Committee concludes first phase of Tai Po fire hearing - as it happened
Next phase of hearing, consisting of six sessions, will start on April 8
An independent committee investigating the cause of Hong Kong’s deadliest inferno in decades wrapped up its first round of hearing sessions on Thursday, with the role of the property management firm at blaze-hit Wang Fuk Court under scrutiny.
Lam Man-yan, technical officer with ISS EastPoint - the property manager of the Tai Po housing estate when the fire broke out last November 26 - concluded his testimony on engineering and maintenance matters.
The estate’s property officer, Cheng Tsz-ying, agreed with the committee’s lead counsel, Victor Dawes SC, that the property management company could have breached its contractual obligation to the owners’ corporation by failing to independently ensure fire safety and placing the responsibility solely in the hands of contractors.
The next phase of the hearing, consisting of six sessions, will start on April 8.
During the first round of eight sessions, Dawes identified in his opening statement six “human factors” that led to the deaths of 168 people in the fire.
The judge-led panel also heard statements from legal representatives for the government, the Urban Renewal Authority, ISS EastPoint, the Competition Commission and the estate’s current administrator, Hop On Management.
Wang Fuk Court residents, employees and the director of fire services installation contractor Victory Fire Engineering and other ISS EastPoint staff also testified.
Follow our live updates on the eighth day of the hearing.
Reporting by Leopold Chen and Edith Lin
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