The owners’ corporation of the Hong Kong housing estate destroyed in last month’s deadly fire is seeking to oust the main contractor and consultant for renovation works after staff from both companies were arrested for alleged manslaughter and corruption.
The Fire Services Department, meanwhile, revealed on Thursday that it had conferred the honorary title of senior fireman on the firefighter killed in the blaze at Tai Po’s Wang Fuk Court, and would bury him at Gallant Garden after a funeral on December 19.
The firefighter was among 160 people killed in the inferno that severely damaged seven of the estate’s eight blocks. Six people remain missing and about 5,000 have been displaced.
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According to a notice by the Wang Fuk Court owners’ corporation dated December 10, the group will convene its first meeting in the wake of the fire on December 17.
A motion was raised to terminate the contracts with the main contractor and its consultant over the HK$336 million (US$43.2 million) renovation project.
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Twenty-one suspects, including senior management of main contractor Prestige Construction and Engineering and consultant Will Power Architects, were earlier arrested by police and the Independent Commission Against Corruption.
Those arrested by police were suspected of manslaughter, while those apprehended by the commission faced corruption allegations.