Opinions call for inspection against public housing irregularities

Following the Housing Bureau’s revelation that it has inspected 296 affordable housing apartments in Edificio Cheng Chong in early February for irregularities and has found 12 units not being used by the registered proprietors as their residency, a member of the government’s Public Housing Affairs Committee has called for the government to step up its patrolling and inspection rates.
Kou Ngon Fong told TDM that people are “in fluke psychology” and do not have a proper knowledge of the law. “The government should routinely patrol every kind of [public] housing. For example, there are 50 affordable housing buildings, [so] the government should inspect 10 percent of the flats in each building,” he said.
Mr Kou believes that more frequent inspection will deter people from using their apartments illegally.
Meanwhile, Ng Sio Lai, secretary-general of the Macau General Union of the Neighborhood Associations pointed out that the illegal use of public housing units has been taking place for a long time and the authorities have failed to patrol the buildings strictly enough. “That’s why so many cases surfaced so suddenly. I believe it is because the authorities have patrolled more units and in a stricter manner,” she said. JPL