Hong Kong orders scaffold netting to be removed at 200 sites in wake of inferno
Police have arrested six men from company responsible for fire alarm system at Wang Fuk Court for allegedly making false declarations
Authorities have ordered scaffold netting to be removed at about 200 locations across Hong Kong by Saturday after suspected false safety certificates were found at two building sites following the Tai Po blaze that claimed 159 lives.
A week after Hong Kong’s worst inferno in decades, police on Wednesday arrested six men from the company responsible for the fire alarm system at the Wang Fuk Court housing complex, where the blaze ripped through seven towers covered in bamboo scaffolding and protective mesh.
They allegedly made false declarations to the Fire Services Department that the alarms at the estate would not be deactivated during renovation works.
Authorities ordered the removal of nets at major maintenance sites after a Shandong-based scaffolding netting manufacturer was alleged to have falsified safety certificates for materials being used in housing renovation projects in Chai Wan and Fortress Hill.
Security chief Chris Tang Ping-keung said authorities had launched a criminal probe into the case, in which the company claimed its products were certified by the National Quality Inspection and Testing Centre for Labour Protective Equipment in Beijing.
Tang, however, said the centre never issued such documents.
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Residents return to collect belongings from tower that survived deadly Tai Po blaze