A property management worker at the housing estate ravaged by Hong Kong’s deadliest fire in decades was unaware that fire alarms had been deactivated after the hose reel system was shut down for water tank repairs, an evidentiary hearing has been told. On the sixth day of hearings by an independent committee investigating the November…
Residents of Wang Chi House, the only building of the Wang Fuk Court housing complex in Tai Po which was not directly affected in last November’s fatal fire, briefly return to their flats to retrieve personal belongings. (ADAM LAM / CHINA DAILY) From April 20 to May 4, over 1,700 households displaced by last year’s…
Hong Kong authorities have insisted that the three-hour time limit is sufficient for residents of the fire-ravaged Wang Fuk Court to retrieve their belongings, with discretion to be exercised for those requesting a second entry. Deputy Chief Secretary Warner Cheuk Wing-hing said on Saturday that although each household could register up to four people to…
Displaced residents from the seven fire-ravaged blocks of Hong Kong’s Wang Fuk Court will be allowed to return to their flats for up to three hours to collect their personal belongings, with the first batch to be allowed back on April 20. Authorities said on Friday that each household could register up to four people…
At least two bid-rigging syndicates could be linked to the HK$336 million (US$43 million) renovation bid for a housing estate destroyed in Hong Kong’s deadliest fire in decades, a lawyer for the competition watchdog has said at the fourth session of an evidential hearing. Lester Lee Hiu-leung, the Competition Commission’s executive director for legal services,…
A public evidential hearing by an independent committee into a fire that killed 168 people at a Hong Kong estate has entered its fourth day, with more residents set to testify. One resident who testified on Thursday said piles of rubbish were seen outside the building that first caught fire at Wang Fuk Court estate,…
Hong Kong’s anti-corruption watchdog has charged five people over alleged bribes – including casino chips and red packets – offered to flat owners and owner corporation members during large-scale renovation projects, worth about HK$90 million (US$11.5 million), at three housing estates. The Independent Commission Against Corruption (ICAC) on Wednesday disclosed details of its crackdown on…
A lawyer for the Hong Kong government has rejected “groundless” assertions that its surveyors conspired with a renovation contractor at the centre of the city’s deadliest fire in decades to conceal flammable materials used at the site, suggesting the firm did not have enough time to plan a deception before a crucial inspection. But Jenkin…
This story has been made freely available as a public service to our readers. Please consider supporting SCMP’s journalism by subscribing. An independent committee investigating a fire that killed 168 people at a Hong Kong housing estate is holding its third public hearing, with three residents expected to testify after a government lawyer gives an…
Contractors could face fines of up to HK$400,000 (US$51,068) for failing to prevent smoking at construction sites in Hong Kong under a government proposal to improve safety following the deadly Tai Po fire last November. The proposals, outlined in a paper prepared by the Labour Bureau, aim to tighten existing workplace safety laws and impose…