Police hotline ‘busy’, piles of rubbish at estate, residents say in Tai Po fire hearing

This story has been made freely available as a public service to our readers. Please consider supporting SCMP’s journalism by subscribing.A public evidential hearing by an independent committee into a fire that killed 168 people at a Hong Kong estate entered its fourth day on Thursday, with more residents coming out to testify.One resident who testified in the morning said piles of rubbish were seen outside the building that first caught fire at Wang Fuk Court estate, while another who called police’s emergency hotline about the blaze said she had to wait “for a long time” before she could get through.Yet another said the sight of workers smoking in the estate reflected “a huge problem with the contractor’s supervision”.In the afternoon, the Competition Commission’s executive director for legal services said the body could sue Will Power Architects Company and Prestige Construction and Engineering, the consultant and contractor of the estate’s renovation project, for alleged bid-rigging.One resident questioned the “shady” tendering process and asked how the most expensive option out of 57 offers was selected for the renovation project.In the previous session on Tuesday, a lawyer for the government rejected “completely groundless” assertions that its surveyors conspired with a renovation contractor to conceal flammable materials used at the estate, suggesting the business lacked the time to plan such a deception before a crucial inspection.Three Wang Fuk Court residents earlier testified about their ordeal. They, too, said they regularly saw workers smoking at the estate while it was undergoing renovation.Follow our live updates for the fourth day of the hearing.Additional reporting by Emily Hung and Fiona Chow coverage: