Demanding Richfield and Sun Hung Kai to take Corporate Social Responsibility, "Flat-for-Flat" now for the 79yrs old lady, Ms. Singh

Petition: Demanding Property Developers to take Corporate Social Responsibility and to Treat Property Owners with the Dignity & Respect that they Deserve.

Since the threshold of compulsory sale for redevelopment has been lowered to 80%, the acquisition activity of private properties has increased frantically and dramatically. Although the buildings are perfectly safe, they are targeted by property developers quite simply because of their age (usually 50 years old) and much-sought-after location in order to make huge profits. Recently, Richfield Reality Ltd, which has acquired a large number of properties around the territory, has had its eyes set on Nos. 18 and 20 Caine Road. It is understood that property giants Sun Hung Kai Properties Ltd. are acquiring Grand Court and Kension Mansion for redevelopment.

Elderly people who have lived their whole lives in those buildings are being FORCED and PUSHED out. The acquisition is destroying the community and upsetting the lives of the elderly residents there.

One of these residents is retired Civil Servant 79-year-old Ms. Krishna Singh who has lived in Kension Mansion for nearly 50 years. Having deep affection and attachment to her community and her living environment, Krishna says ‘home is where my heart is; even if I die, I wish to die here’. However, faced with the brutal 80% forced-sale threshold and the property’s acquisition by developers, even this basic right which should be accorded to all human beings and especially to those in their twilight years of being able to live out the remaining days in peace in their own homes has now became an unachievable dream.

Krishna understands that the acquisition process of the property developers has nearly come to the end, and her flat is soon to be forcefully put up for compulsory auction. In the face of this, she has only one small wish, ‘a flat of the same size with the same facilities provided by the developer as exchange on Caine Road’. As repeatedly emphasized by Ms Singh, the price of acquisition is none of her concern; her only wish is to peacefully live the sunset of her life here in the community of Caine Road where she single-handedly raised her two daughters after her husband who was born in Hong Kong died 36 years ago.

It is brutal both physically and mentally for a 79 year old to have to start looking for a new flat, pack up a lifetime of possessions and memories and re-establish herself in a totally new and strange environment. Research[1] has shown that the mortality rate of aged people increases drastically 60% after going through such a traumatic process. In fact Krishna was in hospital for 3 days because of high blood pressure in early May after Richfield Property put up unsightly Red Banners outside the building after claiming that they had been successful in acquiring the 80% and since then her health has been failing as a result of the shock.

We therefore, respectfully request all Hong Kong citizens to join our petition to help an old lady in her fight for the ‘flat-for-flat’ request. We demand that both Richfield Reality Ltd and Sun Hung Kai Properties Ltd allow her basic human right to live freely where she wishes to in the comfort of her original community. Big organisations and corporations especially those that deal in the business of ousting and forcing people from their homes for huge profits should tread carefully and wisely and embrace responsibility for the impact of their activities especially where it impacts human life. In fact, such businesses should be actively seen to be promoting public and community growth, not destroying it.

We therefore ask Richfield & Sun Hung Kei to fulfill their Corporate Social Responsibility, to behave responsibly, ethically and humanely and seriously consider Krishna’s request for a ‘Flat for Flat’ in her own community, Caine Road.

Advocators,
Ms. Singh & Family
Minority Owners’ Alliance Against Compulsory Sales
People Planning in Action

Contact Person: Wong Ho Yin, 96734989, forcesalehk@gmail.com

[1] Kwok Yan Chi and Siu Kin Wai, The Hidden Rhythm of Life: The Study of the “Elderly Estate” in Hong Kongand the Experience of Life