Alert on net safety certificates sparks renovation probe at 2 Hong Kong estates
Lab denies it issued safety report for Fung Wah Estate, which uses scaffolding nets from the same Shandong manufacturer as Tai Po’s Wang Fuk Court
Police have launched an investigation into renovation work under way at two housing estates in Hong Kong, following media reports that their scaffolding net safety certificates may have been falsified.
Security chief Chris Tang Ping-keung said on Wednesday evening that an official police probe had been launched into renovation projects at Fung Wah Estate in Chai Wan and Fortress Garden in Fortress Hill.
Both estates were found to be using scaffolding mesh obtained from the same Shandong manufacturer as the ones used at Wang Fuk Court, the site of last week’s deadly blaze that killed 159 people.
Early investigations by city authorities showed the nets used for renovations at Wang Fuk Court did not meet fire safety standards.
Contractors claim the clean safety report for Fung Wah Estate came from a testing centre in Beijing, while the one for Fortress Garden was conducted by a lab in Binzhou, Shandong.
The National Quality Inspection and Testing Centre for Labour Protective Equipment in Beijing issued a statement on Wednesday warning that fraudulent reports with safety testing results had recently been circulated.