The independent committee tasked with unraveling the circumstances behind Hong Kong’s worst fire in decades will hold eight open hearings from March 19 to April 2 at the City Gallery in Central, the panel has announced.
Members of the public will have a 72-hour window to book their spot for the sessions they wish to attend, with registration opening online from Thursday, 10:00 am, until 10:00 am on March 8.
Formed in December following the Nov 26 tragic blaze at Tai Po’s Wang Fuk Court residential complex that claimed 168 lives, the committee was tasked with probing the fire’s cause and related systemic failure, and with proposing measures to prevent a recurrence of such a tragedy.
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Eight sessions will convene on March 19, 20, 24, 26, 30, 31, April 1 and 2, from 10 am to 1 pm and again from 2:15 pm to 4:30 pm.
To expand public access, authorities will broadcast the hearings simultaneously in the transmission areas at City Gallery’s ground floor and the Lecture Theatre of Hong Kong Central Library in Causeway Bay.
The inquiry — with barrister Victor Dawes as lead counsel — will hear evidence from witnesses through oral testimony, written statements, and other submissions to reconstruct a fact-based account of the fire, said the panel, which would lay the essential groundwork for the committee’s final report and its proposed preventive measures.
The panel’s chair, David Lok Kai-hong, earlier said the committee aims to wrap up its investigation within nine months before submitting its report.
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Successful registrants will receive a confirmation notice from the committee secretariat via phone or email on or before March 17.
Mortgage relief pledged for affected
Separately on Wednesday, Hong Kong’s banking industry pledged new measures to ease immediate and long-term financial strain on victims from the fatal blaze, and to aid their resettlement in support of the government’s HK$6.8 billion ($869.8 million) apartment buyback arrangement, announced last month.
Twenty-eight local retail lenders agree to extend the repayment period of loans and credit cards of Wang Fuk Court residents to the end of November, according to Wednesday’s statement.
The bank industry will also offer different mortgage arrangements tied to affected residents’ rehousing preferences. All Wang Fuk Court mortgagee banks have pledged to allow homeowners to substitute their destroyed flats with newly purchased properties as collateral, with loan terms — including interest rates and installments — remaining no less favorable than the original mortgages, the statement said.
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Banks will also extend the repayment grace period on existing mortgages until the new homes are ready for occupancy, giving residents sufficient time to navigate the “flat-for-flat” transition.
Additionally, residents who choose to take the cash acquisition and repay their existing loans will be given flexible treatment when applying for new loans to secure long-term housing, the statement said.
It added that the HKMA, the HKAB and banks will also set up a dedicated multiparty communication platform to understand any specific needs of individual households in conjunction with housing authorities.
Under the government’s acquisition plan, owners of fire-ravaged flats at Wang Fuk Court will be offered a cash payout of HK$8,000 to HK$10,500 per square foot, or can opt for a flat-for-flat exchange, using an earmarked voucher to purchase designated Home Ownership Scheme apartments, and units provided by the Hong Kong Housing Society.
Earlier media said that many affected households have concerns about outstanding residential mortgage loans.
Contact the writer at wanqing@chinadailyhk.com
