Tai Po fire inquiry: property officer denies knowledge of disabled fire systems
發佈日期: 2026-04-02 19:55
TVB News
The independent committee's public hearing on the deadly blaze at Wang Fuk Court in Tai Po continued today.
At the hearing, a property officer from the management company denied having knowledge that a key fire safety system was disabled.
The eighth public hearing took place today at the Central Gallery.
Taking the stand was property officer at ISS EastPoint Property Management Cheng Tsz-ying.
She said she had no recollection of a phone call with Chung Kit-man, director of Victory Fire Engineering, who had earlier testified that he contacted her in October over whether a fire services shutdown notice had been issued for water tank works, and requested documentation once the system was restored.
Cheng told the inquiry that she did not remember details of the discussion and it's unlikely that she and Chung touched on the fire services water tank works.
Cheng also denied that staff from the contractor had informed her that fire pumps had been switched off or that any notice of suspension of fire systems had been raised.
On building alterations, Cheng acknowledged the potential risks as part of the rear stairwell windows were converted into emergency exits.
But they trusted the professional advice from project consultant Will Power Engineering so they did not follow up on it.
On the lightwell -- believed to be the fire's point of origin -- Cheng said cleaning should have been handled by the contractor Prestige Construction and Engineering though there was not a lot of trash.
Cheng added that she had not personally seen allegations of the large numbers of "authorised ballots" at two owners' meetings.
She said while the management office would verify flat numbers and owners' names on the votes -- there were no protocols to confirm signatures, nor would staff contact owners to confirm authorisation unless information was incomplete.
