They were promised a refuge from the cold, but what the authorities offered them literally stank.
Several people have filed complaints to the Home Affairs Department (HAD) after they were made to spend the night on the floor of a men’s bathroom at the Tung Chung Community Hall, Apple Daily reports.
Tung Chung was one of 17 community halls assigned as temporary cold shelters by the HAD amid the recent cold snap of single digit temperatures, which has prompted the Observatory to issue a cold weather warning.
The shelters are meant to be a refuge from the cold for hard-up residents and a place for charities and the public to donate items such as blankets or pillows to those in need.
And sure, they’re not meant to be luxurious, but mattresses on the floor of a restroom?
“Everyone sleeps here, it stinks, and the air conditioning is on full blast, it’s just as cold in here as it is outside,” a driver surnamed Lam told Apple Daily, pointing to four mattresses on the floor.
Usually, when a hall is used as a temporary shelter, other activities planned for the space are cancelled.
A HAD spokesperson, however, told Apple Daily that because only a few people used the shelter in Tung Chung, authorities didn’t see fit to close off the entire auditorium.
In fact, he argued that moving the lodgings into “changing rooms” had been welcomed by some people because the “high level of privacy, grooming facilities, and warmth”.
Lam, the driver who used the shelter, said he didn’t feel particularly warm about the whole thing.
Especially, he added, when people taking part in the activities at the auditorium including Chinese singing and dancing had to walk through their temporary accommodation to relieve themselves.
“They think I’m disgusting and I don’t feel good about myself,” said Lam, who told the newspaper he left the shelter after about two hours.
The HAD spokesperson said that the department will improve communication with those using the temporary cold shelters in the future to provide more suitable arrangements.
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