Overview
- Residents of the Tai Po estate, whose visits began Monday, can spend up to three hours in their flats through May 4 with helmets, masks and gloves, and officials are escorting groups to keep belongings secure.
- About 6,000 people registered for access, and more than a third are seniors, with some using tools such as a robotic device or an exoskeleton to manage stairs and heavy lifting as they sort what can be saved.
- At Tuesday’s hearing, a Labour Department officer said the agency stepped up checks after many complaints but conceded workers might have smoked on site when inspectors were absent, as the inquiry also scrutinizes flammable mesh netting and styrofoam boards used during renovations.
- The panel heard that crews temporarily removed fireproof windows in rear stairwells to reach scaffolding under rules meant for worker safety, while the inquiry’s legal team has highlighted such changes and near-universal fire-appliance failures as key human factors.
- Testimony described long-running proxy-vote abuse that helped Prestige Construction secure a HK$336 million renovation contract despite the highest bid, and the owners’ committee did not follow through on fines for workers smoking on the scaffolding.