Fifth round of Wang Fuk Court independent committee hearings begins

The independent committee investigating the Wang Fuk Court fire in Tai Po held its fifth round of hearings on Monday.

This as Committee Chairman David Lok suggested against the adoption of statutory powers by the investigative panel after careful consideration, adding that the final statements are set to be heard by the middle of next month.

The latest round of hearings took place at the City Gallery in Central, with Committee Chairman David Lok being the first to give a statement.

He said he believes it is the right time to continue the hearings after having received the final cross-departmental investigative report more than a month ago in addition to the recent operations conducted by the police and the ICAC.

The committee aims to deliver its report within nine months so that the public can finally get to the long-awaited answers behind the Wang Fuk Court tragedy.

Lok added that many renovations around the city have been halted awaiting the committee's report, adding that he decided not to transform the panel into a statutory body after careful consideration.

The committee chairman stressed that witnesses cannot be forced to cooperate with the panel even if it is transformed into a statutory commission, highlighting how several people failed to turn up in the previous hearings.

He said if the committee becomes a statutory commission, the duration of the entire process could be doubled as witnesses may need additional time to prepare their statements, with the final report estimated to only be completed by the end of 2027.

Lok further noted how the current format allows for more freedom for commentaries by media, witnesses as well as members of the community, given a strict judicial process will place greater limitations on relevant reports.

Meanwhile, the cross-departmental report on the fire found that much of the protective material used within Wang Fuk Court were not fire-resistant.

A government chemist involved in the testing of the protective materials indicated that much of the fabric and styrofoam in the housing complex were easily flammable, and pointed to the patios outside units 104 and 105 in Wang Cheong House being the source of the fire.