The scale of abuse of the Hong Kong public flats system has hit the equivalent of a medium-sized estate of about 5,000 flats over the past two years, director of housing Rosanna Law Shuk-pui revealed at the weekend. Law, also the permanent secretary for housing, said the construction cost of the flats held by people who had breached the rules amounted to HK$5 billion (US$640 million). She on Saturday highlighted an example where she had spotted a new car at Queen’s Hill Estate in Fanling with Hong Kong and mainland Chinese licence plates, only available to a select few, including businesspeople, political elites and philanthropists.
The Post here examines how the authorities have cracked down on “well-off tenants” living in the city’s subsidised public flats and outlines further steps that will be taken to clamp down on breaches. The Hong Kong public was alerted to the possibility of widespread abuse of public housing flats after Kwong Kau, the former father-in-law of murdered model Abby Choi Tin-fung, was discovered last year to have owned a luxury home while also buying a subsidised flat. Kwong, charged alongside his two sons with Choi’s murder, was found to be listed as the owner of a 291 sq ft unit in Sheung Man Court in Kwai Chung less than a year after his registration as the owner of a 1,820 sq ft luxury unit in exclusive Kadoorie Hill in November 2019.
His subsidised flat was sold under the Home Ownership Scheme for HK$2.18 million in July 2020 and had a HK$.