Last year, a fire broke out at Hung Fuk Court in Tai Po, Hong Kong, resulting in 168 deaths. On the 17th, the independent committee responsible for investigating this tragedy stated that the contractor's deceitful acts directly led to the fire and must bear primary responsibility, but that "insufficient government supervision is also inescapable."
The Hung Fuk Court fire occurred on November 26 of last year. At the time, Hung Fuk Court was undergoing extensive renovations; 7 of its 8 buildings were burned, causing 168 deaths. Afterwards, Hong Kong Chief Executive John Lee set up an independent committee to investigate the cause and related matters.
The committee has been holding hearings since March. On the 17th, it held the final session, with the committee presenting its closing statement. The committee expects to submit its report to the Chief Executive by September.
● Residents: Hearts Filled with Helplessness
According to AFP, as the hearing ended, some residents shed tears and embraced one another, with many demanding that officials be held accountable.
Mr. Zhang, a resident, described his heart as “filled with helplessness.” He said: “Shouldn’t you really come forward and apologize, instead of claiming you weren’t involved and shirking all responsibility?”
“There is a lack of communication among all government departments… It's simply unacceptable.”
Residents of Hung Fuk Court had made numerous complaints about construction workers smoking on site during renovation, but rarely received responses.
Mr. Zhang said: “They really should all come forward and apologize together.” He demanded officials give a “reasonable explanation, rather than perfunctory, sloppy responses.”
Other residents also expressed disappointment at government departments passing the buck among themselves.
● About 70% of Victims Aged 65 or Older
Ms. Fung, now in her 70s and a resident of the estate for over 40 years, told reporters that she feels this fire is a “catastrophe of the century.” “Why has no relevant authority come out and apologized after all this time?”
Of the estate’s more than 4,600 residents, she is one of about 1,700 aged 65 or above. Among the deceased, 114 (about 70%) were 65 years old or older.
Ms. Fung said, “We’re not young anymore. Why do people like me and my neighbors still have to endure all this? Why can’t the government be brave and actually do something?”
● Requesting Officials to Simply Say Sorry
Mr. Leung, one of the last residents to leave the estate on the day of the fire, said: “Ultimately, regulatory responsibility still lies with the government.”
He said: “All I’m asking is for (an official) to say, ‘Sorry, it was our fault,’ and bear responsibility. This is not an unreasonable request.”
● Contractor Deceived the Government Again and Again
According to Commercial Radio, committee representative and senior barrister Du Kan-Kun stated the committee’s conclusion: “The fire was absolutely preventable but was not prevented, foreseeable but was not foreseen.”
He criticized the contractor “Hong Yip” as knowingly breaking the law, repeatedly deceiving the government to cut costs, disregarding fire safety, resulting in almost all fire protection measures failing on the day of the fire. Meanwhile, project consultant “Hong Yi” also failed to properly carry out its supervisory role.
He stated, “The main contractor’s deceitful actions directly led to the fire and must bear primary responsibility, but the government’s inadequate supervision is also inescapable.”
● Fire May Have Originated from Workers Smoking
The independent committee released a written summary brief, for the first time presenting evidence that contractor Hong Yip’s workers were smoking on the rooftop of Hung Cheong House—the building where the fire started—prior to the November fire.
As for the source of the fire, the committee ruled out spontaneous combustion, electrical faults, and typical fire causes like welding. It considers it likely that the source was workers smoking, and adds that the hearings produced sufficient evidence of workers repeatedly smoking at the construction site, even on the day of the fire.
Photos displayed in the statement show that, the afternoon of the fire, a video of a large number of cigarette butts in the stairs of Hung Shing House, Block G, was circulated in a WhatsApp group of contractor Hong Yip and consultant Hong Yi. At 2:45 pm that day, CCTV footage captured a worker in Hong Yip uniform smoking on the rooftop of Hung Cheong House, the first site of the fire.