The management of the Tatami Hampton Hotel yesterday blamed the Bank of East Asia (BEA) and court bailiffs for "cold-bloodedly" evicting its guests on Wednesday. The bank has denied such accusation.

The owner of the hotel, Labour Buildings Limited, issued a statement yesterday saying they reserve the right to claim damages from the bank.

The saga started last September, when the bank took the Labour Buildings to court for an unpaid loan of HK$80 million.

The company signed a provisional agreement of selling the building with Sin Kwok-lam, who once held a senior position in Wing Hang Bank, in May. The transaction is expected to be completed on September 30.

The hotel was transferred on June 13 to Year Harvest Investment Limited, of which the director is Sin.

Labour Buildings applied to the court for a stay of execution to defer possession of the building by the bank.

But the court rejected the application on Wednesday, and bailiffs closed down the hotel.

The statement issued by Labour Buildings said both the bailiffs and the bank's legal representatives promised proper transfer of guests to other hotels.

"Under no circumstances can the BEA and the bailiffs drive hotel guests away," the statement said. "The bank's right to possession does not mean it can cold-bloodedly drive away hotel guests."

But the bank issued a statement, saying they are fully entitled to exercise its legal right and have never made any promise to the hotel.

"The BEA wishes to clarify that it was in no way responsible for the sudden closure and eviction of guests from the Tatami Hampton Hotel," it said.

The statement said the bank has given the hotel management indication of its intention to possess the building since March. A court bailiff has also made four visits prior to Wednesday, giving out statutory notices to quit.

"The owner and operation of the hotel continued to accept bookings and maintain a hotel business, in spite of a court order to deliver possession of the premises to the BEA. The bank said it has had no control over the management of the hotel, and is very much regretful that guests have suffered great inconvenience and financial losses," it said.

The bank reserves its position against those whose irresponsible conduct may damage the bank's reputation.

Meanwhile, the hotel management said they have closed down the booking system immediately after the bailiffs came in, but the closing down took some hours for technical reasons.

(HK Edition 06/20/2008 page1)