An independent committee investigating November’s deadly Tai Po fire heard on Tuesday that movable boards, also known as “sang hau”, served as temporary exits for construction workers, and that this does not violate occupational safety laws and provides workers with escape routes.

At the 16th evidential hearing, Li Man-pong, senior divisional occupational safety officer at the Labour Department, told the inquiry that sang hau — installed in the estate’s emergency staircases to facilitate workers’ entry and exit — serve an important safety function, including helping workers escape if scaffolding collapses, since climbing on scaffolding is prohibited.

SPECIAL PAGE: Tai Po fire inquiry hearings

Committee chairman David Luk Kai-hong said that smoke entered the building through these openings, preventing residents from escaping during the inferno, which claimed 168 lives.

Luk questioned whether sang hau play contradictory roles when it comes to the safety of workers and occupants. If so, “this is a serious problem,” Luk said.

Li said that sang hau do not violate occupational safety laws but may breach other regulations.

Murphy Yuen Tsz-lok, the Labour Department’s chief occupational safety officer, said that while Li spoke from a frontline perspective, such openings are not necessary from a policy perspective.

“There are many ways for workers to access the scaffolding,” Yuen said. “If the opening is not a window but a solid wall, are we supposed to chisel a hole?” He added that contractors should conduct risk assessments to determine the location, size, and number of any openings.

As for Wang Fuk Court residents’ repeated complaints about the issue of workers smoking, Lam Sau-ching, the then-divisional occupational safety officer at the Labour Department, testified that those complaints were deemed “not justified”  if inspectors did not see workers smoking during site visits, and that any workers smoking were not violating occupational safety laws unless they were in the vicinity of flammable materials.

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The committee also heard that other complaints, such as those concerning flammable styrofoam boards, led to buck-passing between departments.

Regarding the mesh netting, the main contractor, Prestige Construction and Engineering Co Ltd, resubmitted at the department’s request its 2024 test report, after the contractor replaced the typhoon-damaged netting with non-flame-retardant nets last year.

Lam said that the Labour Department only checked results, not the date. She agreed there was room for improvement and that staff also lacked the expertise to verify the document’s authenticity.

In batches from April 20 until May 4, 1,670 Wang Fuk Court households are permitted to return to their fire-ravaged flats to retrieve their belongings.

Speaking before Tuesday’s Executive Council meeting, Chief Executive John Lee Ka-chiu said the return of residents on Monday went “very smoothly” and was orderly, with those present guided by the key principles of safety, orderliness, and compassion.

He added that the 1,000 public servants who deployed voluntarily went beyond their duties to ensure that families’ needs were met.

Lee said the government will continue monitoring the arrangements and consider whether it can provide any further assistance, including expanding the area where residents can set up their gear and erect awnings.

With higher floors opening up to residents on Tuesday, Lee reminded residents to assess whether they would be able to walk up the steps to those high floors. Medical assistance and clinical psychologists are provided on site.

The independent committee announced that the fourth round of evidential hearings will be held from May 6-8. Members of the public who wish to attend can pre-register for selected hearings from 10 am on Thursday to 10 am on Sunday.

Contact the writer at stacyshi@chinadailyhk.com