June 07, 2011

農地非法建2000呎豪宅 20萬元地叫價328萬 炒賣成風地署懶理

農地非法建2000呎豪宅 20萬元地叫價328萬 炒賣成風地署懶理
 (明報)2011年6月7日 星期二 


【明報專訊】本港樓價升破97年高峰水平,物業炒賣不顧法律界線。本報調查發現,多塊新界農地上,只准「放置農具、養豬」的400呎「牌照屋」,被改建成上千呎花園豪宅非法放售,例如十八鄉一塊農地上建成一幢室內面積達2000平方呎、樓高兩層的小洋房,叫價328萬元。


倘若政府依法清拆,新買家可能只得到一塊現值20多萬元的農地。眾多賣家和地產代理都敢於公然放售,理由之一是過去多年地政總署鮮有執法,令農地建大屋的歪風成為潮流


ZipRealty 


記者早前接連假扮買家睇樓,在一周內便找到4至5個放售預約,涉及4幅面積介乎1000多呎至5000呎的農地,地皮上的「牌照屋」或「寮屋」,統統經大幅改建,變成室內面積介乎1000多方呎至逾2000方呎的花園「豪宅」,以介乎328萬元至520萬元放售。


代理﹕可走法律罅 律師﹕或涉詐騙


代理這些非法改建豪宅的,主要為新界一些小型地產舖,他們一般會在店舖門外張貼廣告,或在地產交易網站主動兜售非法豪宅,另有一些業主則自行到網上賣屋。


地政總署證實,上述4幅地皮均屬農地,當中建築物本應是「牌照屋」或「寮屋」,兩種「房屋」均不能轉售,業主須符合相關的牌照或批准書的條款,否則分區地政處會採取行動,不排除取消該牌照或批准書。不過,有不法經紀向記者表示可以「走法律罅」,並聲稱「買這些屋只會轉讓地契,不包房屋」。


律師鄧達明表示,很多牌照屋都是只容許放置農具或養豬的構築物,不能轉讓,如果經紀或業主以「無問題」或「政府不會執法」等手法推銷,可能涉及詐騙罪。


李永達    震驚 將去信地署問責


立法會    議員李永達看到這些非法豪宅的圖片後表示震驚,他批評政府部門竟然不監管,「任由這種陷阱存在」,將去信地政總署問責。李永達稱,地產代理監管局如果發現這種情况,也應對這些地產代理展開調查。


前官員﹕建築倘落成 多不即時取締


一名前地政官員說,地政總署確有專人巡查違地契建築、違規屋宇等,當發現有人「進行新搭建物工程」,必會執法取締;不過,若建築物已落成,又沒有安全問題,巡查人員則視為非優先項目,一般不會即時取締。


活躍新界西的祥益地產董事謝澤銘表示,97樓市高峰時,新界西一幢3層村屋「如果賣到500多萬已屬優質,但目前叫價動輒已達600多萬,甚至700多萬」,於是有不法經紀及業主將這些非法豪宅推出市面。


鄉議局    副主席林偉強曾於08年公開說,應該理順「牌照屋」的違規擴建問題,聲稱村民是在「不知不覺間無意擴建」,呼籲政府應容許村民以補價形式,或者索性容忍,讓這些非法改建的「牌照屋」合法化。


每1000臨屋 年僅2.5間須清拆


根據發展局去年公布的數字,由2006年至2010年,全港供居住用途的寮屋和牌照屋,分別為85,574間及16,442間。而根據地政總署上個財政年度的報告顯示,於2008年度至2010年度,針對寮屋管制的「清拆違例建築物」,每年清拆187宗至195宗。針對土地管理的「非發展性拆卸的搭建物數目」,於同期內每年清拆介乎60至65宗。換言之,逾10萬間的寮屋和牌照屋,每年每1000間只得2.5間遭要求清拆違例搭建物。


明報記者


業主認「打茅波」﹕點改都得
 (明報)2011年6月7日 星期二 


【明報專訊】本報到元朗大江埔村調查另一幢兩層高、樓面面積共2000呎的非法花園豪宅,業主一度以698萬在本港一個地產交易網站放售,「測試市場反應」,其後逐步減至528萬元,再降價至最新的468萬元,果然吸引到注意,一日有三批準買家睇樓。業主聲稱這類非法豪宅的優點是﹕「打茅波(違法改建),你點改都得!」


