Carrying luggage and weeping, residents of the sole tower spared in the deadly blaze at Hong Kong’s Wang Fuk Court in Tai Po returned to their flats on Wednesday to collect valuables, warm clothes, personal documents, home appliances and pets. Some of those who returned to Wang Chi House said they felt heartbroken going back…
One week after its worst fire in decades, Hong Kong is searching for answers to the inferno that ripped through seven towers at Wang Fuk Court housing complex in Tai Po, killing at least 156 people, injuring dozens and leaving around 30 unaccounted for. Illustration: SCMP By Victor Sanjinez, Davies Christian, Jeffie Lam, Andrew London,…
An independent review committee tasked with probing the deadly fire in Hong Kong that has so far claimed 156 lives has no legal power to compel and protect witnesses, but may yield faster results of comparable quality to a statutory commission, experts say. Chief Executive John Lee Ka-chiu on Tuesday ordered a judge-led independent investigation…
Hong Kong’s worst blaze in seven decades has exposed an ugly open secret of a murky and rapacious building renovation business that is plagued by bid-rigging and skyrocketing costs even as it staves off feeble official efforts to tackle collusive conduct. Experts and former insiders offered this grim assessment, pointing to the city as a…
Residents of the only tower left untouched by the deadly blaze that destroyed seven others at Wang Fuk Court in Hong Kong’s Tai Po neighbourhood will be given 90 minutes on Wednesday and Thursday to collect their belongings. Civil servants will be on hand to help move their possessions, authorities have said. Amy Lam Man-han,…
Hong Kong Chief Executive John Lee Ka-chiu has ordered the setting up of a judge-led independent review committee on the blaze that engulfed a Tai Po residential estate while formally announcing that the Legislative Council election will go ahead on Sunday as scheduled. The death toll from the inferno that swept through seven of the…
Hong Kong’s property deals slipped slightly in November after two months of gains, government data showed, with analysts warning of a deeper pullback this month as the Christmas holidays along with deferred launches of new homes following the deadly fire in Tai Po weigh on sentiment. Sales of new and lived-in homes, office units, shops,…
Residents and mourners have demanded that the Hong Kong government ramp up its investigations to hold responsible parties accountable, as they gathered to mark the seventh day after the start of the city’s worst fire in seven decades. Hundreds of people assembled at the Kwong Fuk sit-out area on Tuesday, laying flowers, writing messages of…
Hong Kong’s property deals slipped slightly in November after two months of gains, government data showed, with analysts warning of a deeper pullback this month as the Christmas holidays along with deferred launches of new homes following the deadly fire in Tai Po weigh on sentiment. Sales of new and lived-in homes, office units, shops,…
The Coroner’s Court has postponed a long-awaited verdict for an inquest into one of Hong Kong’s deadliest maritime disasters, in which 39 residents died after a collision between two ferries in 2012. The court was slated to make a ruling on Thursday on the underlying causes of the crash, which took place off Lamma Island,…