Hong Kong's Wang Fuk Court Deadly Fire; Public Opinion Points to Government Departments Shirking Responsibility

Central News Agency Message

(CNA Reporter Chang Chien, Hong Kong, 23rd) The independent commission responsible for investigating the deadly fire at Wang Fuk Court in Hong Kong continued its hearings yesterday. Senior officials from the Fire Services Department testified, but their statements instantly ignited an emotional outburst from the media and the public, who began linking the occurrence of the fire to government departments mutually shirking responsibility.

Wang Fuk Court, located in Tai Po, New Territories, has seven buildings. On November 26 last year, a massive fire broke out in the estate, engulfing six of the buildings and causing 168 deaths. It was the deadliest fire in Hong Kong since 1948. At the time of the fire, Wang Fuk Court was undergoing maintenance and was covered by scaffolding.

Following the fire, Chief Executive John Lee appointed an independent commission to investigate its causes and related issues to find preventive measures.

Starting from the 20th of last month, the commission began holding hearings. Yesterday was the 17th hearing, where several senior officials from the Fire Services Department testified. In recent hearings, the commission mainly sought to understand the division of labor among various government departments regarding fire prevention.

According to comprehensive reports from local media, during yesterday's hearing, Victor Dawes suggested to Assistant Director of Fire Services Yung Kam-hung that before the massive fire at Wang Fuk Court, residents had complained to the Fire Services Department about various fire risk issues at the estate, but they were ultimately not followed up on.

Yung Kam-hung responded that the risks associated with the estate's rear stairs "inspection openings" (modifying windows in the rear stairs into open passageways for workers' convenience during maintenance), workers smoking, flammable scaffolding, and styrofoam-sealed windows fell under the jurisdiction of the Housing Bureau, the Labour Department, and the Buildings Department, none of which had anything to do with the Fire Services Department.

However, he admitted that it was "not ideal" for the Fire Services Department not to forward the complaints to other departments after receiving them.

Victor Dawes commented that government departments denying responsibility created a "regulatory vacuum."

The above testimonies from the senior officials of the Fire Services Department seemed to greatly dissatisfy the public. Yung Kam-hung's remarks circulated widely on mobile social platforms in real-time, with many people leaving comments scolding the government departments for "mutually shirking responsibility."

Ming Pao published an editorial today stating that it was only after the senior representative of the Fire Services Department testified that the outside world learned that many fire risk issues had nothing to do with the Fire Services Department. What the department is responsible for is strictly limited to "active fire service installations" such as fire alarm systems, sprinkler systems, and fire hydrants.

The editorial stated that before the disaster occurred, the issues residents of Wang Fuk Court complained about, such as styrofoam boards sealing windows and scaffolding, were not within the "scope of responsibility" of the Fire Services Department. The department also failed to forward their complaints to the relevant departments. Even more ironically, there seemed to be no documentary evidence for the so-called "division of labor" among different departments.

The editorial stated: "The division of labor among government departments should ideally be to better help the citizens. In the end, it turned into an amulet for different departments to shirk responsibilities mutually. Citizens seeking help are like falling into a maze, feeling they have nowhere to complain. How can such a bureaucratic working style be considered people-oriented?"

The Hong Kong Economic Times also published an editorial stating: "The testimonies over the past few days have laid out shocking facts before the public: fire escape routes were modified without authorization to open 'inspection openings,' flammable styrofoam was used as window-sealing material, fire facilities were turned off long-term, and flammable materials blocked passageways. Even ordinary residents could see the fire risks, yet no government department admitted it was within their jurisdiction."

The editorial concluded: "Departments 'pass the ball' (shirk responsibility) to each other, leaving residents with nowhere to complain, ultimately leading to this deadly tragedy." (Editor: Chang Shu-ling) 1150423

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