Hong Kong’s construction sector has rolled out a unified blueprint to enforce a strict, site-wide smoking ban taking effect on Friday, a major safety overhaul triggered by the deadly Tai Po fire last year. The guidelines, released by the Hong Kong Construction Association along with eight other industry groups on Thursday, are aimed at creating…
An independent committee investigating Hong Kong’s deadliest fire in decades will hear concluding remarks from the government on Thursday as the final round of hearings on the tragedy continues. The legal representative for nine residents of the fire-ravaged Wang Fuk Court housing estate in Tai Po will also deliver a concluding statement before the judge-led…
Residents of Hong Kong’s blaze-ravaged Wang Fuk Court would still have died even if the housing estate’s fire alarms had been working during last year’s inferno, a contractor has suggested, prompting the judge overseeing a public inquiry into the disaster to question whether he was attempting to evade responsibility. Legal counsel for a director of…
An independent, judge-led committee investigating Hong Kong’s deadliest fire in decades will hear closing submissions from legal representatives, following 27 sessions of evidential hearings. Counsel representing the committee, the government and other parties are expected to deliver their final submissions before the panel from Wednesday to Friday, after which it will proceed to finalise a…
Hong Kong’s housing authorities have dismissed online rumours that a government-established company set up to acquire flats at fire-ravaged Wang Fuk Court is an “empty shell” at risk of bankruptcy, saying it has signed contracts with more than 550 owners. The Housing Bureau said on Monday that claims concerning “Wang Fuk Court Property Rights Acquisition…
Hong Kong police have arrested 65 people, including 11 sex workers and 54 others involved in suspected illegal gambling, in a two-day joint crackdown with fire services and immigration authorities targeting triad-linked income sources. The force said on Saturday that another three people were issued summonses for running an illegal petrol station during the joint…
No government subsidies will be needed to build the long-awaited Pak Shek Kok station on the East Rail line, Hong Kong’s minister has said, after authorities agreed to grant the MTR Corporation development rights at two sites. Secretary for Development Bernadette Linn Hon-ho said on Saturday that the “rail-plus-property” model would fully cover construction costs,…
A senior Hong Kong official has defended the exclusion of public flats near the proposed site of the Pak Shek Kok rail station, arguing it will not align with the existing private housing already there and that the area lacks the necessary community facilities. Permanent Secretary for Development Doris Ho Pui-ling stressed on Friday that…
The much-delayed Pak Shek Kok station on the East Rail line is scheduled to open as early as 2033 after Hong Kong authorities revealed plans to require the MTR Corporation to build the project to boost connectivity for a tech hub. The Development Bureau said on Thursday that the project would be financed by allowing…
The government-appointed administrator of Hong Kong’s fire-ravaged Wang Fuk Court will hold an extraordinary general meeting (EGM) with owners of the flats on July 19, ending months of delays. In a notice issued on Saturday, Hop On Management Company said it would host the meeting simultaneously via live broadcast across four locations for owners of…