該業主稱,這個由圍牆圈住的農地約3000呎,屹立其上的非法兩層高豪宅屬於有牌照的臨屋,「07年開始興建,落成4年」,去年以300多萬買入,「不是丁屋,有地契沒有屋契,原本應該是臨屋牌,上手起好未住過,原本是『吉屋』,4房2大廳3廁所」。他向記者說﹕「正常只有400呎(指規定),給你起也無用啦!你如果還想再起大一點,就起大一點,不用跟它(地政總署    )說,跟它講沒有著數的!」


牌照屋違例改建,可能面臨被政府取消牌照或批准書,該業主承認自己「打茅波,只是買這塊地,沒有屋契。但又抵住、又大,你想怎麼加就怎麼加,戶外樓梯、旋轉梯、斜台梯,沒有東西是不行的。」


調查期間,記者驚見周邊仍有兩幢興建中的同類非法建築,這名業主聲稱,「一間興建了一半,另一間已完成大部分外牆和內部裝修    ,都是跟我的一樣的。」


「牌照屋」禁買賣 限建400呎
 (明報)2011年6月7日 星期二 


【明報專訊】香港現時獲政府「暫准存在」毋須即時拆卸的臨時房屋(又稱為臨時構築物),可分為兩大類,一種是獲地政總署    發出土地牌照或租賃許可證、在私人土地上搭建的構築物,每季度向政府繳交一定費用,俗稱「臨屋」或「牌照屋」;另一類是未經政府批准,在私人土地或官地上非法搭建,但於1982年政府展開全港視察時獲登記為可容忍的「寮屋」。


「臨屋」或「牌照屋」,一般只限用作擺放農具或供務農者休息的小屋或搭建物,部分牌照屋前身甚至更屬豬欄,只作飼養畜牲用;部分則容許居住,惟佔地面積一般不多於400平方呎,樓高不得超過17呎(後經放寬),即最多可建2層。若牌照屋面積超過400呎,地政總署可以違反牌照和地契為由要求拆卸,甚至威脅收回土地。


至於「寮屋」,地政總署一貫嚴禁轉讓,除非失修嚴重,威脅住客安全,否則亦不准擅自修葺或重建,「寮屋」住客既沒有屋契,也沒有地契。「寮屋」所在地若被納入發展清拆計劃,居民可獲搬遷特惠賠償。1982年後才非法搭建的「寮屋」,不會獲得登記和容忍,政府有權下令即時清拆。


沒屋契有地契 難改用途


「牌照屋」同樣沒有屋契,也不能轉讓,但業主通常擁有農地地契,故能售出該幅農地,但買家不會擁有「牌照屋」的業權,當局亦有權勒令新業主拆卸「還原」。新買家若向地政總署申請,將「牌照屋」改變用途,成為永久合法房屋,過往成功審批機會極微。

墮買賣倫敦金騙局 婦兩日輸八萬

墮倫敦金騙局 婦兩日輸八萬
 (星島)2011年6月7日 星期二 
(綜合報道)


(星島日報    報道)工聯會    在過去兩年多來,接獲二十五名市民求助,懷疑買賣倫敦    金受騙,涉及金額共二百三十萬元。


其中五名受害人,均曾參加同一所「投資學校」的講座及課程,他們被投資經紀游說先付六千八百元學費,並開設投資戶口,其後於兩日內被騙去八萬至十萬元投資本金,有經紀從中做了四十七次交易,盡賺佣金。工聯會指現時在香港買賣黃金不須向證監會    註冊,促請政府加強監管。


  記者:周敏盈


  「他在推介會上跟我講,他有全香港不輸錢的方法,他用對沖的方法是不會輸錢的,一個鐘都賺八千元!」六十歲的王女士是其中一位受害人,她於二○○八年閱報得知可免費參加倫敦金投資講座。到了「香港博弈研究中心」會場,有名自稱是「永豐金融集團」副總裁的經紀,游說他們參加投資課程。


