Hong Kong to tighten contractor oversight after Tai Po blaze, minister vows

Hong Kong’s development minister has vowed to tighten monitoring of contractors and explore harsher penalties for industry misconduct following criticisms that the government’s reliance on their self-supervision was partly to blame for the deadly Tai Po blaze.But Bernadette Linn Hon-ho also defended the current regulatory system, stressing that violations were penalised.“The monitoring system has never been designed to allow the professionals to do whatever they like unchecked. But the professionals do have very important functions to perform,” Linn told a television programme aired on Sunday.“When they make mistakes, there are punishments, whether legal or disciplinary, that are clearly stated in the current system.”Victor Dawes SC, lead counsel of the government-appointed independent committee investigating the inferno, criticised the government’s reliance on the honour system in overseeing the HK$336 million (US$43 million) maintenance project that was under way when Wang Fuk Court went up in flames last year.Relying on the private sector to regulate itself had created oversight loopholes and left obvious fire hazards at the housing estate unchecked, he said.