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HK inquiry links Wang Fuk Court fire to renovation cutting corners
The probe said the contractor and consultant behind a HK$336 million renovation project contributed to the fire through shortcuts on materials, certificates, and safety requirements.
An independent committee in Hong Kong investigating last year’s Wang Fuk Court disaster heard that a regulatory system relying on a private sector “honour system” created oversight gaps, leaving clear fire hazards at the Tai Po subsidised housing estate unchecked, according to SCMP Economy.
Legal counsel for the committee, Victor Dawes SC, said the contractor and consultant tied to a HK$336 million renovation deserved the strongest condemnation for directly contributing to the fire, citing allegations including cutting corners on materials, fabricating certificates, and circumventing safety requirements through deceptive means.
He also said the government bore some responsibility for allowing corrupt actors to persist under a “fragile” framework that assumed registered professionals would act in good faith, adding that residents could reasonably expect the system to protect them.
The fire burned for about 43 hours, damaged seven of eight residential towers, killed 168 people, and displaced nearly 5,000 residents, with the committee’s public hearings concluding after 30 days, SCMP Economy reported.