45Likes
Hello Everyone
Thanks for all the forums and everyone who takes part in geoexpat. It's a great resource!
I live on HK Island at the moment and I'd like to move to an area in the New Territories at the end of this year.
I want to move to a village house.
I've been told and read about a few burglaries and just wandered if this is normally a problem when moving into a village house or does it happen mostly in certain areas.
I will be away for short trips quite often and my wife would be there by herself which is why I'd like to figure out as much as possible about this before we find a place and move. We would like to be a bit further from the city and keep our costs down which is why I would like a village house but at the same time I don't want to put her in danger. We left a country because of that once already.
Thank you for any information you have
-
12-01-2019, 02:11 PM #1
Crime in the New Territories
-
-
12-01-2019, 02:44 PM #2
HKSAR police do not publish usable data so you will only get anecdotal 'evidence' which tends to be biased by recency and proximity.
Overall the NT's are very safe. Just make sure you get good door locks, movement sensor lights, window security and a CCTV systems. The fear of getting caught (identified) should be enough to offer protection.
-
12-01-2019, 03:03 PM #3
Oh dear, door locks are going to do precious little to nothing as they don't go through the main timber doors to enter. Our house, they climbed up the drain pipe and got access to the biggest weakness of any HK village house, the china cheap, sliding door, on our 1st floor. We were fine after we got a German shepherd, while other houses in our village after that got robbed, the dog made ALL the difference.
Our old house got robbed again, about 3weeks ago, this time they got in through the ground floor bathroom window, pushing the feeble window exhaust fan out of the way, then opening the window to gain entry. Poor tenant was freaked out and wants to move.. I hear there were a spate of robberies in Saikung prior to Christmas, which is pretty usual.. Wait till Chinese new year, it will be very active again, then die down. It's the same every year.
Best advice I can give, if you plan to live in a village house, get a big dog that means business...
-
12-01-2019, 03:15 PM #4
I wouldn't worry too much about burglaries, could happen anywhere - first ask your wife if she's afraid of (feral) dogs?
-
12-01-2019, 03:24 PM #5
Funny the only place I've ever been burgled, was in Sai Kung where lots are reported at certain times of the year.
Apartments in high rises, are quite rare for an expat to be burgled.. The point of the topic was where village houses apply..
-
12-01-2019, 03:29 PM #6
Village houses are not as nice as they seem. What you may think will be a "quiet" area will be surprisingly noisy -- people shouting to each other downstairs from your bedroom before 8:00 am, drilling on Christmas day, constant renovations and construction. You never know when or if a house will be built on top of yours. There is rampant dumping creating quite an eye sore and environmental damage. You will be harassed if you step out of line. And villagers are above the law -- police will clearly tell you it's not their business to enforce the law in a village. If you plan to have a car, you must be extremely careful where you park it or think you can park it, if parking exists at all.
Yes, there are burglaries in many areas -- it's very easy to break in and these often happen at night while people are sleeping. I've not heard of anyone being harmed by the thieves, but rather spooked out by the idea that someone was able to come into their homes in the middle of the night. Even when people catch the person on CCTV, it still continues to happen and the police, I think, never catch them.
What can I say, as far as I know, there is no lovely place to live in Hong Kong...
-
12-01-2019, 03:35 PM #7
-
12-01-2019, 03:42 PM #8
Come to Peng Chau! Was told we have the lowest crime in HK...I forget to lock my bike sometimes and nothing happens- can also leave groceries in my bike basket and nothing happens- anything you steal you have to haul back on the ferry.
My little block of flats has a security guard from 7AM to 6PM, after that...nothing and never heard of a burglary.
If you work in Central it's a better commute than from the NT...
-
12-01-2019, 04:17 PM #9
There are 1.3M households in the New Territories there were around 2000 reported burglaries in the whole of Hong Kong in 2017.
Without actual data on
- where
- what type of house
- mode of entry
- time of day
- security devices in play
- etc
It really is difficult to state how unsafe village houses are. They are less safe than high rise but that is a comparative measure that doesn't give a sense of risk. No doubt people will discuss a spate here or there but it is not clear what the actual risks.
Generally I would suggest village houses are pretty safe if you are sensible.
-
12-01-2019, 04:51 PM #10
Originally Posted by Bots:
