All 35 owners of units in Hock Kee House (HKH) have handed over their properties to the Singapore Land Authority (SLA) by today's deadline. The Land Transport Authority (LTA) and SLA would like to thank the owners and tenants of Hock Kee House for their cooperation and prompt efforts in moving out of the building within the short notice.
The last 12 owners vacated their units and handed in their keys to SLA this afternoon. LTA and SLA officers were at the building to assist the remaining owners with the necessary arrangements. The first owner to vacate his unit had done so on 25 August 2005.
BG (NS) Yam Ah Mee, LTA's Chief Executive said, "We are grateful to the owners and tenants for their understanding and cooperation to move out of Hock Kee House building despite the short notice. LTA has been working closely with them in the past seven weeks and with other government agencies to see how we could help them find alternative premises and relocate within the deadline. We will continue to see how we can assist those who need further help."
Since the announcement of the acquisition of Hock Kee House, LTA and SLA have been working closely with Mr Othman Haron Eusofe, Member of Parliament for the Marine Parade GRC, and his taskforce to assist the owners and tenants to find suitable alternative premises and also provide any other necessary assistance to help them expedite their relocation. LTA and SLA would like to thank Mr Othman and the taskforce for their invaluable help at being an effective link between the authorities, and the owners / tenants.
As the building has been fully vacated, LTA will proceed with preparatory works for its demolition. Prior to demolition, a five-metre high netting and hoarding will be installed around the building to ensure safety and to reduce any noise that may be generated during the demolition. Demolition works will commence in the third week of October.

Acquisition of Hock Kee House
The Government announced on 11 August 2005 that Hock Kee House would be acquired under the Land Acquisition Act (LAA) and demolished in order to allow construction works for the Circle Line to resume. The decision to acquire Hock Kee House was only taken after all options were found to be not feasible. The deadline given to the buildings owners and occupiers to move out of their properties had been extended from 12 September 2005 to 3 October 2005.
The Government has awarded the statutory compensation to the owners of the properties in HKH according to the provisions in the LAA. The Government has also taken into consideration financial hardship suffered by some owners arising directly from the acquisition. For such cases, an ex-gratia payment has been worked out, taking into consideration the personal circumstances of each case. In addition, LTA has provided a special financial assistance package over and above the usual LAA compensation to assist the owners in making arrangements for relocation at short notice.
Owners who are dissatisfied with the statutory compensation can lodge their appeals with the Appeals Board. The Government has assured the owners that the appeal process will not be affected even after they have handed over their properties to the Government.
The Appeals Board is an independent tribunal which consists of a Commissioner who is a Senior Counsel and two assessors who are eminent professionals in private practice in related fields such as valuation, architecture, quantity surveying and engineering.

Issued by:
The Land Transport Authority and Singapore Land Authority
3 October 2005