Tai Po probe: workers turned off fire safety system, disregarding regulations
Electrician testifies he followed orders to shut down fire alarms, contributing to a blaze that killed 168 people.
A devastating fire at Hong Kong's Wang Fuk Court housing estate in Tai Po, which killed 168 people last November, is now the subject of a damning independent investigation. Lead counsel Victor Dawes presented evidence that staff from the property management company, ISS EastPoint, acted with disregard for legal safety requirements. A central finding is that the estate's fire alarm system was deliberately deactivated. An ISS electrician, Law Kwok-shui, testified that he followed an order from the estate management office to turn off the main switches for the fire safety system to assist contractor Prestige Construction with draining water tanks for repairs.
Law admitted he knew the work should have been performed by a registered contractor but proceeded anyway, citing worry about a 'penalty at work.' This shutdown occurred while the HK$336 million (US$43 million) estate was undergoing renovations. The committee identified the system's deactivation as one of six critical 'human factors' that led to the catastrophic death toll. Further testimony revealed a clerk at ISS was unaware the alarms had been disabled after the hose reel system was shut down, highlighting a severe breakdown in safety protocols and communication within the management workflow.
- Electrician Law Kwok-shui testified he was ordered to deactivate the main fire safety system switches, violating regulations requiring a registered contractor.
- The deactivation was a key 'human factor' contributing to the high death toll of 168 in the November 26 blaze at Wang Fuk Court.
- The property management company, ISS EastPoint, is implicated for a workflow that disregarded legal requirements and failed to communicate the system shutdown.
Why It Matters
The probe exposes catastrophic failures in safety protocol enforcement and accountability, with dire real-world consequences for residential safety.