Hong Kong Chief Executive John Lee apologised on Thursday for the fire that killed 168 people at the Wang Fuk Court housing complex in Tai Po last November, and announced that Housing Secretary Winnie Ho had resigned. Lee, who opened his press conference by bowing in apology alongside seven other top officials, said Ho “should bear political responsibility” although no personal wrongdoing was found, the Associated Press reported. Ho resigned on Wednesday and is the first official to quit over the fire, the city’s deadliest since 1948, which ripped through seven 31-storey tower blocks undergoing renovation and displaced thousands of residents. Deputy Financial Secretary Michael Wong takes on the housing portfolio as well, Dimsum Daily reported.
Lee spoke as he released the report of a judge-led independent committee that held 30 hearings with 80 witnesses. The committee found that four government bodies bore partial responsibility and that the Housing Bureau’s independent checking unit failed in its duties supervising the maintenance work; it put primary responsibility on contractor Prestige Construction & Engineering and project consultant Will Power Architects, and described widespread bid-rigging in renovation contracts, some of it linked to triad organised crime gangs, as a “corrupt ecosystem,” Reuters reported. The report said the fire was most likely started by a “glowing source, likely a cigarette.” Lee said Chief Secretary Eric Chan will head a steering committee to drive reforms, including laws criminalising bid-rigging across the construction industry with fines of up to HK$10 million and 10 years’ imprisonment, and that an independent team will examine which officials should face disciplinary action. At least 25 criminal charges, including manslaughter and conspiracy to defraud, have already been brought against the two companies and seven individuals.
The committee’s findings on the fire itself, reported by France 24 with AP, point to a lighted cigarette on a flat roof of Wang Cheong House as the cause, with foam boards, non-fire-retardant scaffolding nets and canvases feeding the spread; most deaths were from smoke inhalation, after staircase windows were replaced with panels or boards, window foam boards blocked residents’ views and the fire alarm system was shut down. The report called Will Power and Prestige the main culprits, found that registered professionals had lent their names to rubber-stamp statutory forms for a fee, and criticised the checking unit for giving consultants and contractors advance notice of site inspections. A three-month investigation will now examine the four government agencies for dereliction of duty.