Tai Po fire report to be submitted on Thursday, with scathing submission endorsed

An independent committee investigating the deadly Tai Po fire is expected to submit its final report to the Hong Kong government on Thursday, with the judge-led panel expected to largely endorse the scathing closing submission of its lead counsel, sources have said.

A redacted version of the committee’s report, which may withhold some information to avoid prejudicing criminal proceedings related to Hong Kong’s deadliest residential fire in decades, is scheduled for public release next week at the earliest, the South China Morning Post has learned.

“The committee will leave it to the administration to decide who to hold accountable and when to take disciplinary actions,” a source familiar with the arrangement said on Tuesday.

Another insider added: “[Disciplinary procedures] will not take long as seasoned administrative officials with experience working in the Civil Service Bureau were reshuffled to prepare the groundwork earlier this month.”

The panel – led by Justice David Lok Kai-hong – investigating the inferno at the Wang Fuk Court housing estate last November that claimed 168 lives did not dispute the major arguments put forward by lead counsel Victor Dawes SC, the sources said.

The final report, which will be submitted to Chief Executive John Lee Ka-chiu, will closely align with the closing submission delivered by Dawes, although it will be shorter than the 627-page document. Dawes argued that the blaze at the estate – which was undergoing extensive renovation work at the time – resulted from systemic failures and a blatant disregard for safety.

One insider said the issue of bid-rigging was expected to be addressed in the final report, although it would not be a “major focus”.

In his final submission, Dawes said the government bore an “unshirkable responsibility” for the tragedy, explicitly naming four bodies for failing to properly heed fire risks: the Fire Services Department; the Buildings Department; the Labour Department; and the Housing Bureau’s Independent Checking Unit.

Dawes also said that the contractors’ actions merited the committee’s “strongest condemnation” for using non-flame-retardant materials and deceiving authorities to cut costs in the estate’s HK$336 million renovation.

The sources said that the committee would issue a statement on Thursday announcing the submission of its final report, without holding a press conference, mirroring the arrangement in 2013 when a commission of inquiry into the deadly Lamma Island ferry collision submitted its report to then chief executive Leung Chun-ying.

Upon receipt of the report, the Department of Justice would review it and redact parts of it when necessary to avoid prejudicing criminal proceedings, one insider said, while stressing that the redactions were expected to be relatively “insignificant”.

The source added that names of civil servants involved in various departments would not be redacted as they had already been disclosed during public hearings.

The Tai Po fire has led to 25 criminal charges against seven individuals and two companies, including manslaughter, conspiracy to defraud, money laundering, attempting to pervert the course of public justice and tax evasion.

The defendants include directors and a registered inspector from the project consultancy firm, Will Power Architects, and directors from the main contractor, Prestige Construction and Engineering.

In the 2013 report on the Lamma tragedy, which claimed 39 lives when two vessels collided, all parts relating to the responsibilities of the two captains were redacted. That was done because the government wanted to ensure a fair trial as manslaughter charges had already been laid against them.

The independent committee investigating the Wang Fuk Court fire concluded its inquiry after holding six rounds of public evidential hearings from March to July, spanning 30 days. Some 80 witnesses were called upon to give evidence.

A third government insider said the timing of the report’s submission and public release in late October was “carefully calibrated”, after Lok “largely finished” compiling it earlier this month.

The source said senior officials sought to avoid having news of the report overshadow the Apec meeting of finance ministers being held in Hong Kong on Tuesday and Wednesday.

Meanwhile, Lee’s team was also aware that the government should publicly address the submission of the report “shortly”, preferably “next week” at the earliest as planned, to begin any internal disciplinary actions.

“The government has been sensitive not to publish [the report] close to the first anniversary of the fire, as that might aggravate public distress and residents’ grief,” the source said.

Lok, who also chairs the Electoral Affairs Commission, needed to conclude the inquiry early and move on to oversee the procedures for the Election Committee election on November 22, the source added.