Despite Cheng's threat of seeking a judicial review to keep him from attending, subcommittee chairwoman Li Fung-ying said yesterday the panel will call Cheng and executive director Stewart Leung Chi-kin among other witnesses as scheduled.

Cheng and Leung attended the hearing in April but filed lawyers' letters in May and June, demanding they not be called for further appearances or to provide statements.

Civic Party lawmaker Ronny Tong Ka-wah, who is a senior counsel, said the panel has the right to see Cheng and Leung again. "It is a legal summons," Tong said. Tong said too that Legco has the right to obtain witness statements from the pair, which could assist the hearing.

In letters sent to Legco, New World China Land demanded Cheng and Leung be excluded from the hearing until litigation between the company and the Housing Authority over the Hung Hom Peninsula project is finished. If New World China Land were to win a judicial review, or if there is no further progress in the Hung Hom Peninsula lawsuit, there would be no need for Cheng and Leung to appear at the subcommittee meeting, it claimed.

A letter sent on June 18 alleged Legco would breach the Basic Law as it is beyond its powers to check a firm's conduct. It also said there would be an invasion of privacy rights should the panel summon the duo.

It was in July 2003 that New World Development filed a writ against the government and the Housing Authority for alleged losses and damages after the sale of subsidized flats were frozen in 2002. The case has yet to be scheduled.

Last year, Leung's request to join New World China Land - company related to New World Development - after his retirement from the Civil Service was allowed. An outcry led to Leung's resignation a few days after his new employment.

He was questioned whether the job was linked to the sale of Hung Hom Peninsula Home Ownership Scheme flats, sold cheaply to a consortium including a New World subsidiary when Leung was director of housing.