Hong Kong prepares reforms, accountability measures ahead of Tai Po fire report

Hong Kong authorities have made “a series of preparations” to implement reforms and pursue accountability ahead of the Tai Po fire inquiry panel’s final report due later this month, the city’s leader said, pledging to act “as soon as possible”.

The government reportedly established a dedicated task force under the Public Service Commission, led by former commissioner for sports George Tsoi Kin-pan and former deputy secretary for security Benjamin Mok Kwan-yu, to investigate alleged official failings linked to the blaze.

Chief Executive John Lee Ka-chiu said on Tuesday that the government would study and follow up on the recommendations of the judge-led independent committee investigating last November’s deadly fire at Wang Fuk Court in Tai Po. He added that details would be announced after he received the report.

“The government has already made a series of preparations,” Lee told the media before the city’s top decision-making Executive Council meeting.

“Upon receipt of the independent committee’s report, the government will, based on its contents, implement comprehensive reforms as soon as possible and pursue accountability.”

The government earlier established a task force under the Public Service Commission, an independent statutory body that advises on civil service appointments and promotions, to conduct an internal investigation into the fire and pursue accountability.

Directorate-level civil servants, including Tsoi and Mok, are understood to have been seconded to lead the task force’s work.

However, Lee stopped short of confirming the task force or disclosing the scope and timeline of the internal investigation.

He reiterated the seven priority reform initiatives outlined in his policy address last month. They include considering the criminalisation of bid-rigging, launching new tender invitation and evaluation services for homeowners, introducing a smoking ban at construction sites, and strengthening the regulation of fire-service installations and equipment.

The fire, which broke out on November 26 last year, killed 168 people and displaced nearly 5,000 residents, making it the city’s deadliest blaze in decades. It occurred while all the blocks at the residential estate were covered in scaffolding as part of a HK$336 million (US$42.85 million) facade-renovation project.

The independent committee was set up in December last year and began its inquiry in March. It identified a series of “human factors” that led to the blaze, including the use of non-fire-retardant scaffolding mesh, the installation of combustible polyfoam boards over windows and the deactivation of the fire alarm system.

The panel also found that government departments had failed to supervise the safety of the renovation work and had taken no action despite repeated complaints from residents about fire risks, including unsafe materials and workers smoking on site.

In his closing submissions, the committee’s lead counsel, Victor Dawes, singled out four government bodies for their failure to heed fire risks in the run-up to the disaster: the Fire Services Department, the Buildings Department, the Labour Department and the Housing Bureau’s Independent Checking Unit.

The committee is expected to submit its report to the government by the end of October, one month later than originally scheduled, due to the incident’s complexity and the time needed to review a large volume of documents.