A man reacts after claiming his wife is trapped inside during the November fire that engulfed seven apartment buildings in Wang Fuk Court, in Tai Po, Hong Kong, China.Tyrone Siu/Reuters
The Hong Kong government said Wednesday that it had charged seven people and two companies with dozens of offenses, including manslaughter, in relation to the city’s worst fire in generations.
The charges are the first to be brought following investigations into how a huge fire engulfed seven apartment buildings in November, killing 168 people. The blaze at the Wang Fuk Court apartment complex in northern Hong Kong burned with such intensity that firefighters fought to put it out for days and the remains of some victims were charred beyond recognition.
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A joint investigation by the police and the city’s anti-corruption commission charged individuals and companies with 25 offences, including conspiracy to defraud, money laundering, attempting to pervert the course of justice and tax evasion, according to a statement from the Hong Kong government.
The statement named two companies involved in a government-mandated renovation at the housing estate, Prestige Construction & Engineering, a consulting firm, and Will Power Architects, the main contractor, as well as seven individuals who included directors and an inspector for the consulting firm, as well as directors of the main contractor.
The police charged three men and two companies jointly with five counts of manslaughter, while the anti-corruption commission brought a total of 20 further charges against the same three men, two additional men and three women, as well as the two companies.
Family members of a fire victim wait outside the Wang Fuk Court housing complex in Hong Kong on April 29.BILLY H.C. KWOK/The New York Times
In December, officials said that contractors at the housing estate had wrapped the buildings in substandard netting and then tried to cover up their tracks. The authorities also said that fire alarms at the towers did not operate properly and that construction materials such as the netting and polystyrene foam window coverings had caused the flames to spread rapidly.
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The seven people charged Wednesday played different roles in the renovation project, according to the statement.
The police have arrested dozens of people on accusations related to the fire.
Survivors of the fire and the relatives of those who died have been waiting months for more information from the authorities on who was ultimately responsible for the blaze. Many have closely followed hearings that are part of an inquiry led by an independent, government-appointed committee.
During the hearings, testimony from hundreds of witness statements and more than 1 million pieces of evidence, including WhatsApp messages and recordings of emergency calls, showed how residents at the complex complained for months about construction workers smoking near construction debris and raised questions about the safety of the materials that shrouded their residential buildings.
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Testimony has also suggested that windows were removed from evacuation stairwells, helping the fire to spread, and water tanks had been drained.
Victor Dawes, the investigation’s lead counsel, testified that fire safety measures failed because of “human errors,” including the deactivation of fire alarms for renovations, which delayed evacuations as the blaze spread.