Luxury home in danger of crumbling into sea

A house in high-end Redhill Peninsula in Tai Tam could collapse into the sea after a landslide caused by once-in-a-century rains on Thursday and Friday. At least one person, a driver, evacuated the home when the landslide hit.

The landslide also exposed the foundations of two next-door houses.

Officials confirmed the unauthorized construction of a two-story project and the unlawful occupation of government land were being probed in the No 72 five-story house, owned by the former head of Blackstone Advisory Partners in Asia, Anthony Steains. Blackstone is the world's largest private equity investment firm.

Officials said they had issued an evacuation order to residents of No 72 Redhill Peninsula, where only the driver was believed to be staying on Saturday, as it was in immediate danger. It was not known how many family members live with Steains in the house. No evacuation order was made for villas Nos 70 and 74.

Bernadette Linn Hon-ho, secretary for development, said: "Our initial evidence shows that there is indeed some breach of leases and also unlawful occupation. But our primary focus at the present moment is to stabilize the slope to ensure public safety.

"And once that is done, we will proceed with the necessary enforcement against the relevant breaches."

Linn said the two neighboring houses also required further assessment as their retaining walls had been exposed.

The government has arranged for restoration work for the slope, to be completed in several days.

Officers from the Buildings Department with the Geotechnical Engineering Office and the Lands Department assessed the three houses as well as the slope over the weekend.

As No 72 was evacuated, the owners of 70 and 74 were asked to fence off their outdoor swimming pools and gardens for further inspection.

The floor plan of the No 72 house showed the original four-level house is equipped with a carport on the top floor, a dining room and a kitchen on level 2, three bedrooms on level 3 and a master bedroom and a swimming pool on the ground floor.

The lower area had been allegedly built illegally, but it appeared that the house was being renovated as scaffolding was found on its external walls.

Many residents of Redhill Peninsula are celebrities and senior executives of banks and financial institutions as the low-rise private housing estate is built on a round peninsula in Southern District toward Tai Tam Harbour and Turtle Cove.

The estate got its name from the 113-meter "Red Hill" in the peninsula.

Steains was in Thailand at the time of the landslide, sources said, and his driver left the house after asking his permission.

It is understood the other two houses belong to Cyberport chief investment officer Johnny Chan Kok-chung and a former HSBC Asia-Pacific marketing head, Yuen Wai-ming.

Structural engineer Ngai Hok-yan said the drain pipe of the collapsing house might have been cut off as it is undergoing renovation work, resulting in water able to flow only downhill, destabilizing the soil of the slope.

Construction concern group Chinat Monitor, Jason Poon Chuk-hung, who is a building engineer, said the three houses have little risk of collapse. But it could pose a threat if the slope subsided further after heavy downpours.

Poon urged owners to remove the unauthorized building work to alleviate the pressure on the slopes, which may cost them more than HK$10 million.

The No 72 house was sold in 2011 for HK$73 million. Another house on the same site with a similar area of 3,013 square feet was sold at HK$102 million in March this year.

The observatory expects heavy showers today while a trough of low pressure continues to bring rain to the coast of Guangdong and the northern part of the South China Sea.

stacy.shi@singtaonewscorp.com