Hong Kong apartment fires: hearings to begin into Wang Fuk blaze that killed 168 people | Hong Kong apartment fires
Public hearings begin Thursday in Hong Kong into the devastating fire that ripped through a housing complex last year, killing 168 people.
An independent committee led by the judge will investigate whether fire safety standards were inadequate, whether construction practices contributed to the blaze and whether there were errors by government officials or contractors.
Former resident Yip Ka-kui, who lost his wife and home in the fire, told Agence France-Presse that he wanted “justice for the dead and an explanation for the victims.”
“I hope that the independent commission will really investigate everyone involved and clarify what responsibilities they have,” he said. “If they were at fault, they should take responsibility.”
The Nov. 26 fire at Wang Fuk Court, a high-rise apartment complex in the financial center’s Tai Po district, was the world’s deadliest residential fire since 1980.
It engulfed seven of the eight residential towers at the complex, which were still undergoing renovations and were covered with bamboo scaffolding, protective netting and foam boards, which may have contributed to the fire’s rapid spread.
The committee’s website said it will also seek to determine whether there are more systemic problems such as “overly connected interests, role conflicts or improper collusion… and whether these works involve bid-rigging corruption or irregularities in the tender process.”
Witnesses expected to attend the hearings include government officials, former residents, executives of construction firms and members of the Wang Fuk Court management committee.
Police are also conducting a criminal investigation and arrested 38 people on suspicion of manslaughter and six people on suspicion of fraud.
Hong Kong’s anti-corruption watchdog arrested 23 people, including consultants, contractors and members of the complex’s owners’ companies, the Independent Commission Against Corruption said on Wednesday.
