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Ng Kang-chung

Hong Kong’s development minister has vowed to tighten monitoring of contractors and explore harsher penalties for industry misconduct following criticisms that the government’s reliance on their self-supervision was partly to blame for the deadly Tai Po blaze.
But Bernadette Linn Hon-ho also defended the current regulatory system, stressing that violations were penalised.
“The monitoring system has never been designed to allow professionals to do whatever they like unchecked. But professionals do have very important functions to perform,” Linn told a television programme aired on Sunday.
“When they make mistakes, there are punishments, whether legal or disciplinary, that are clearly stated in the current system.”
Victor Dawes SC, lead counsel of the government-appointed independent committee investigating the inferno, criticised the government’s reliance on the honour system in overseeing the HK$336 million (US$43 million) maintenance project that was under way when Wang Fuk Court went up in flames last year.




Relying on the private sector to regulate itself had created oversight loopholes and left obvious fire hazards at the housing estate unchecked, he said.
He added that the regulatory responsibility lay with the Housing Bureau’s Independent Checking Unit (ICU), the Buildings Department, the Fire Services Department and the Labour Department.
The blaze spread through seven of Wang Fuk Court’s eight blocks on November 26, killing 168 people and displacing nearly 5,000 others.
Substandard non-fire-retardant scaffolding netting had been used in the renovation project, the committee heard.
It was also told that contractors had also cut corners in carrying out the work.


The inspection process was deeply flawed, with some professionals responsible for carrying out checks simply rubber-stamping documents, the committee heard.
Neither did the ICU provide any effective regulatory oversight, carrying out site visits only after complaints were filed, it heard.
The ICU had also provided advance notice of inspections to the contractors, the panel was told.
In the broadcast, Linn promised to step up monitoring, including conducting regular on-site inspections, rather than random checks.
“We will also explore imposing harsher penalties,” she said. “If we have heavier penalties, the deterrent effect on the professionals will also be greater.
“In the future, we will do more in these two areas – monitoring and punishment.”
The minister pledged that the Buildings Department would more carefully examine reports submitted by professionals during the inspection phase and the actual work.
“For large-scale building repair works, the Buildings Department will take part in every step of the projects so as to ensure effective monitoring,” she said.
But Linn cautioned that it was too early to say whether the ICU should be folded or merged with the department, a restructuring that some residents have said would eliminate regulatory overlap with the Housing Bureau.
“We are open to different views,” she said, while adding that the crux of the issue might be more about “a clearer division of work” between the two bodies.
The development chief also said that the Urban Renewal Authority (URA) would play a bigger role in building maintenance projects under a planned reform to be rolled out at the end of the year.
The URA was expected to launch a new tendering platform, aimed at tightening monitoring to avoid bid-rigging and increase transparency of work contracts in large-scale renovation projects, Linn said.
Under the new system, the URA would be involved as early in the process as the submission of building inspection reports by contractors to landlords to prevent the companies from exaggerating defects and inflating the scope of repairs, she said.
Greater participation by various government departments was expected and the URA would also need to help evaluate tenders, a departure from the current practice, she added.
Linn revealed that her bureau was finalising the new scheme and aimed to introduce it to the Legislative Council in the fourth quarter of the year.


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Hong Kong’s Tai Po fire tragedy

Hong Kong to tighten contractor oversight after Tai Po blaze, minister vows

Substandard non-fire-retardant scaffolding netting had been used in the renovation project at Wang Fuk Court, an independent investigating committee has heard. Photo: Karma Lo

Secretary for Development Bernadette Linn has cautioned that it is too early to say whether the Housing Bureau’s Independent Checking Unit should be merged with the Buildings Department. Photo: May Tse

Deceitful firms mostly to blame for deadly Tai Po blaze, government counsel says

Government counsel Jenkin Suen (centre) arrives for Thursday’s session of the inquiry. Photo: Edmond So

Tai Po fire: corrupt players exploited loopholes in regulations, inquiry hears

Wang Fuk Court in Tai Po was devastated by an inferno that raged for 43 hours. Photo: Jelly Tse

Tai Po district councillor Peggy Wong. Photo: Elson Li

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Development secretary also pledges to explore harsher penalties for offenders as government’s reliance on industry’s self-policing comes into question


Development secretary also pledges to explore harsher penalties for offenders as government’s reliance on industry’s self-policing comes into question.


Hong Kong to tighten contractor oversight after Tai Po blaze, minister vows

.css-1c6uqr6{color:inherit;font-weight:inherit;font-size:inherit;font-family:inherit;line-height:inherit;overflow-wrap:break-word;}Development secretary also pledges to explore harsher penalties for offenders as government’s reliance on industry’s self-policing comes into question

Development secretary also pledges to explore harsher penalties for offenders as government’s reliance on industry’s self-policing comes into question