Hong Kong will tighten declaration-of-interest rules after discovering that a surveyor arrested on suspicion of manslaughter over a deadly fire had failed to disclose his role at the estate ravaged by the blaze to the Housing Department, for which he worked as a service provider, the Post has learned.
The Housing Department’s move to strengthen supervision followed the arrest of 68-year-old Steve Wong Chung-kee in connection with the fatal blaze at Wang Fuk Court in Tai Po last November.
Industry leaders have since warned that failing to declare interests could create conflicts and undermine public confidence in the government.
The fire at the estate killed 161 people and displaced nearly 5,000 residents.
“Our existing contracts with service providers already stipulate that all engaged personnel must declare any conflicts of interest and sign an undertaking to comply with the law, confidentiality requirements and terms of appointment,” a department spokesman said in response to the Post.
“However, during the period in which Wong was assigned to the department, he did not make any declarations.”
The department confirmed that Wong was employed by a company responsible for maintenance at public rental estates in Lam Tin and Yau Tong districts while also serving as a consultant for Prestige Construction and Engineering Company.
Prestige was in charge of maintenance work at the subsidised Wang Fuk Court and Wong, as its engineering consultant, was responsible for safety matters and approving projects.
The department stressed that all service providers were responsible for ensuring their personnel complied with relevant declaration requirements.
It also said Wong’s official duties relating to maintaining public rental estates were unrelated to his work at Wang Fuk Court, but declined to comment on whether a conflict of interest might have been involved.
The spokesman added that Prestige’s contract expired in mid-December and that a new contractor had since been appointed.
The department said it had instructed the new provider to adopt stricter measures to strengthen declaration requirements and oversight of all contracted staff.
“If any conflicts of interest are spotted, the Housing Department will immediately follow up with the service provider and replace the employees,” it said.
“If the provider cannot deliver the services according to the contract, it will affect its quarterly performance and the qualification for future bidding exercises.”
Vincent Ho Kui-yip, president of the Hong Kong Institute of Building Safety, said that although Wong’s two roles might not have overlapped, it was “far from ideal” and could be viewed as inappropriate by the public.
“Taking on both government-related work and a private sector role without a formal declaration is a matter of professional integrity,” the veteran surveyor said. “Even if the nature of the work is not directly related, it creates a perception issue.”
Ho added that such situations could place individuals in an awkward position and damage the reputation of the wider civil service.
Lawmaker and engineer Aaron Bok Kwok-ming declined to comment on the specific case but described such incidents as “rare”.
He stressed that anyone working for the government should declare interests linked to outside employment.
“Normally, government employees are required to declare a conflict of interest if they take on outside work. The authorities will usually approve the additional duties if the nature of the work is different and poses no conflict,” he said.
Bok added that he could “see no reason for a failure to declare in such an instance unless there was intentional concealment”.
Drawing on his own experience as a former government engineer, Bok said he had declared his involvement with the Hong Kong Institution of Engineers to maintain transparency.
Meanwhile, Wong’s alleged involvement in another estate has prompted its residents to re-examine renovation records in the wake of the disaster.
Residents of Fu Shin Estate, about 800 metres (2,624 feet) north of Wang Fuk Court, discovered that Wong had been listed in the company profile of Sky Arashi, a contractor involved in the housing complex’s maintenance.
The revelation sparked safety concerns among the estate’s residents, even though Sky Arashi project director Kenneth Lam said Wong had not been involved with the company’s projects since 2019, nor in any capacity with work at Fu Shin Estate. -- SOUTH CHINA MORNING POST
