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Lennon was a foreman working in the Hong Kong Harbour Engineering Company Limited which was a contractor carrying out the sanitary landfill and associated works at the Sai Kung Landfill.

One of the duties of Lennon was to evict gleaners from the landfill site as it was laid down very clearly that no salvage of any material within the site was permitted. There was a large sign displayed at the entrance of the site in both Chinese and English which could cause no misunderstanding.

Lennon had an old friend Gary who was unfortunately laid off a few months ago.  After much effort, Gary finally started a recycling business.  He approached Lennon one day asking to be allowed to send his men around to see what could be salvaged.  He promised that it would be done very discreetly and unobtrusively.  There were various arguments between the two. Gary doubted if Lennon would have anything to lose because he was merely lending a helping hand by turning a blind eye.  Gary stressed that it was all for a good cause, that environmental protection was the duty of every global citizen and that no real victims or suffering parties were involved.  Gary continued to persuade Lennon that the rules could always be bent a little bit.  The important thing was not to disturb the operation of the landfill.

Lennon thought to himself, “Should I help my old friend out?  He was an unfortunate guy.  Must I adhere to the rules laid down by the firm?  Gary was quite right.  What have I got to lose?  Why can’t I have a say in things as minor as these?  Maybe at the end of the day, I can still say I have evicted Gary’s people but not after they have had a chance to glean through the stuff a bit.  These practice was common in construction sites.”