Several residents of Wang Fuk Court, including former members of the deceased owners’ corporation, will participate as litigants in the upcoming inquest hearings into the deadly Tai Po fire, HKFP has learned.
The independent committee tasked to investigate the inferno had accepted applications from two groups of residents to attend the hearings as involved parties, represented by their lawyers, three sources familiar with the matter told HKFP on Friday.
According to the commission’s rules, residents will be allowed to make opening and closing statements, ask questions and call witnesses at hearings.
One of the groups consists of former members of the corporation of the deceased owners of Wang Fuk Court.
In response to the HKFP inquiry, the independent committee said it would announce the list of parties involved “in due course”.
Hong Kong Chief Executive John Lee ordered the creation of an independent committee to investigate the fire at Wang Fuk Court, a government-subsidized housing estate in Tai Po, in late November. The fire — the city’s deadliest in nearly eight decades — killed 168 people and displaced thousands of residents.
The committee, chaired by Judge David Lok, has a barrister and five barristers, including senior counsel Victor Dawes, as part of its legal team.
In early February, residents attended the first public meeting of the independent committee, calling for accountability and fair compensation.
The independent committee is scheduled to hold a total of eight hearings from March 19 to April 2.
He will first hear opening remarks from his legal team, followed by testimony from the parties involved.
The independent commission is not a commission of inquiry, directed by the Commissions of Inquiry directions.
Critics have pointed out that it lacks statutory power, but pro-establishment lawmakers have defended it, saying the committee can finish its work quickly without the burden of legal proceedings.
The government said the committee would complete the investigation in nine months.
