Tai Po fire hearing: committee chairman says ‘good progress’ made

This story has been made freely available as a public service to our readers. Please consider supporting SCMP’s journalism by subscribing.An independent committee investigating the cause of Hong Kong’s deadliest inferno in decades is expected to conclude its first round of evidential hearings on Thursday, with the role of the property management firm at blaze-hit Wang Fuk Court under scrutiny.Lam Man-yan, technical officer with ISS EastPoint - the property manager of the Tai Po housing estate when the fire broke out last November 26 - concluded his testimony on engineering and maintenance matters at 10.30am.The estate’s property officer Cheng Tsz-ying began her testimony by answering questions from ISS’s lawyer.The second round of evidential hearings, consisting of six sessions, will start on April 8.During the first round of eight sessions, the committee’s lead counsel, Victor Dawes SC, identified in his opening statement six “human factors” that led to the death toll of 168. The judge-led panel also heard statements from legal representatives for the government, the Urban Renewal Authority, ISS EastPoint, the Competition Commission and the estate’s current administrator, Hop On Management.Justice David Lok, the independent committee’s chairman, outside City Gallery in Central, where the hearing is being held. Photo: Jelly TseWang Fuk Court residents, employees and the director of fire services installation contractor Victory Fire Engineering and other ISS EastPoint staff also testified.Follow our live updates on the eighth day of the hearing.Reporting by Leopold Chen and Edith Lin coverage: