>> ASIAONE / BUSINESS / MY MONEY / PROPERTY / STORY
Sat, Aug 09, 2008
AsiaOne
Owner asked to take down illegal fittings
By Liew Hanqing
HIS one-room rental flat is like a blank canvas to him.
But Mr Chow Hon Weng's creative impulses have landed him in trouble with the authorities time and again.
The 55-year-old renovation contractor got a letter from the Housing Board late last month instructing him to dismantle elaborate modifications to the flat he has occupied for 30 years.
The entrance to his fourth-storey North Bridge Road flat is a wooden 'cabin-style' door which doubles as a grille.
Part of the floor inside is tiled, while the rest is a slightly-raised wooden deck, where he sleeps and works on his computer.
The Housing Board says Mr Chow can continue with his gardening in his kitchen but he has to replace the kitchen window that he removed earlier.
Mr Chow also has a small 'garden' in his flat, consisting of more than 30 overgrown potted plants.
The windows of his flat have no grilles or glass panes. They are covered entirely by the plants, which he said are enough to keep the rain out.
Mr Chow, who did all the work on the flat himself, said in Mandarin: 'I am a creative person. Art is my passion. I could never live in a boring, simple house.'
But now, he has to remove the lamps he installed at the entrance of his flat, the tiles on the floor, and all the wooden fittings.
He must also replace the window frames he removed in the course of renovating the flat.
This is not the first time Mr Chow has been hauled up for the way he keeps his flat.
The New Paper reported in June that HDB had asked him to trim his overgrown plants. His neighbour upstairs had complained about not being able to hang his clothes out to dry because of the plants.
The entrance to Mr Chow's flat is a wooden 'cabin-style' door which doubles as a grille.
Ten years ago, we reported that he had been asked to dismantle the interiors of the same flat, which he had built to resemble a log cabin.
At the time, HDB said the wood panels Mr Chow had installed were a fire hazard.
Said the bachelor who lives alone: 'I'm not angry, really. My life philosophy these days is just to accept things as they are.'
A trained craftsman, Mr Chow used to specialise in mosaic tiling, a skill he picked up in his younger days as an apprentice.
BEING SPONTANEOUS
He said: 'All my renovation skills are self-taught. I just honed my skills over the years, working on my flat and on other projects.'
He was instructed to remove all the illegal fittings in his flat by 31 Jul, but he is yet to finish the job.
He said: 'I've started, and I will continue removing it bit by bit.'
He added that he has taken some photographs to keep as mementoes of his renovation projects.
He said: 'You can say I've made mistakes over and over again, but I renovate because I like to return to a beautiful home every day.'
He added that he has not decided what to do next with his flat.
'I don't think about what I'm going to do tomorrow. Creativity is about being spontaneous,' he said.
He added that his renovation work reflects the two things he is passionate about - environmentalism and art.
'All the wood I use for renovation is recycled,' he explained.
He declined to say how much he had spent on the more recent renovations. However, his 'log cabin' in 1998 had cost him about $20,000 to create.
An HDB spokesman said that under his tenancy agreement, Mr Chow is not allowed to carry out any addition or alteration works to the flat without approval.
'The renovations he carried out are not allowed and would not have been approved,' the spokesman said.
The HDB's Sims Drive branch office had asked Mr Chow to undo the renovation work and replace the kitchen window which he had removed.
'We have informed Mr Chow that he will be able to continue with his gardening in his kitchen, provided he replaces the kitchen window and trims the plants regularly to keep the plant growth within his flat,' the spokesman said.
This article was first published in The New Paper on Aug 7, 2008
Sat, Aug 09, 2008
AsiaOne
Owner asked to take down illegal fittings
By Liew Hanqing
HIS one-room rental flat is like a blank canvas to him.
But Mr Chow Hon Weng's creative impulses have landed him in trouble with the authorities time and again.
The 55-year-old renovation contractor got a letter from the Housing Board late last month instructing him to dismantle elaborate modifications to the flat he has occupied for 30 years.
The entrance to his fourth-storey North Bridge Road flat is a wooden 'cabin-style' door which doubles as a grille.
Part of the floor inside is tiled, while the rest is a slightly-raised wooden deck, where he sleeps and works on his computer.
The Housing Board says Mr Chow can continue with his gardening in his kitchen but he has to replace the kitchen window that he removed earlier.
Mr Chow also has a small 'garden' in his flat, consisting of more than 30 overgrown potted plants.
The windows of his flat have no grilles or glass panes. They are covered entirely by the plants, which he said are enough to keep the rain out.
Mr Chow, who did all the work on the flat himself, said in Mandarin: 'I am a creative person. Art is my passion. I could never live in a boring, simple house.'
But now, he has to remove the lamps he installed at the entrance of his flat, the tiles on the floor, and all the wooden fittings.
He must also replace the window frames he removed in the course of renovating the flat.
This is not the first time Mr Chow has been hauled up for the way he keeps his flat.
The New Paper reported in June that HDB had asked him to trim his overgrown plants. His neighbour upstairs had complained about not being able to hang his clothes out to dry because of the plants.
The entrance to Mr Chow's flat is a wooden 'cabin-style' door which doubles as a grille.
Ten years ago, we reported that he had been asked to dismantle the interiors of the same flat, which he had built to resemble a log cabin.
At the time, HDB said the wood panels Mr Chow had installed were a fire hazard.
Said the bachelor who lives alone: 'I'm not angry, really. My life philosophy these days is just to accept things as they are.'
A trained craftsman, Mr Chow used to specialise in mosaic tiling, a skill he picked up in his younger days as an apprentice.
BEING SPONTANEOUS
He said: 'All my renovation skills are self-taught. I just honed my skills over the years, working on my flat and on other projects.'
He was instructed to remove all the illegal fittings in his flat by 31 Jul, but he is yet to finish the job.
He said: 'I've started, and I will continue removing it bit by bit.'
He added that he has taken some photographs to keep as mementoes of his renovation projects.
He said: 'You can say I've made mistakes over and over again, but I renovate because I like to return to a beautiful home every day.'
He added that he has not decided what to do next with his flat.
'I don't think about what I'm going to do tomorrow. Creativity is about being spontaneous,' he said.
He added that his renovation work reflects the two things he is passionate about - environmentalism and art.
'All the wood I use for renovation is recycled,' he explained.
He declined to say how much he had spent on the more recent renovations. However, his 'log cabin' in 1998 had cost him about $20,000 to create.
An HDB spokesman said that under his tenancy agreement, Mr Chow is not allowed to carry out any addition or alteration works to the flat without approval.
'The renovations he carried out are not allowed and would not have been approved,' the spokesman said.
The HDB's Sims Drive branch office had asked Mr Chow to undo the renovation work and replace the kitchen window which he had removed.
'We have informed Mr Chow that he will be able to continue with his gardening in his kitchen, provided he replaces the kitchen window and trims the plants regularly to keep the plant growth within his flat,' the spokesman said.
This article was first published in The New Paper on Aug 7, 2008
