for buyers of New Territories flats.

Member Francis Chau Yin-ming said: ''In the urban area, you can more or less tell by the surroundings what the environment will be like after you move in. But land zoning can sometimes be very vague in the New Territories.

''A piece of existing grassland next to the development may have been zoned as residential housing use. You will easily be misled if you only follow the pictures or descriptions in the sales brochure.'' The commission's proposals, released last month, follow a long-running campaign by the Consumer Council against misleading sales descriptions of uncompleted flats.

The number of complaints about misleading information jumped from 14 in 1990 to 32 last year, according to the council.

Other recommendations in the commission report include standardising gross floor area measurements, tougher guidelines to cover floor plans, and jail terms for breaches.

Consultation ends on June 30 and finalised recommendations are expected by early next year.