Window blocking ‘inappropriate’ but outside building authority’s remit, Tai Po probe told

An independent committee investigating Hong Kong's deadly Wang Fuk Court fire in Tai Po heard on Monday that blocking windows with polyfoam boards was 'inappropriate' but fell outside the Buildings Department's direct regulatory remit. Witness Cheung Yuk-ching, a former Buildings Department official, testified that while the department may still take action under certain provisions, the primary responsibility for such fire hazards lies elsewhere. The inferno, which broke out on November 26 last year during renovations at the eight-block housing estate, claimed 168 lives and displaced nearly 5,000 residents.

Earlier testimony from Director of Fire Services Andy Yeung Yan-kin reversed his subordinates' claims that fire hazards from construction materials were not under his department's purview. He agreed with committee lead counsel Victor Dawes that multiple departments could share jurisdiction and that simply referring complaints to one another was insufficient. Dawes identified combustible polyfoam boards, non-fire-retardant scaffolding mesh, and workers' smoking habits as 'human factors' contributing to the disaster. Four witnesses from the Buildings and Home Affairs departments are scheduled to testify, including former Tai Po district officer Eunice Chan Hau-man, who faced criticism for her attire at a firefighter's funeral and for her management style.