The independent committee investigating November’s deadly Wang Fuk Court fire found on Thursday a troubling pattern of ignored warnings and coordinated responses that raised concerns about oversight.
In the committee’s first public hearing, its leading counsel, Victor Dawes, detailed how the Labour Department had received repeated complaints about workers smoking at the renovation site as early as July 2024. Despite conducting 16 on-site inspections, officers reported no violations, saying “no workers found smoking” and “no cigarette stubs were found at the complaint location”, and issuing no smoking bans.
Some complaints were referred to the Fire Services Department, which responded that the matter fell outside its jurisdiction.
ALSO READ: Independent committee holds first evidential hearing on Tai Po fire
However, after the fire, police reviewed worker chat groups belonging to the main contractor, Prestige Construction and Engineering Co Ltd, and uncovered over 80 instances of illegal smoking documented in internal communications — averaging more than one violation per week.
The committee also heard troubling evidence regarding the scaffolding netting used at the site.
A subcontractor reported that after two typhoons in July and September that received a No 10 warning signal and caused significant damage to original nets, the contractor instructed the subcontractor to buy cheaper netting that wasn’t fire-retardant.
In late October, after the Housing Bureau's Independent Checking Unit (ICU) notified the contractor of an upcoming inspection of the new nets, they immediately directed the subcontractor to order fire-retardant netting and ensure its delivery before authorities arrived.
Dawes questioned why the contractor had advance notice of the inspection and sufficient time to prepare, describing the situation as "extremely concerning".
READ MORE: Shocking evidence of systemic failures as Tai Po fire hearing begins
During the Oct 28 inspection, the ICU provided testing footage showed an inspector using a lighter to ignite the netting. Even though after about 15 seconds, the material caught fire and burned for roughly 10 seconds until someone blew it out, ICU inspectors appeared to believe the netting was fire-retardant at the time.
Dawes also said that both the Wang Fuk Court Incorporated Owners and the contractor had submitted their own video records of the same netting test. However, when compared against the footage took by ICU, these versions were suspected to have been edited, as they omitted key segments showing the netting catching fire.
The committee also uncovered a WhatsApp voice message from the subcontractor after the blaze broke out: "Get the Wang Fuk Court fire sorted out quickly. Coordinate our statements and come up with an explanation, because the nets we used weren't fire-retardant."
Contact the writer at stacyshi@chinadailyhk.com
