Village mourns chief who was helpful to end

Ryan Li

Family and residents in Kei Ling Ha San Wai near Sai Kung paid tribute to their beloved 71-year-old village head, who died after falling while installing a water heater for a tenant on Monday.

Ho Lin-sang was apparently standing on top of the toilet when helping a tenant in the village to install a water heater, but he accidentally slipped and fell backward to the floor, with the back of his head taking a hard knock.

Ho fainted and remained unconscious until his work partner found him after having finished an installation outside the bathroom. He was pronounced dead at 6.19 pm after being sent to Prince of Wales Hospital.

His younger brother, identified as Kwai, said Ho had returned from Britain and always helped people who were in need.

Ho had been the village head since 2008 and had a good rapport with villagers.

The tragedy on Monday began when Ho learned certain tools that he had were needed to install the heater at a tenant's house at

5 pm.

He even offered to help with the installation.

"He is willing to help others," Kwai said.

"Whenever a villager has something broken that had to be fixed or installations made in their homes, he always gives a helping hand, even if it's in another village.

"He knows a lot and did everything by himself back in Britain."

"Ho never said no to people's requests, helping people with furniture, wall painting, or fixing water taps with no payment needed," he said.

Ho moved to Britain with his family when he was a teenager.

After retiring as a cook, he returned to Hong Kong in his 50s and lived by himself.

He had many pets, including an eight-year-old dog, seven turtle doves, a tank of fish and two bee hives.

Villagers were deeply sorry for his sudden death, with his 90-year-old mother shocked by the event.

Ho is survived by his wife and children.

A resident said Ho always helped villagers in plumbing and electrical work.

"He never talked about money and will help people first," the resident said.