  共25人中招 涉230萬


  王女士不虞有詐,繳交六千八百元學費後,又被經紀游說進行投資,於是她開設戶口並存入八萬元。雖然她沒有授權經紀進行買賣,但對方指王女士不懂使用電腦,全程替她代勞處理戶口。王女士後來才發現,經紀在兩日內,為她做了四十七次交易來賺取佣金,最終只剩二千元。經紀去年終因欺詐罪而被判入獄,但證券公司就指不知情,只願意賠償佣金。


  工聯會立法會    議員潘佩璆及王國興指,金銀業貿易場並非法定機構,涉案公司如非其會員,固然不能跟進;即使是其會員,只能協助受害人與涉案公司調停,最多也只能取消會藉,權力很少。


  潘佩璆批評,即使倫敦金買賣騙案時有發生,政府卻仍然無視危機,「見住有個氹都不去填,只是叫市民小心!」


  他們又指,財經事務及庫務局    回覆他們,指香港黃金買賣不須向證監會註冊或取得牌照,是由議價而作交易;並指其他國際金融中心也沒規管,但二人指出現時美國    、英國    與日本    ,均有機構對貴金屬或黃金買賣作出監管,促請政府設立完善機制規管倫敦金交易,考慮成立發牌制度,避免騙案再次發生。



USA Shopping
UK Shopping
Canada Shopping
Australia Shopping
Germany Shopping
France Shopping
Web Hosting

燒香案被告﹕指控無法接受 依足規定繼續拜神 上訴未定

燒香案被告﹕指控無法接受 依足規定繼續拜神 上訴未定
 (明報)2011年6月6日 星期一


【明報專訊】因燒香拜神煙霧鬧上法庭的罕見官司,被指燒香對鄰居造成騷擾的被告一方,日前被判敗訴要賠償7.5萬元,他們昨日開腔回應稱,拜神燒香只是依照長輩家訓,因今次官司已花費高達20多萬元,輸掉官司後已經被人「告到驚」,不敢隨便望向原訴一家門口,而且至今還無法接受有關指控,今後仍會繼續上香拜神,不過就會依足法庭的限制。


原訴家無人應門


Jobs Search


本報記者昨日到荔灣花園C座追訪兩個捲入官司的家庭,勝訴原訴人胡偉欣與其夫麥泳泉一家的單位,記者先後於早晚最少3次按門鈴,但始終無人應門,直至今晨零時仍不見夫婦二人現身,唯有在門外張貼聯絡紙條,至截稿前也未收到回覆。


至於被告人,包括馬鴻榮、許嬋美夫婦,以及兒子馬偉業,住在同一樓層,兩家門口距離僅約8呎之遙。馬家昨日向記者回應事件時,非常警覺,見記者曾使用錄音機作為「筆記」,便同樣以錄音機記錄訪問過程,未知是否因過去惹上過官非,於是錄音保障自己。


經過今次事件,被告之一馬偉業指家人已生活在陰影之下,兩老亦受官司驚嚇。


現時,他們已經遵守判令,無論在屋內外拜神,都改用了微煙香(環保香),以免再被人投訴。至於是否上訴問題,家人會在端午節    後與律師商討後再作打算。


對於會否因今次官司索性搬家避開煩惱,他說﹕「現時都唔知道。」


遵家訓拜神 未料被控罪成


馬家又指出,燒香拜神只是依照長輩家傳訓言,每天早晚要為門外「天宮」及「土地」等神位上香。


較早時被鄰居入稟控告,事件拉扯數個月,雙方對簿公堂,馬家終於敗訴,馬偉業昨向記者嘆稱﹕「發夢也沒想到裝香會畀人告上法庭罪成。」


他又說﹕「我畀佢口地告到驚,一家出入時都急步跑入升降機,不敢隨便望向原告一家門口,避免被攝入(對方裝在大門的閉路電視)鏡頭,惹起對方不滿。」


戶主女兒馬小姐稱,女麻女麻訓言指門口旁上設「天宮」下設「土地」,每天早晚要各上3支香,可保家宅平安,家人一直遵從至今,對於今次官司,她說﹕「我們會繼續拜神傳統,不過同樣會遵守法庭判令,採用只有11厘米長的微煙香。」


