Call to merge housing checking unit with Buildings Department after Tai Po fire

Some residents displaced by Hong Kong’s deadliest inferno in decades have called for merging the Housing Bureau’s Independent Checking Unit (ICU) with the Buildings Department, after a public inquiry revealed regulatory failures linked to communication problems between the two arms of similar functions.In recommendations submitted to the independent committee probing the Wang Fuk Court fire, which were released on Saturday, legal representatives for nine residents said authorities should merge the two government arms to avoid overlap in functions.“Given the systemic defects and collaborative failures as revealed by the fire, we recommend that the work of the Independent Checking Unit be handed to the Buildings Department, to reduce redundancy and avoid any errors caused by delays of information flow,” they said.