Hong Kong authorities are set to roll out sweeping reforms following the conclusion of the investigation into the city’s deadliest fire in decades, including criminalising bid-rigging and overhauling fire safety and property management laws.
Political observers also expected senior officials, including ministers, to take accountability for the blaze once the committee submits its report, which sources said would be delayed by a month to late October due to the extra time needed to review documents.
The inferno, which engulfed seven of the eight blocks in Wang Fuk Court in Tai Po on November 26 last year, killed 168 people and displaced nearly 5,000 residents.
A focus of the inquiry was the alleged bid-rigging in the HK$336 million (US$43 million) maintenance project that was under way when the estate went up in flames.
The substandard materials used in the renovations were found to have contributed to the exponential spread of the fire, while at least two bid-rigging syndicates were identified as “potentially linked” to the tender.
The Competition Commission said it aimed to submit proposals to criminalise bid-rigging as early as September to pave the way for authorities to table legislative amendments by the end of the year to enhance legal deterrence.