Government Announces Rental Subsidy for Wang Fuk Court Residents After Tai Po Incident

Remarks by DCS at media session (with photo/video)

The Deputy Chief Secretary for Administration, Mr Cheuk Wing-hing; the Secretary for Home and Youth Affairs, Miss Alice Mak; and the Secretary for Labour and Welfare, Mr Chris Sun, met the media this afternoon (December 18) on the Support Fund for Wang Fuk Court in Tai Po. Following are the remarks at the question-and-answer session:

Reporter: Why did the Government decide to hand out more money to affected homeowners and tenants? Secondly, how likely is the annual rent subsidy for $150,000 to be extended after two years?

Deputy Chief Secretary for Administration: As we have explained in the opening remarks, while the Government has been trying to provide some emergency accommodation for the affected victims, including both landlords and tenants, we have (learned), through the feedback of our social workers assigned to look after individual households and also through district feedback, that many residents actually wanted to have another option of a rental subsidy to be given to them, so that they can, from the private market, rent suitable accommodation, which can fit into their daily routines, such as going to work, going to school, and going to see doctors. Also, because many residents have lived in Tai Po for a long time, they have their social network there. If they stay in the transitional housing elsewhere in Hong Kong, they have this problem of social dislocation. So we decided that - and also we have surveyed the stock of our public housing accommodation in Tai Po - actually we don't have any more such units left. So we think a sensible, practicable and effective solution is really to offer them this rental subsidy, which we think is not an excessive demand; it is reasonable.

Your second question is whether the rental subsidy will end after two years. I think Secretary Mak has already said that we think a normal tenancy lasts for about two years. We believe, within these two years, the final solution, or solutions, for the long-term housing and accommodation needs of the victims will already be offered and introduced. Of course, when the final offers have come out, we have to ascertain the response of the residents. We have two years to consider whether, if necessary, this rental subsidy may continue, but the overarching principle is that we can assure the victims that our solutions will be reasonable and no one will be left homeless - I mean, for the landlords - because of the lack of support from the Government.

(Please also refer to the Chinese portion of the remarks.)

Remarks by DCS at media session (with photo/video) Source: HKSAR Government Press Releases

DSD deeply saddened by passing of contractor staff member

The Director of Drainage Services, Mr Ringo Mok, was deeply saddened by the passing of a staff member of its contractor in an accident that occurred at a construction site for upgrading works of existing sewerage system at Yen Chow Street in Sham Shui Po yesterday (May 27). He expressed his deepest condolences to the family of the deceased and requested the contractor to provide them with appropriate assistance.

At about 8.30am yesterday, the worker was injured during a lifting operation at the construction site. He was sent to Princess Margaret Hospital for treatment and was certified dead at about 11.30pm.

The Drainage Services Department (DSD) has requested the contractor to suspend the related works and conduct a safety check. The contractor was also instructed to carry out a thorough investigation into the cause of the accident. The DSD will also render full assistance to relevant departments in their investigations.

Source: AI-found images