Monastery chief sets fire to arm in row over Hong Kong heritage site
A former resident of the now-demolished Tiu Keng Leng squatter area, who has been staying in the sole building left there, set fire to his arm and threatened to jump off the roof in protest at a plan to evict him.
A former resident of the nowdemolished Tiu Keng Leng squatters' area, who has been staying in the only building remaining there, set fire to his arm yesterday and threatened to jump off the roof to protest against a plan to evict him.
The extreme action was reminiscent of his three-metre jump onto a crowd of police 19 years ago, the last time he was forced to leave his home.
The man, Lau Kin-kwok, 55, is the chief of the local Po Yin Fat Yuen monastery, which was moved within the area formerly known as Rennie's Mill after the British colonial government cleared out the shanty town of Kuomintang refugees and former nationalist soldiers that once existed there.
In 1996, Lau was a squatter who fiercely resisted the government's attempt to move the shanty town, until his monastery was moved to the old Rennie's Mill Police Station. He has been leasing a part of it since 1999.
Under the terms of his agreement with the city, the annual rent is just HK$1, but either side has the right to terminate the lease with three months' notice.
In 2013, Sai Kung District Council decided to convert the old police station into a history showroom. The council negotiated with Lau and identified two potential relocation sites for him, but he has refused to move out.
