The role of the management committee of Wang Fuk Court owners’ corporation is expected to be a key focus on Friday of a hearing by an independent panel investigating Hong Kong’s deadliest fire in decades, with a former chairman of the body and a construction worker set to testify.
In an earlier session, residents accused Tai Po district councillor Peggy Wong Pik-kiu of exerting an influence on homeowners voting in a ballot that picked Prestige Engineering and Construction as the contractor for multimillion-dollar renovations at Wang Fuk Court, where the blaze broke out last November and claimed 168 lives.
Preliminary investigations found the company had used non fire-retardant scaffolding mesh while applying flammable polyfoam boards to flat windows during renovations, which contributed to the quick spread of the fire.
Two subcontractors on the HK$336 million project had also admitted that they did not proactively regulate workers’ habits of smoking on the scaffolding.
Follow our live updates on the 14th day of the hearings.
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