Wang Fuk Court briefing to give residents answers before decisions are made: minister

he inferno broke out at the estate in Tai Po on November 26 last year, claiming 168 lives and displacing nearly 5,000 residents.

Photo: Dickson Lee Hong Kong’s home affairs minister has pledged that a briefing set to be held ahead of an owners’ meeting petitioned for by residents of the fire-hit Wang Fuk Court will address their concerns, saying it will not clash with ongoing inquiry hearings or the schedule for their return home.

More than 300 homeowners petitioned for a general meeting with Hop On Management, a Chinachem Group subsidiary appointed by the government as the estate’s interim administrator, to address unresolved issues.

Hop On announced on Sunday that it would hold a briefing session in early May for owners and residents to discuss the refund of the renovation fund and various deposits, but had not yet provided details about the owners’ meeting.

When asked about the progress of the owners’ meeting, Secretary for Home and Youth Affairs Alice Mak Mei-kuen said on Tuesday that authorities would act in accordance with the law, stressing that the briefing session ahead of the formal meeting would give residents sufficient time to have their questions answered and understand the details before any decisions are made. “Hop On will organise a briefing session first, because many of the residents’ concerns are quite personal,” Secretary for Home and Youth Affairs Alice Mak Mei-kuen said on Tuesday, citing issues such as owners who had not fully paid the renovation fee and flats where ownership transfers had not been completed. “We believe that a briefing will make it easier to explain the issues to residents and help them better understand the information.” She vowed that the government would strictly comply with the Building Management Ordinance, consulting owners and making key decisions at owners’ meetings, but stopped short of revealing further details.

The inferno broke out at the estate in Tai Po on November 26 last year, claiming 168 lives and displacing nearly 5,000 residents.

Alice Mak has said the briefing session will give residents sufficient time to have their questions answered.

Photo: Jonathan Wong Hop On earlier said it had reviewed more than 800,000 documents obtained from the previous management company to clarify the circumstances of each household and was now handling refund arrangements for the estate’s renovation fund and various deposits.

The residential complex was undergoing a HK$336 million (US$43 million) renovation

原文链接: 南华早报