Tung Po Restaurant, which has been standing in Java Road Market in North Point for about 30 years, was reported to have closed yesterday (August 31) and was accused by the FEHD of violating the terms of the lease agreement.
Zhang Xingchao, the restaurant manager known as "Ruby", one of the responsible persons of Dongbao, accepted an interview with "Hong Kong 01" today (September 1). Longmen," believes that Ho Chi-ping, the former director of the Home Affairs Bureau, had violated the "gathering restriction order" at the store and was therefore targeted.
He said bluntly: "For a while, you talk about subletting, and for a while, you talk about the licensee's scruples... No matter what you do, we surrender."
Although the FEHD indicated that an appeal could be made, Ruby admitted frankly: "If you appeal (appeal), what you do, if you lose, the official word is two words. If you fight (the lawsuit) and do what you do, you will only pay for the lawyer's fee!" he said. The staff of the department called his wife from time to time. As a result, her wife suffered from depression. Every time she received a call, her hands trembled and her heart beat faster.
During the visit, the staff of the department called Ruby: "The hearing date is the last day, so you can no longer operate on the third day of (September). If we find out that you are operating, we will file a prosecution."
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In the past, Dongbao Xiaoguan only operated the evening market, and only opened after 5:30. However, due to the impact of the epidemic, it now opens early at about 2 pm.
Ruby was interviewed in the store this afternoon. He said that He Zhiping, who had been imprisoned in the United States for bribing African dignitaries, went to Dongbao to dine in April last year, but was suspected of violating the "restriction order for four persons per group" at that time. ”, a total of nine people sat at the same round table with no gaps, and the incident was discovered by the media.
He went on to point out that after the incident, the FEHD asked the shop to "hand over someone", but they didn't know Ho Chi Ping at all, and they suspected that the incident made the department feel "faceless", so they were targeted.
After negotiating for 14 days, he said that he had received "oral instructions" from the agency to suspend business, but he pointed out that the verbal request could not be allowed to resume business
Ruby recalled that on the eve of Mother's Day, the department quoted an online video, saying that there were more than 100 people dancing in the store, violating the epidemic prevention regulations, and verbally requested to suspend business for 14 days.
He questioned that the online video could not be approved, and the clip could not show the date, so he sought a lawyer's opinion to appeal, but when negotiating with the department, the other party actually pointed out that the verbal request was not approved, and he could resume business at any time, but the market had been suspended for seven days at that time. Missed Mother's Day.
On September 1, the day before the closing of Dongbao Restaurant, Ruby criticized the FEHD for "moving the Dragon Gate" and being inhumane.
(Photo by Xia Jialang)
The reason for the closing is that the restaurant involved four stalls that were rented by different people
In response to the incident on Wednesday, the FEHD pointed out that the four tenants of the four stalls in Dongbao did not operate the stalls as sole proprietors, and therefore issued a "Notice of Intention to Terminate the Tenancy Agreement" to the tenants.
Although the lessee has made representations in this regard, after review, it is believed that there is still sufficient evidence to show that the lessee violated the terms of the lease, so it issued a "Notice of Termination of Lease" on August 26, terminating the lease signed with it and recovering About market stalls.
Ruby said that Dongbao didn't have four shops at first. The original shop belonged to his aunt (ie his wife's sister), and the rest belonged to his grandfather's neighborhood when he used to run a congee shop on Tangshui Street.
As each licensee grows old, his wife becomes the assistant of the first store, and Ruby runs other stores together with friends.
He continued to point out that Dongbao was initially run by one company, but after being sued by the FEHD, it was split into four companies to manage it this year to comply with regulations.
However, this move did not meet the requirements of the FEHD, which required the production of relevant documents before 2022.
Ruby criticized that the agency knew that it would only split the company in 2022, but it was difficult for a strong man to produce relevant documents in 2021.
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Ruby also pointed out that the department had complained that the licensee was not in the store, but he emphasized that the assistant certified by the department was always in the store.
He believes that this is a problem left over from history, and it is estimated that 90% of the market in Hong Kong does not have the licensee in the store.
Looking at the Legislative Council documents, the government has pointed out that the current policy states that if the tenant is not present for more than 6 consecutive months, he needs to give a reasonable explanation; otherwise, a warning letter will be issued to him, which may lead to the termination of the tenancy agreement.
When asked about the identity of Dongbao's licensees, Ruby did not go into details, but said that all of them were old and retired.
He said bluntly: "Actually, we didn't even know that he (FEHD) was thinking about it. In the beginning, we sublet, and in the later stage, the licensee was not there, and then the man did something wrong."
As for whether to appeal again, he said that his wife received calls from the department from time to time. She is currently suffering from depression and needs to seek medical advice from a psychiatrist. Every time she receives a call, her hands tremble and her heart beats fast.
In order to avoid entanglement with the department and affect his wife, and he thought that the chances of winning were not high, he decided to give up the appeal: "The appeal (appeal) is what you will do, and the loss is tight, and the official word is two words. Lawyer fees!"
▼August 31 North Point Dongbao Pavilion will close on September 2▼
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In fact, during the visit, FEHD staff also called Ruby twice, the first time Ruby did not answer, and the second time the staff clearly stated: "The hearing day (September 2) is the last day (open for business). ), then in three days (September 3) you can no longer operate the stand, and if we find out that you are operating, we will file a prosecution.”
Ruby pointed out that the FEHD was unfriendly, and the neighboring stores also encountered the same problem and were terminated from the contract. He was given 30 days to clean up and return the shop; but Dongbao only got 7 days, and he estimated that it would take at least three weeks to clean up.
He also laughed and said that after Dongbao's graduation, the market will be "cleared", "I really hope that after I lock the door, the market will be ordered. "
▼August 31 North Point Dongbao Pavilion will close on September 2▼
Talking about the future, Ruby said that she will rest and comfort her wife first, so that she will not be under pressure again, and even if she reopens her shop, she will not choose the market or North Point.
He said that the reservations for tomorrow night are full, and he believes that there is no such thing as a feast in the world. He thanked the diners for their tolerance over the years and shared many happy memories together. , we are destined to see you again.”
North Point Tung Po Restaurant suspected of breaching the terms of the lease FEHD terminated the lease at the latest on 9.2 and returned the stall 151 customer employees fined 755,000 for violating epidemic prevention
