Government Sets Up Steering Committee to Implement Recommendations of Tai Po Wang Fuk Court Fire Independent Committee

The government will set up a steering committee led by Chief Secretary for Administration Chan Kwok-ki to examine one by one the recommendations put forward by the independent committee on the Tai Po Wang Fuk Court fire and oversee their implementation, covering areas including fire safety, supervision of building maintenance works, building management and prevention of anti-competitive conduct. The government will also establish an interdepartmental joint central data system and set up a Building Maintenance Support and Services Bureau, with a target of completing registration and board appointments by the end of the year and assigning building inspection consultants from January next year. The authorities also propose amending the Competition Ordinance to make bid-rigging in large-scale building maintenance works a criminal offence, with a maximum penalty of 10 years' imprisonment and a fine of $10 million.