A judge-led independent committee heard on Wednesday that multiple parties responsible for the inspections and maintenance of fire services at Wang Fuk Court failed to conduct adequate on-site checks, often acting solely on instructions provided by others.

The session marks the start of a second round of hearings to investigate the fire at the Tai Po residential estate in November, which claimed 168 lives.

During the first round of eight sessions, held from March 19 through April 2, the committee heard testimony from more than 30 witnesses. The testimony revealed several human factors that likely exacerbated the disaster, including the deactivation of the fire alarm, an inoperative fire hose system, and empty fire service water tanks — allegedly while they were undergoing maintenance.

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Chung Kit-man, director of Victory Fire Engineering — a fire services equipment contractor for Wang Fuk Court — explained that the estate experienced a pipe-related incident in April, days after its annual fire service system inspection.

A Certificate of Fire Service Installation and Equipment, presented by committee counsel Lee Shu-wun, confirmed that the pipes were broken in April, adding that the estate’s fire service water tanks lacked water, and needed to be refilled.

Chung said he did not visit the estate at that time, and he decided to repair the pipes based on photos sent by on-site colleagues.

Tong Hing-lun, a plumber with Chung’s company, said he checked the tanks at three of the estate’s towers while working on a separate pipe on Oct 16 and 17. “There wasn’t even a drop of water,” he said.

Tong said that instead of inspecting the other five blocks’ tanks personally, he relied on information from Lam Man-yan, a technical officer with the estate manager ISS EastPoint Properties, who told him those tanks also have no water.

Tong reported this to Chung afterward.

Committee counsel Lee questioned Chung about his involvement. As a manager of the fire service contractor, Chung was absent during the annual inspection, the pipe burst, and the subsequent repairs.

“You relied on what you were told. Your colleagues relied on what they were told. As a licensed fire services contractor, do you think this approach is appropriate? Does it fulfill your duty?” Lee asked.

Chung responded that it was “not ideal”, adding, “Maybe I was really too busy. I probably should have spent more time on it.”

The hearing also examined a WhatsApp conversation between Chung and ISS EastPoint Properties’ property officer Cheng Tsz-ying.

Cheng told Chung on Oct 28 that all the rooftop fire tanks at the estate’s eight blocks had been refilled. She also sent him photos on Nov 21 showing the tanks filled with water.

Chung testified that he noticed the photos appeared to be months old and had suspicions about Cheng’s information, but he admitted he never verified the actual situation.

He also said he had not asked ISS EastPoint for details about how the fire service system was being maintained throughout the renovation project.

Evidence showed that China Status Development and Engineering, another fire service contractor, had submitted 85 notices to local authorities to extend the fire service shutdowns.

Leung Ping-kay, the firm’s director, said his company had never performed an on-site inspection of Wang Fuk Court’s fire services system. It simply acted on requests of the estate’s renovation contractor, Prestige Construction and Engineering.

Leung did not object when the committee’s lead barrister, Victor Dawes, described his company as “a rubber stamp, ... doing whatever they’re told to do”.

When asked if his company used similar proxy form-filing practices on other projects, Leung said they had.

In its shutdown notices, China Status did not check the box indicating that the fire hydrant and hose reel inspection and maintenance were “no longer under this company’s responsibility”. Leung agreed that this might have misled the Fire Services Department.

Dawes suggested to Leung that a single on-site inspection by his company would have revealed that the main switch for Wang Fuk Court’s firefighting pump and fire alarms was in the “off” position — and that his employees would have turned it back on.

Leung initially expressed doubt; then, after repeated questioning and a brief silence, he agreed.

The hearing will reconvene on Friday. Among the witnesses will be Keung Sai-ming, assistant director for licensing and certification at the Fire Services Department, who is expected to be the first special administrative region government official to give evidence.

Contact the writer at wanqing@chinadailyhk.com