Hong Kong’s Buildings Department has filed 259 charges against two companies and four individuals over major renovation works at the inferno-ravaged Wang Fuk Court, after investigations found non-fire-retardant materials were used and safety obligations were not met. The department said on Wednesday that the charges included allegedly permitting or authorising the use of substandard materials…
More than 75 per cent of homeowners at the only block spared the worst of last November’s deadly fire at Wang Fuk Court have agreed to sell their flats to the Hong Kong government, with authorities to press ahead with acquisition procedures. The Housing Bureau said on Thursday that 75.8 per cent of the flats…
A couple who survived the deadly Tai Po blaze last year have been barred from leaving Hong Kong pending trial for allegedly obtaining more than HK$330,000 (US$42,000) in government-guaranteed loans by overstating the decline in revenue of their decoration business. Former Wang Fuk Court residents Jason Kong Cheung-fat, 65, and Rosanna Cheung Yeuk-lan, 62, appeared…
More than 99 per cent of homeowners at Hong Kong’s fire-ravaged Wang Fuk Court have accepted a government buy-out of their flats, leaving just 17 households facing potential compulsory acquisition after the scheme closed on Monday. By the cut‑off time at 5pm on Monday, 1,967 or 99.1 per cent of the estate’s 1,984 flat owners…
Nearly 600 pupils and their teachers at a Hong Kong primary school closed after the deadly Wang Fuk Court blaze will be reunited at a newly renovated campus in Tai Po, ending months spent across two temporary sites. Tai Po Baptist Public School, formerly located near Wang Fuk Court, opened its new premises at Fu…
As the deadline approaches for homeowners to accept the Hong Kong government’s deal to buy back their flats at fire-ravaged Wang Fuk Court, some who refuse to sell have said the offer cannot make up for the loss of their property and communal bonds. With the clock ticking to the August 31 cut-off date, the…
About 100 homeowners, or 5 per cent, at fire-ravaged Wang Fuk Court in Hong Kong have yet to accept the government’s buy-back offer with a week left before the deadline, Deputy Financial Secretary Michael Wong Wai-lun has said, stressing that the acquisition scheme will not be extended. “The deadline is a very serious timeline ……
Hong Kong authorities have yet to decide whether to restrict proxy voters at homeowners’ meetings to relatives or other flat owners of the same estate under proposed law amendments meant to combat bid-rigging, the home affairs director has said, arguing such a move could be overly strict. Director of Home Affairs Priscilla To Kit-lai said…
The independent committee investigating the causes of Hong Kong’s deadliest fire in decades will postpone submitting its report by a month to the end of October, attributing the delay to the complexity of issues and the large volume of documents it must review. The committee announced on Tuesday that it had sought approval from Chief…
A scaffolding subcontractor at Hong Kong’s fire-ravaged Wang Fuk Court estate had ordered batches of non-fire-retardant protective nets, according to a supplier’s statement released by the independent panel investigating the deadly blaze. Lam Kee Construction Materials’ statement was among documents released on Wednesday by the independent committee investigating the causes of the fire in November,…