Lawsuit filed against owners of Beijing Imperial Palace

Sunday 7th of May 2017

More than 12 people claiming to be victims of the closure of the Beijing Imperial Palace Hotel have filed a lawsuit against the owner, Macau Hotel Developers Limited, local media reports.

In July 2016, the Macau Government Tourism Office (MGTO) announced the temporary closure of the hotel due to “serious administrative irregularities” which caused “threats to public safety.”

The victims, which consist of more than 20 organizations and individuals from the tourism industry, are represented by lawyer Chan Wa Keong and expect a payout of more than MOP99 million (US$12.3 million), which they said should be “returned to the victims in view of the hotel’s unfulfilled contracts,” reports Macau Daily Times.

According to Wu Keng Kuong, president of the Travel Industry Council of Macau, the victims last year tried to contact the parent company but failed to get a response.

“We cannot contact the Macau Hotel Developers Limited nor the offshore company which is the hotel’s title owner. Therefore, there is no other way for us to recover the losses but to resolve the issue by appealing,” explained Wu.

Wu added that the group had previously appealed to the Prosecution Office (MP) in September, following “suspicions of a deliberate fraud” occurring at the hotel, which violated the victims’ rights, but no results have been announced to date.

Bricks & Mortar Lawsuit