Hong Kong police officers assigned to identify victims of the deadly Tai Po fire remain mentally stable despite facing tougher conditions than in previous disasters, the force’s psychologists have said. Police clinical psychologist Michael Fung Ho-kin told the Post on Wednesday that the psychological services group had provided mental health support to frontline officers before,…
The Hong Kong Institute of Surveyors has called on the government to introduce dedicated legislation and a new statutory body to fast-track the buy-back of Wang Fuk Court flats after the deadly fire, clearing the way for residents’ resettlement. Former president of the institute Chiu Kam-kuen, now chairman of its Housing Policy Panel, estimated that…
Christmas celebrations will be muted in Hong Kong following the city’s deadliest fire in seven decades, business leaders say, as they try to balance the need to generate revenue with public mourning for the 160 victims. After the inferno that tore through Wang Fuk Court in Tai Po on November 26, many parties, gatherings, concerts…
Filipino domestic helpers who survived Hong Kong’s deadliest fire in decades say they have no intention of leaving the city, even though they were traumatised by the tragedy. Some of 35 survivors attending a full-day fair at St John’s Cathedral in Central on Sunday told the Post about their ordeals after losing all their personal…
Two Tai Po-based preachers offering emotional support to survivors of Hong Kong’s deadliest fire in seven decades have said their work has forced them to confront their own traumas from the tragedy. Jessie Fu Kam-wah and Ron Cheng King-on, both members of the Chinese Rhenish Church in Tai Po, said they had met elderly people…
Hong Kong continues to count the economic losses from the city’s deadliest fire in decades, with the disaster having destroyed 1,736 flats at Tai Po’s Wang Fuk Court, turned residents’ valuables into ashes and triggered the cancellation of banquets and mega-events. Economists and industry leaders estimate the losses could run into billions of Hong Kong…
Hong Kong’s constitutional affairs chief has dismissed suggestions that a record number of invalid ballots cast in the recent Legislative Council election was due to some people being forced to vote, adding that authorities may reconsider introducing “smart ballot boxes” to address the issue. Secretary for Constitutional and Mainland Affairs Erick Tsang Kwok-wai also said…
Hong Kong authorities have expressed confidence in swiftly identifying a location in Tai Po to build subsidised flats as part of resettlement options being reviewed for victims left homeless by the deadly inferno last month. Deputy Financial Secretary Michael Wong Wai-lun on Saturday outlined several options to resettle displaced residents in Wang Fuk Court, while…
The principal of a Hong Kong primary school opposite the scene of the deadly Tai Po fire has expressed hope that the institution could relocate, saying the horrifying view of the charred buildings will put parents off and affect enrolment. Tai Po Baptist Public School head Siu Ting said the campus was still sealed off…
Ambiguous rules, lax supervision and uncoordinated policies involving at least four departments are among some deep-rooted problems contributing to the inferno that killed 160 residents in Hong Kong, analysts have said, as the Post reviewed what went wrong. Some industry insiders also questioned whether housing authorities, who oversee a lesser-known independent checking unit, should have…