3rd September 2026 – (Hong Kong) Business at a music shop in Kwong Fuk Estate, Tai Po, has suffered a dramatic decline following last November’s fifth-alarm fire at Wang Fuk Court, which rendered the housing estate a ruin and deprived nearby businesses of regular customers. Following the disaster, the shop’s turnover dropped to just one fifth of its previous level, an eighty per cent decrease, leaving the proprietor unable to pay a fifty thousand dollar rent debt. On Wednesday, 2nd September, a bailiff arrived and sealed the premises.
Ms Poon, the owner of the shop, recounted that the lock on her music shop was broken open without prior notice. Despite efforts to contact the landlord, Link REIT, she received no response, leaving her disheartened. In light of the shop closure, she has already contacted her students to inform them not to attend lessons in the coming week, and she intends to reconsider her next steps in a fortnight.
According to Ms Poon, neighbouring merchants notified her about the forced entry after capturing photographs of the damaged store. Reviewing CCTV footage, she found the bailiff had broken the lock at around 12.30pm and then carried out a valuation of the shop’s inventory, which was estimated to be worth only four thousand dollars. She further explained she had received two demand letters each month from the landlord since May, though neither specified deadlines or consequences. Her repeated attempts to reach Link REIT, including direct contact with their lettings department, went unanswered, contributing to her growing disappointment.
After the Wang Fuk Court fire, Link REIT had offered a year-long thirty per cent rent reduction proposal, but Ms Poon did not sign the agreement. She explained that with her business already struggling, signing would not have eased her financial predicament, as she was unable to meet the payment even after the proposed reduction. Link REIT calculated her rent arrears at fifteen thousand dollars per month, bringing the total debt, including fees, to fifty thousand dollars – an amount she could not manage on her current monthly income of ten thousand dollars.
Ms Poon also recalled investing two hundred thousand dollars in renovations before opening for business, an effort she described as “man proposes, but heaven disposes” after finding herself operating in an area suddenly left with almost no customers. Having previously worked in the same location for another proprietor, she noted that the business had once earned up to fifty thousand dollars per month. She started her venture the day after the fire, on 27th November, only to see expectations dashed. Following the closure, she has reached out to her students not to attend lessons in the coming week, and intends to take time to consider her future plans, expressing her disillusionment at the lack of compassion or community spirit in present-day Hong Kong.