Sonia Chan involved in dispute over flat blaze

The Secretary for Administration and Justice, Sonia Chan, and her husband, the chief of office of the Prosecutor General, Tam Peng Tong, have become involved in a civil dispute with  their  tenants, a Portuguese couple who were renting their apartment. The apartment is located on the Cattleya building in the Ocean Gardens residential complex.

When it was confirmed that a fire had damaged their apartment, the landlords and the tenants got involved in a dispute regarding the responsibilities for repair. 

The incident was first reported by the association Casa de Portugal, while the association raised funds to help the Portuguese couple cope with the financial cost.

Tam Peng Tong said that the firefighters discovered the fire was caused by the overheating of an internet router inside the apartment, and that responsibility for the fire cannot be attributed to the landlords.

Regarding the financial difficulties which the Portuguese couple claim this situation has placed on them, Tam said that he saw an Apple brand computer in the Portuguese couple’s house, and that the tenant’s daughter is studying in the UK. Both facts, to him, suggest the tenant is not encountering too much financial stress.

According to the same report, both parties are already discussing a feasible solution for repair expenses.