HONG KONG (AP) — Hong Kong’s deadliest fire in decades has raised questions about corruption and negligence in the renovations of the apartment complex where at…
Hong Kong’s deadliest fire in decades has raised questions about corruption and negligence in the renovations of the apartment complex where at least 128 people died.
An intense fire broke out at Wang Fuk Court complex in Hong Kong’s northern suburbs Wednesday afternoon, with flames covering seven of eight of the towers. The complex was home to some 4,800 residents, some of whom had raised safety concerns about the renovations more than year before the fire.
Police on Wednesday arrested three men from a construction company on suspicion of manslaughter and gross negligence. They are now out on bail. Authorities then arrested seven men and one woman, ranging in age from 40 to 63, including scaffolding subcontractors, directors of an engineering consultant company and project managers supervising the renovation, in a corruption probe.
Police have not identified the company where the suspects worked, but documents posted to the homeowners association’s website showed that the Prestige Construction & Engineering Company was in charge of renovations. Police have seized boxes of documents from the company, where phones rang unanswered Thursday.
Officials also said they were investigating the materials used, both the netting on the scaffolding and the foam panels, and their role in the blaze.
For almost a year, some residents at the Wang Fuk Court complex had been raising safety concerns to Hong Kong authorities about the construction netting being used in the renovation project, according to documents reviewed by the AP, specifically about the netting that covered the scaffolding.
