}
CONFIDENTIAL
BACKGROUND NOTE "ON ON LOK TSUEN EVICTION
(a)
(b)
(c)
(a)
(e)
(f)
(g)
(i)
The owner of the lot has been trying to secure vacant possession since she first acquired the property in 1969. There were a total of 8 families comprising 48 persons in 6 huts in the area con- cerned. The other structures comprised 2 work- shops, a fertilizer godown and two pigsties.
The owner intended originally to develop the area for light industrial purposes. The area, however, is now part of the Sheung Shui/Shek Wu Hui/Fanling Outline Zoning Plan and is earmarked for educational use although it will not be required for some time.
In
The owner tried to persuade the squatters to move without success and finally took out a writ of possession from the Supreme Court in 1974. February 1974, the Supreme Court Bailiff tried to serve the writ but failed because of physical resistance by the squatters.
Following this unsuccessful attempt to serve the writ the owner renewed it annually whilst at the same time negotiating with the squatters in an effort to reach a compromise with them.
A second attempt to serve the writ was to have been made in September 1978 but was put off after talks between the owner's solicitors and the District Office which advised that the land had been ear- marked for educational purposes and could not be used for industrial development. The owner's solicitors persuaded the owner not to go ahead with
the clearance.
Following this, the owner changed solicitors and all further attempts to persuade her against going ahead with the clearance failed, as did efforts to get the squatters to accept $3,000 per family in compensation and an offer by the Government of temporary housing accommodation in Fanling.
The District Office Tai Po heard of an "offer" of $60,000 allegedly made by the owner to the squatters a few days prior to the clearance. However, when the District Office checked with the legal representatives it was made clear that offer was unauthorised and that the only offer made by the owner was the figure of $3,000 per family. This was continually stressed to the squatters right up to the last minute of the clearance during negotiations conducted by the District Office in an attempt to resolve the issue peacefully.
At 0900 on 27 May 1979, the Chief Bailiff, his clearance party, the Assistant District Officer Tai Po and a support party of uniformed police arrived at
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