Ko Chun Court is a new housing estate at Yau Tong under the Home Ownership Scheme of the Housing Department.
According to the original schedule, all construction work should have been finished and the proprietors _ that is, the new owners _ should have been able to move into their new flats by December 1994.
However, the moving-in date was postponed owing to the poor quality of construction. The poor quality was noted by the proprietors at a very late stage of construction.
The proprietors were discontented with the rough surfaces, poor craftsmanship and changes in the construction materials.
The Housing Department now says they cannot move in until May 15.
Angry proprietors set up Ko Chun Court Owners' Rights Concern Group to call public attention to what they see as poor administration of the Department.
They propose to lodge a complaint to the Independent Committee Against Corruption and the Office of the Commissioner for Administrative Complaints. A demonstration outside the Governor's House will be organized as well.
In fact, the Ko Chun Court case may be just the tip of the iceberg.
Said Mr. Law Cham Chau, chairman of the Hong Kong People's Council on Public Housing Policy: "Other problematic units include Yuet Wu Villa in Tuen Mun and Yee Ching Court in Sham Shui Po.
"Besides, buildings like Tsz Man Estate in Tsz Wan Shan also need frequent remedial service."
People are blaming the Housing Department for not maintaining strict supervision over the construction contractors.
"The Housing Department is now trying to cut its staff, which leads to insufficient manpower to monitor the housing maintenance," said the council's Mr. Law.
The proprietors of Ko Chun Court complained that there was no engineer from the Department to supervise the workers during construction.
Proprietor Law said, "The craftsmanship was extremely poor, and fractures can be found on the outer walls of the building.
"Furthermore, should the Housing Department have checked their progress, the moving-in date would not have been delayed again and again."
People also accused the Housing Department of failing to protect the buyers' rights.
Generally, when people buy private flats, they receive a guarantee called a "CC", which is a legal document showing that the new flats bought are what the buyers had asked for. Also, buyers can refuse to sign the agreement if they find out the structure or the sizes of flats are not in the condition stated in the sales contract.
However, no such warranties are available for people buying flats under the Home Ownership Scheme. No matter what the flats look like, the buyers are forced to accept them.
The proprietors are particularly dissatisfied with the Housing Department's changing the construction materials abruptly without informing them beforehand.
For instance, the surface material for the outer walls was changed from ceramic tiles to sprayed paint.
Proprietor Law said, "In fact, ciramic tiles cost $80 per square metre - which is much more expensive - when compared with paint sprays, which cost $60 or less for each square metre.
"Where has the saved money gone?" he asked.
"Housing Department promised to penalize the construction agents for the delay, but they mentioned nothing about compensation for us," he continued.
The way the Housing Department has dealt with their complaints has made the owners annoyed.
People criticized the inefficiency of Housing Department, which takes a long time to settle a complaint.
Said proprietor Law : "The Housing Department refused to attend our assemblies and discuss this issue with us openly, but simply send us a letter full of nonsense.
"The letter from the Housing Authority said they used paint sprays because they could not find skilled labour for ceramic tiles.
"This is ridiculous. They are just shedding the responsibility."
Faced with such severe criticism, Mr. Lee Chu Yin, senior housing manager in the Housing Department, strongly defended his agency and its policies.
He flatly denied charges of poor administration and corruption.
"We are public servants, and we have our professional ethics," he stated.
"As for the changes in the use of materials, this is due to the change of policy in 1991.
"The sales contract states clearly that two materials -- ceramic tiles and paint sprays -- will be used.
"The people are dissatisfied with the work simply because the amount of ceramic tile used was less than they had expected.
"Usually, construction faults only become obvious after work is accomplished,
"We have already constructed the scaffolding again so as to amend the faults as soon as possible," he said.
Mr. Ip Shing Cheong, a housing manager at the Housing Department, said the Department sincerely wants to maintain better communication with the public.
Said he: "We have already provided a 24-hour hotline and postal complaint forms. Besides, there are coordination offices and technical support groups in different estates.
"An Estate Management Advisory Committee will also be set up in April. Tenants will be invited to be committee members," said Mr. Ip.
Regarding the Ko Chun Court case, Legislator Szeto Wah proposed the Legislative Council's calling an open meeting with the Housing Department. Additionally, Legislator Lee Wah Ming held meetings with top ranking administrators of the Housing Department to discuss this case.
So, the work of different parties and pressure groups continues.
Mr. Wong Hon Ming, an assistant to Legislator Fung Kim Kei of the Hong Kong Association for Democracy and Livelihood, explained their work.
"We have a housing committee which often tries to explore housing problems and conduct in-depth investigations on our own.
"Besides, legislators may draft letters on behalf of the residents to the Housing Authority and contact the Housing Department," he said.