Hong Kong’s fire services declined to activate an emergency alert during the city’s deadliest inferno in decades, citing concerns that it might have caused confusion among trapped residents, a public inquiry has heard. An independent committee investigating last year’s disaster at Wang Fuk Court was also told on Thursday that the system, which would have…
Hong Kong authorities have proposed new offences with tougher punishments for fire installation contractors who fail to obtain prior approval before deactivating firefighting systems or do not report malfunctions within 24 hours, in the wake of the city’s deadliest fire in decades, the South China Morning Post has learned. Other proposed changes included drastically increasing…
A public inquiry into Hong Kong’s deadliest fire in decades has shed light on government departments’ confusion over their roles in supervising large-scale renovation projects, with a fire service official insisting his department was not responsible for handling complaints about flammable building materials because it lacked expertise in construction. Michael Yung Kam-hung, an assistant director…
This story has been made freely available as a public service to our readers. Please consider supporting SCMP’s journalism by subscribing. Four officers from Hong Kong’s fire department are testifying on Wednesday before an independent committee investigating the Wang Fuk Court fire, as hearings enter their 17th day. The conflagration, which broke out on November…
Buyers of illicit fuel in Hong Kong could face a maximum penalty of HK$1 million (US$127,687) and one year in prison under proposed legal amendments aimed at curbing illegal refuelling amid surging global oil prices, the South China Morning Post has learned. According to a government source, the Security Bureau has also proposed tougher penalties…
A Labour Department official has told an inquiry into Hong Kong’s deadly Tai Po inferno that the temporary removal of fireproof windows from emergency passages in the blaze-hit estate complied with occupational safety protocols, triggering questions on whether the interests of workers and residents are at odds. The inquiry also heard on Tuesday that a…
Hong Kong’s security chief has pledged to replace fax messaging between police and firefighters with a digital system and to increase phone lines at emergency call centres, after an inquiry into last year’s deadly Tai Po fire heard that callers waited up to 15 minutes to be transferred. Secretary for Security Chris Tang Ping-keung’s remarks…
This story has been made freely available as a public service to our readers. Please consider supporting SCMP’s journalism by subscribing. More Wang Fuk Court residents and senior staff at two engineering firms are set to testify on Thursday for the 13th day of an evidential hearing into Hong Kong’s deadliest fire in decades. Justice…
This story has been made freely available as a public service to our readers. Please consider supporting SCMP’s journalism by subscribing. A judge-led panel investigating the causes of Hong Kong’s deadliest fire in decades, which killed 168 people in Tai Po, concluded its 12th day of evidential hearings on Wednesday. Representatives from the Fire Services…
A Hong Kong fire services official has defended a decision to decline mainland Chinese firefighters’ help to combat the city’s deadliest inferno in decades, citing concerns they might be unable to immediately adapt to the new environment and effectively communicate with their local counterparts. On the 12th day of a public evidential hearing on Wednesday,…