Hong Kong Wang Fuk Court Fire Inquiry Enters 20th Day as Building, Home Affairs Authorities Called to Testify

An independent committee investigating Hong Kong's deadly Wang Fuk Court fire will scrutinise the roles of building and home affairs authorities on the 20th day of evidential hearings. Four witnesses from the Buildings Department and the Home Affairs Department are scheduled to give evidence before the judge-led panel on Monday.

The inferno broke out on November 26 last year when the eight-block housing estate in Tai Po was undergoing renovations. The disaster claimed 168 lives and displaced nearly 5,000 residents.

The South China Morning Post earlier reported that there had been multiple complaints about Chan's abrasive management approach and reluctance to consider community feedback, among others.

On the previous day of the hearing, Director of Fire Services Andy Yeung Yan-kin reversed his subordinates' accounts that fire hazards involving construction materials or processes did not fall under his department's purview, saying it had a role in regulating such matters. He agreed with committee lead counsel Victor Dawes that an issue might fall within the jurisdiction of more than one government department, and that it would be insufficient for the department to simply refer complaints to one another; instead, they should work more closely.

Dawes identified the use of combustible polyfoam boards to cover windows of flats, the adoption of allegedly non-fire-retardant scaffolding mesh, and workers' smoking habits as "human factors" that contributed to the blaze's heavy toll.

The committee previously heard that residents had complained about such fire risks to the government, but several departments – including fire services, the Buildings Department and the Labour Department – referred the complaints to one another, believing the matters did not fall within their purview.