Hong Kong Chief Executive John Lee Ka-chiu has ordered the setting up of a judge-led independent review committee on the blaze that engulfed a Tai Po residential estate while formally announcing that the Legislative Council election will go ahead on Sunday as scheduled.
The death toll from the inferno that swept through seven of the eight blocks of Wang Fuk Court last Wednesday rose to 156 after five more bodies were found on Tuesday.
Of the total, 127 victims have been identified, while about 30 people remain unaccounted for. Seventy-nine people were injured, including 12 firefighters who have since been discharged from hospital.
Residents of Wang Chi House, the only block to escape the fire’s wrath, will be allowed to return home for 1½ hours on Wednesday and Thursday to collect their valuables and essential belongings.
More than 2,600 of the estate’s estimated 4,000 residents have been relocated to youth hostels, hotels or transitional housing units, while a government-backed fund for victims reached more than HK$2.3 billion (US$296 million), including an initial HK$300 million in public funding.
The city leader said that authorities would set up the committee to find out the truth behind the blaze and initiate “systemic reform”.
But Lee stressed the election would proceed as he would need lawmakers as his “partners” to help scrutinise funding and work with the government to review policies to prevent similar tragedies.
“As criminal investigations are ongoing, I will set up an independent committee chaired by a judge to review why the fire broke out and spread so fast, and to prevent similar tragedies from happening again,” Lee said ahead of his weekly meeting with the city’s key decision-making Executive Council.
To ensure credibility, he said he would liaise with the judiciary to have a judge chair the committee, which would conduct its work with “high efficiency”. The appointee has yet to be announced.
Lee said he had identified eight areas requiring immediate review, starting with safety requirements, standards, supervision and routine maintenance of construction works.
Another major focus will be on systemic issues in the construction process, specifically addressing problems such as inappropriate connected interest, conflicting roles and collusion.
The third area involves establishing an updated list of materials with properly set safety standards.
The review will also examine the role and responsibilities of regulatory personnel across all stages of the project chain, including government departments and authorised professionals.
Furthermore, the investigation will examine corruption, bid-rigging and irregular tender practices in the building maintenance sector.
It will also look into the supervision and responsibility for the installation and proper operation of fire safety systems in buildings.
In addition to addressing accountability in those areas, the committee will also assess the adequacy of existing legislation and penalties.
An independent review committee differs from a commission of inquiry, which has been established five times since 1997 under the Commissions of Inquiry Ordinance to investigate matters of public importance.
They are both independent bodies chaired by a judge, operating within terms of reference established by the executive body, but a commission has more extensive investigative powers.
Lee pledged that the investigation reports would be made public.
The city leader said many post-fire tasks involved lawmakers, including scrutinising proposals, approving budgets and formulating laws, adding that the Tai Po blaze would inevitably prompt reflection on the system and policies.
“The partners I need most importantly are lawmakers,” Lee said.
“To hold the election as scheduled is to respect the constitutional order and rule of law ... it is also to safeguard social stability as it serves as a strong support to the post-fire work.”
Lee earlier said the government would conduct a “thorough review” on whether to postpone the poll, despite all election activity having ceased.
Election forums, which had been cancelled following the tragedy, will resume on Wednesday and Thursday.
On Tuesday at the fire-ravaged Wang Fuk Court, priests performed Taoist and Buddhist rituals for the families of the deceased. Some mourners wept uncontrollably, struggling to compose themselves.
Nearby, Hongkongers gathered in prayer to mark the seventh day after the blaze, when, according to Taoist and Buddhist belief, the souls of the deceased return to bid farewell to their loved ones in the mortal world.
People laid flowers, wrote messages and prayed, while calling for the government to hold those responsible accountable.
Schools not severely affected by the deadly blaze resumed in-person classes after suspending lessons for a few days, with a principal saying this would help students return to normality and heal from grief.
But some parents criticised the resumption of classes as premature, saying pupils and teachers might not be ready, while others argued that the change of environment would be a welcome distraction.
On Wednesday and Thursday, residents of Wang Chi House will be given 1½ hours to return home to pack their valuables and essential items, with each household assisted by one civil servant.
Those staying in youth hostels, hotels and transitional housing will be bused to the estate to retrieve their belongings before authorities continue cordoning off the block for their investigation work.
Police have arrested 15 people so far for alleged manslaughter, including on Monday two men, aged 59 and 66, who were subcontractors involved in the works on the buildings’ exterior walls.
Welfare chief Chris Sun Yuk-han said the families of domestic helpers who lost their lives in the blaze would receive around HK$800,000 in financial compensation.
The sum includes more than HK$500,000 in statutory compensation, HK$200,000 as a token of solidarity and HK$50,000 to cover funeral and related expenses.
Sun said official figures showed that 235 migrant workers lived at Wang Fuk Court, of whom 10 died in the fire. Three were injured and 30 remained unaccounted for, he added.
Ninety-four of the helpers were Filipino while 141 were Indonesian.
Sun met Philippine Secretary for Migrant Workers Hans Leo Cacdac on Tuesday and pledged to make sure the condolence money would go to the families of the deceased.
Cacdac said the remains of fire victim Maryan Esteban, 39, would be repatriated. He also thanked Hong Kong healthcare workers for treating another Filipino domestic worker while she was in the intensive care unit.
Reporting by Lo Hoi-ying, Matthew Cheng, Willa Wu, Emily Hung, Leopold Chen, William Yiu, Ambrose Li and Jiang Chuqin. -- SOUTH CHINA MORNING POST
