The judge-led Independent Committee probing November’s deadly Tai Po fire wrapped up its first stage of evidential hearings on Friday, with the second round slated to begin on Wednesday.

During the eight sessions, which began on March 19, the committee heard the testimony of over 30 witnesses, including Wang Fuk Court residents, property management officials, and the fire service contractor. The testimony shed light on how the fire began and exposed bid-rigging, fire safety issues, and problems with addressing complaints.

In addition to over 1 million pieces of evidence that has been collected so far, new materials — including phone records, chat logs and photos — continued to be submitted during the hearings spanning across three weeks.

READ MORE: Management officer unaware water tanks emptied before fatal fire

During the eighth hearing on Friday, the committee heard testimony that conflicted with previous accounts of events before the fire. Cheng Tsz-ying, property officer of management company ISS EastPoint Properties Ltd, said that the fire service installation contractor, Victory Fire Engineering Ltd, never requested a fire system shutdown notice before the blaze, contradicting the contractor’s account.

Cheng added that she provided the shutdown notice to Victory Fire Director Chung Kit-man for the first time on Nov 28 — two days after the fire.

While aware of the noticing mechanism’s existence and the fact that the fire safety system’s shutdown involved another contractor, Cheng said she “never thought about” providing the notice to Victory Fire, which was responsible for the estate’s fire safety system annual check. Internally, ISS also had no discussion on how coordination should be handled when more than one contractor is involved in the fire safety system.

READ MORE: Fire water tanks were dry during HK blaze

Cheng’s account of whether the fire water tank was filled also contradicted others. In an Oct 28 WhatsApp exchange, Chung asked whether water had been put back, adding that without water, the maintenance work could not be completed, and then Cheng responded that the tanks had been “refilled”.

However, committee counsel Victor Dawes challenged Cheng, pointing out that no evidence showed anyone had actually refilled the tank. Cheng said she had relied on photos from ISS clerk Lok Sin-ying, but Dawes said that many of those photos were taken in August and September. Cheng responded that she recalled being told the tank had been refilled “to maintain the water” — likely referring to filling the tanks after repair work to test for leaks.

Cheng also testified that management did not verify the identities of owners’ meeting attendees, nor did management specify in meeting documents how many residents participated in person and how many by proxy.

READ MORE: Fire safety work incomplete, unusual practices at Wang Fuk Court before deadly blaze

When asked how the management handled proxy votes, she said the company would post lists of specific flats that submitted proxies — including valid and invalid ones — but would not disclose the names of proxy grantors or proxy holders.

She added that at most general meetings, the owners’ corporation chair and vice-chair held the majority of proxy votes. Responding to residents’ allegations that some individuals had canvassed for proxies, Cheng said she “personally never saw that”.

Chung, who had already completed his testimony, will be called again in the second round of hearings to address additional matters, including a 57-minute phone call he had with property management technical officer Lam Man-yan at about 1:30 am on Nov 27, when the fire was still raging.

The second round of six hearings will start on Wednesday. The committee will accept online public registration for the third round of seven hearings from 10 am on the same day to 10 am on Apr 11.

According to the current plan, the committee will continue to hold evidential hearings in May, with details to be announced on a later date.

Contact the writer at stacyshi@chinadailyhk.com