「相信因宗教衝突而起」


馬偉業又說﹕「至今還無法接受有關指控,無法接受兩炷香造成的煙霧,會經門隙大量滲入對方寓所這個說法。由於對方是基督教徒,我相信今次事件是因宗教衝突而起。」


他又稱,去年曾有警員接獲投訴,上門就拜神燒香滋擾鄰居一事查問,並表示對面單位會接受用微煙香拜神的做法,「當時我們以為,只要改用微煙香便可以,萬料不到之後會接獲律師信……」


指對方風扇吹散灰塵


回想爭拗期間,曾經發現對方在家門裝設閉路電視鏡頭,及小型電風扇。馬偉業相信對方用意是想拍攝證據,及用電風扇吹走煙霧,但風扇啟動後,卻將地上灰塵吹散;其母許嬋美用掃帚在走廊清理灰塵,又被指摘為有心將灰塵掃到他人家門前,爭執沒完沒了。


明報記者﹕ 鍾炳然、林錫禮、何朝財、衛永康


因燒香拜神惹官非的被告家庭,其中一個香爐設在大門左方(從閘外看)位置,被告許嬋美的兒子馬偉業昨日向記者講述事件時亦「夠鐘上香」,並已改用較短身、長11厘米的環保香。

June 06, 2011

Disney legends Betty Taylor, Wally Boag die within a day of each other

Disney legends die within a day of each other


By CHRISTOPHER WEBER, Associated Press
Sun Jun 5


ANAHEIM, Calif. – They shared a stage at Disneyland five days a week for nearly three decades and died within a day of each other.


Betty Taylor, who played Slue Foot Sue in Disney's long-running Golden Horseshoe Revue, passed away Saturday — one day after the death of Wally Boag, who played her character's sweetheart, Pecos Bill.


The 91-year-old Taylor died at her home in Washington state, Disneyland announced on its web site. Boag, who was 90, died Friday. He was a resident of Santa Monica, Calif.


DVD Stores
DVDs Australia 
DVD Rental Australia 



The causes of death were not announced and attempts to contact relatives for comment were not immediately successful.


"Betty's role as leading lady in Disneyland's Golden Horseshoe Revue helped turn it into the longest-running stage show in entertainment history," George Kalogridis, the president of Disneyland Resort, said in a statement. `'It is a tragic coincidence that her passing comes just one day after the death of longtime co-star Wally Boag."
Boag, a former vaudeville performer, signed a two-week contract with Walt Disney in 1955. He originated the role of Pecos Bill in the revue, taking the stage three times a day and logging nearly 40,000 performances before retiring in 1982.


Most of those shows were alongside Taylor, who joined the revue a year after Hoag. Her run on the show — which closed in 1986 — lasted nearly 45,000 performances.


The Golden Horseshoe Revue is listed in the Guinness Book of World Records as the longest running stage production in show business history.


"Wally was instrumental in the development of live entertainment during the early years of both Disneyland Park and Walt Disney World Resort," Kalogridis said. "His characters will continue to live in the hearts of our guests, while his larger-than-life personality will forever make him the true Clown Prince of Disneyland."


Boag's comedic timing influenced generations of performers, including actor Steve Martin, who called Boag his "hero." Martin tweeted Saturday that Boag was "the first comedian I ever saw live, my influence, a man to whom I aspired."


Boag and Taylor both appeared on television in "Walt Disney's Wonderful World of Color."
And before joining Disney, Boag appeared in a number of films during the 1940s, including "Without Love," starring Spencer Tracy and Katharine Hepburn, and "The Thrill of Romance," with Esther Williams.
He later appeared in Disney films such as "The Absent-Minded Professor," "Son of Flubber" and "The Love Bug."
Born in Seattle, Taylor began taking dance lessons at age 3. At 14, she sang and danced in nightclubs across the country, and by 18, led her own band called Betty and Her Beaus, which included 16 male musicians and appeared regularly at the Trianon Ballroom in Seattle.


In 1956, while living in Los Angeles and performing as a drum player with a musical group, Taylor heard about auditions for a song-and-dance job at Disneyland. She got the gig, which she held for 30 years, leading to appearances on a USO tour of Greenland and Newfoundland and a show for President Richard Nixon and his family in The White House.


