Wang Fuk inquiry will not seek statutory powers

The head of the independent committee investigating November's deadly fire at Wang Fuk Court on Monday said the panel would not be recommending that Chief Executive John Lee upgrade the probe to a statutory Commission of Inquiry.

His remarks came at the start of the fifth round of hearings that saw experts from the inter-departmental fire investigation task force submit a report detailing the origin of the blaze, its rapid spread, and the circumstances leading to the high number of casualties.

Justice David Lok, who chairs the committee, said it had carefully balanced the pros and cons of all available options with the public interest in mind before reaching the decision.

He said that such a move would have given the committee statutory powers that would allow it to legally summon witnesses who have so far refused to testify or provide submissions, those individuals could still choose to be uncooperative, resulting in little substantial improvement in uncovering the truth.

However, Lok stressed, even if certain parties choose not to testify, their roles in the tragedy and accountability would not be diminished.

He said that had a formal Commission of Inquiry been established, the investigation timeline would be significantly lengthened, delaying a final report until at least the second quarter of next year.

Lok also pointed out that law enforcement authorities had already made arrests and laid charges against several individuals, as well as the project contractor and consultant involved in the major renovations work being carried out at the Tai Po residential estate when the fire broke out.

He noted that any delays to the committee's findings could bring unnecessary uncertainty to those active court proceedings and future prosecutions.

Lok went on to say the current hearings have been comprehensive, adding that it is more appropriate to leave the pursuit of personal liability to separate criminal or civil proceedings.

He also stressed the current framework provides more flexibility in handling witness testimony, greater freedom for press reporting, and allows Wang Fuk residents to openly express their opinions.

In explaining why statutory powers would not be sought as it would have enabled the investigation of potential bid-rigging and irregularities in tendering for the renovation project at Wang Fuk Court, Lok said enforcement authorities are better suited to that task and the committee hadn't been set up for that purpose in the first place.

He said the committee would be finished with gathering testimony from all parties by mid-July and that a final report would be submitted after written submissions and other collected information had been assimilated.

The inquiry also heard testimony over how the disaster unfolded inside Wang Cheong House, the first of the seven Wang Fuk Court blocks to catch fire.

Deputy chief fire officer Lam Kin-kwan, also the deputy leader of the inter-departmental fire investigation task force, said the fire broke out at 2.43pm or earlier at a platform outside units 104 and 105.

A large accumulation of combustible items stored in the lightwell was a primary cause for the uncontrollable spread of the conflagration, he added.

The blaze spread from the first storey to the fourth and eighth floors and all the way to the rooftop of Wang Cheong House within about 15 minutes and to the six other affected blocks of Wang Fuk Court's eight houses within about an hour.

Victor Dawes, the senior counsel for the committee, said conclusions drawn by the government’s task force and the committee’s own experts are consistent in stressing that the disaster was entirely avoidable.

Expert findings showed a series of human errors and acts of negligence – including the use of non-fire retardant scaffolding nets, the deactivation of fire alarms and the removal of glass panels in stairwells – created temporary openings that led to the staircase acting as a chimney for the toxic smoke from the blaze to be spread throughout all levels of the block, he noted.

Many of the simulation tests showed that the effective time for residents to escape was zero, Dawes said.

Edited by Tony Sabine ...