Guest guest Posted November 14, 2000 Report Share Posted November 14, 2000 Tuesday, November 14, 2000 South China Morning Post http://www.scmp.com/news/ Monkey man Chan Yat-biu and his pet Kam Ying have landed new roles as stars of a property giant's advertising campaign. The 90-year-old hawker and his three-year-old monkey, reunited in August three months after Kam Ying was confiscated by government officials, are featuring in a series of advertisements for the Sun Hung Kai group. The property giant refused to say how much money it had paid the pair for their appearance but an insider said: " It wasn't peanuts. " Kam Ying was confiscated from Mr Chan by officials on May 9 because he had no licence for the monkey. The confiscation caused public uproar and more than 11,000 people signed a petition demanding the Agriculture and Fisheries Department give Kam Ying back. A magistrate eventually ordered the monkey to be returned to Mr Chan in August. Mr Chan said he was happy to have landed the job after being approached by Sun Hung Kai a month ago. His son, Chan Yiu-wing, said his father was again selling Chinese herbs and medicine in Kowloon City with Kam Ying, although he had been unable to work this week as he had a cold. But he said they would not give up their herb business to become full-time advertising stars. " I don't think they will give up selling herbs. This is the first time for them to do advertising - they seem to quite enjoy it. I don't know if father will take other offers. It depends on his health. " SHK Online chief executive Douglas Chen Waihuen said they wanted to foster a relationship with their customers that was similar to the one between Mr Chan and Kam Ying. " This is a volatile moment for the market and for investors. We want to tell our customers what's most valuable for them. We believe we can offer them life-long trusting companionship just like Mr Chan has with Kam Ying, " he said. [My letter to the SCMP: Dear Sir, I refer to the article in SCMP today, 14th November, about the Monkey Man. The message I would get from the advertisements is that Sun Hung Kai is out to exploit their customers in the same thoughtless and offensive way that Mr Chan exploits his monkey. Dr John Wedderburn. Lamma Island.] Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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