The hearings by an independent committee investigating the catastrophic Tai Po blaze that killed 168 people in Hong Kong entered their fifth day on Monday, with the company responsible for the fire safety systems at Wang Fuk Court estate testifying.
Another seven residents testified on Monday at the City Gallery building in Central, including Yip Ka-kui, whose wife died in the fire after alerting neighbours to escape.
The first resident to give his testimony on Monday said flat owners were often blocked from votes on major issues, with suspicious ballots “coming from nowhere” dropped into boxes as management staff counted the votes.
Another resident said he had raised concerns about the deactivation of the fire alarm system, adding that the negligence of multiple parties, including the management committee of the owners’ corporation, contractors and the government, had paved a “road to death” for Wang Fuk Court residents.
Yet another testified to seeing large piles of rubbish – including cardboard boxes and workers’ lunchboxes – accumulating in the light well where the fire was thought to have started.
Proceedings were briefly suspended when the fire alarm in the building went off during the morning break. The hearing resumed after about half an hour, with committee chairman Justice David Lok Kai-hong saying the incident underlined the importance of fire alarm systems.
Victory Fire Engineering’s director began testifying before the session was adjourned.
The deactivation of the fire alarm system was one of the six “human factors” that led to the near-total failure of the safety measures at Wang Fuk Court, the committee’s lead counsel, Victor Dawes, said during his two-day opening statement.
The lawyer of the city’s competition watchdog revealed in the hearing that at least two bid-rigging syndicates were “potentially linked” to the HK$336 million (US$43 million) renovation bid for the residential complex.
Follow our live updates on the fifth day of the hearing.
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