She performed at the park until 1987, but continued to appear in special events, such as Walt Disney's Wild West, a 1995 retrospective at the Gene Autry Museum of Western Heritage in Los Angeles.

Officials: US missiles kill 16 in Pakistan

Officials: US missiles kill 16 in Pakistan


By ISHTIAQ MAHSUD, Associated Press
6/06/2011


DERA ISMAIL KHAN, Pakistan – The United States fired missiles at three suspected militant targets near the Afghan border Monday, killing 16 people and keeping the pressure on insurgents days after a strike was believed to have killed an al-Qaida commander, Pakistani intelligence officials said.


The identities of the dead in the unusually intense volley of drone-fired strikes in the South Waziristan tribal region were not known. Several Arabs were said to be among the victims of one of them, according to the officials, who did not give their names in line with agency policy.


Al-Qaida and Taliban fighters remain in South Waziristan, despite a Pakistani army offensive launched there in 2009.


Since the U.S. raid that killed Osama bin Laden on May 2 in northwest Pakistan, missile strikes have picked up pace from a relative lull in the year's first half. But anger at the bin Laden operation, seen here as a violation of Pakistani sovereignty, has led to fresh calls on Washington to stop the attacks.


DVD Stores
DVDs Australia 
DVD Rental Australia 


Pakistani authorities said Sunday that they were increasingly sure that a Friday missile strike in South Waziristan killed Ilyas Kashmiri, a top al-Qaida commander rumored to be a longshot contender to replace bin Laden as the terror network's chief.


Getting definitive confirmation about who died in the missile strikes is difficult, especially if no body is retrieved. U.S. officials have not confirmed the death of Kashmiri, who was wrongly said by Pakistani and American officials to have been killed in a missile strike in 2009. Pakistani officials declined to comment on whether they had assisted the U.S. in the strike.


Before dawn, one set of missiles hit a compound in Wucha Dana village, killing seven people. The second set landed at about the same time at a Muslim seminary there, killing five people, two Pakistani intelligence officials said.


The intelligence officials spoke on condition of anonymity because they were not authorized to speak on the record.
They said several Arab men were believed to be among the dead.


Later Monday, missiles hit a vehicle traveling in Dra Nishter village elsewhere in the region, killing four, officials said.


Washington says the missiles have killed hundreds of militants, including several top al-Qaida commanders since they began in earnest in 2008. More than 30 have struck this year, compared to last year's tally of about 130. Some experts question their legality and the secrecy under which they operate. Transparent investigations of alleged civilian casualties are not carried out.


Pakistani intelligence is believed to provide the U.S. with targeting information for at least some of the strikes. But its civilian and military leaders publicly protest the strikes and say they create more enemies than they kill. It would be politically toxic to acknowledge collaborating with the U.S. in attacks unpopular among many Pakistanis.
Also Monday, the Pakistani Taliban claimed responsibility for a bomb that killed 18 people at a bakery in an army neighborhood in the northwest town of Nowshera the previous night. The militant group said the attack was vengeance for Pakistani army actions against them in the nearby Swat Valley.
___
Associated Press Writer Rasool Dawar in Peshawar contributed to this report.

E.coli superbug outbreak in Germany due to abuse of antibiotics in meat production

接受缺陷敢嘗試 獨臂漢高誌樫登山入海

台灣受致癌塑化劑污染的加工食品揭近千種 蛋糕麵包餅乾含塑化劑

便利店微波便當釋毒塑化劑 台灣研究指微波盒也出事

The Watermelon You Should Never, Ever Eat
Forchlorfenuron is not necessarily harmless, neither to the environment nor to animals and potentially humans. Side effects revealed in animal studies included:
Increased incidence of alopecia (hair loss)
Decreased birth weight
Increased pup mortality
Decreased litter sizes

Right cultivation of the blood is the foundation of health and longevity

E.coli superbug outbreak in Germany due to abuse of antibiotics in meat production

New Study Finds Major Toxins in Many Cosmetics


You've been eating cloned bananas

Is It Time to Re-Think EVERYTHING You've Ever Heard about a College Education?

iHerb $5 Discount Off First Order