Press Releases
Members of public reminded to exercise caution when purchasing niches from private columbaria
A spokesman for the Food and Health Bureau today (January 6) reminded
members of the public who wish to purchase niches at private columbaria of
the importance of obtaining full and complete information from the operators
for the purpose of checking whether the columbaria are compliant with all
the relevant statutory requirements, including land lease and/or town
planning requirements. They are well advised to seek independent legal
advice on their rights if and when necessary.
In a paper put before the Legislative Council in December 2012, the
Government raised for discussion a proposal to exempt "long-existing"
private columbaria from a licensing scheme under contemplation. The
spokesman noted that messages soon started circulating in the market
claiming that certain private columbaria would be exempted. The spokesman
reiterated that, at this stage, the Government has not defined what
constitutes a "long-existing" private columbarium, such as what the cut-off
date should be. Furthermore, it remains to be seen whether the proposal
itself would gain wide public acceptance and the endorsement of the
Legislative Council. It is therefore premature at this juncture to conclude
that a certain private columbarium would definitely be exempted in future.
In order to help members of the public make informed choices when purchasing
niches before the licensing scheme is introduced, the Development Bureau
publishes and updates on a quarterly basis a list capturing the relevant
land/lease (user restrictions) and planning information pertaining to
private columbaria that are known to the Lands Department or Planning
Department, and premises which the departments have reason to believe are
operating as private columbaria.
Members of the public are also reminded to ascertain from the operators of
private columbaria how the operators will look after the interests of their
customers, such as whether and how they would refund or otherwise compensate
their customers under the scenario in which the respective private
columbarium subsequently closes down or is disallowed from operating.
The spokesman emphasised that the relevant government departments will
continue to take enforcement action against any unauthorised private
columbaria according to the power within their jurisdiction.
For the purpose of advising prospective consumers of the need to protect
their own interests, the updated version of "Points to note when purchasing
private columbarium niches" has been uploaded to the Food and Health
Bureau's website (www.fhb.gov.hk) for
their reference.
Ends/Sunday, January 6, 2013
Issued at HKT 16:01
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