Hong Kong orders citywide removal of scaffolding nets after deadly blaze
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Police are also investigating cases of suspected forged netting certificates tied to maintenance works.
PHOTO: AFP
HONG KONG – Hong Kong ordered all buildings undergoing major repair work to immediately remove exterior scaffolding nets, as the authorities investigate suspicions of forged safety certifications
All buildings currently carrying out major repair works – more than 200 private projects and about 10 public ones – must take down their netting at once and complete the removal by Dec 6, Hong Kong Secretary for Development Bernadette Linn said at a press briefing on Dec 3.
An independent inspection team from the Buildings Department and the Housing Bureau collected documents and some netting samples from four housing estates and suspected that some paperwork had been falsified, Ms Linn also said.
The authorities are investigating suspected false safety documents for netting from a Shandong, China-based manufacturer used at two renovation sites in the city.
Prestige, the main contractor at Wang Fuk Court – the site of the deadly blaze, was involved in renovation works at one of those sites, according to the authorities and notices at the site seen by Reuters.
Prestige did not respond to calls and letters left at its shuttered offices.
Renovation work across the financial hub will effectively grind to a standstill for an undefined period as inspectors verify the netting meets safety standards.
At a housing estate in Sha Tin, around a 15-minute drive from the Wang Fuk complex, workers began dismantling protective netting on the morning of Dec 4.
Retiree C.K. Lau, 82, who lives at the Sha Tin housing estate, said removing the nets would reduce the chance of a similar type of incident occurring.
“The residents feel better if they (the government) agree to take it down. So they agreed to take it down within this week.”
The police have arrested a total of 21 people in their probe into the fire, which killed at least 159 people.
Among those arrested are 15 from various construction companies suspected of manslaughter, including two directors and an engineering consultant from Prestige Construction.
A further six from the fire service installation contractor have been arrested on suspicion of fraud.
The authorities said substandard plastic mesh and insulation foam used during renovation work at the doomed estate likely fuelled the 40-hour inferno, while fire alarms were also not operating properly.
Residents of Wang Fuk Court, home to 4,600 people, were told by the authorities in 2024 that they faced “relatively low fire risks” after they complained about fire hazards posed by the renovations, the city’s Labour Department said.
In response to calls for transparency and accountability, city leader John Lee has also ordered a judge-led committee to investigate the fire and review oversight of building renovations.
Contractors to bear cost of removal
Ms Linn, Hong Kong’s Development Secretary, said on Dec 3 that contractors must bear the costs of the netting removal for the more than 200 private buildings and 10 public ones.
Hong Kong’s Buildings Department aims to issue a new code of practice next week, requiring all scaffold net materials to be sampled on site.
The nets will be installed only after being certified by designated laboratories as compliant with relevant requirements.
Of the 159 bodies found since the Wang Fuk Court blaze
Foreign domestic helpers from Indonesia and the Philippines are among 31 people still missing.
More than 2,900 residents have been put in temporary accommodation, the government said, with 1,152 staying in hostels, camps or hotel rooms.
Another 1,765 residents have moved into transitional housing units.
The authorities had said earlier the rapid spread of the blaze was linked to the use of the substandard scaffolding nets and foam boards. BLOOMBERG, REUTERS
