Government announces updates on follow-up work on Tai Po fire
The three task forces set up by the Government for the fire at Wang Fuk Court in Tai Po - the Task Force on Investigation and Regulation, the Task Force on Emergency Support and Fund-Raising, and the Task Force on Emergency Accommodation Arrangements - are making full efforts to follow up on the support, relief, and investigation work related to the incident. Details are as follows:
Financial and welfare support
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For the Support Fund for Wang Fuk Court in Tai Po, established by the Government, donations received are about $3.2 billion as of noon today (December 11). In addition to the start-up capital of $300 million from the Government, the fund's total has now reached around $3.5 billion. The fund will be used to assist residents in rebuilding their homes and providing long-term and sustained support.
The Government earlier announced that a living allowance from the Support Fund will be provided to each affected household, and the amount has been increased from $50,000 to $100,000. As of today, 1 784 cases have been processed. In addition, the Government will provide families of each deceased victim with a token of solidarity of $200,000, as well as $50,000 to cover funeral costs. As of today, a total of 121 cases have been processed. The allowance will be disbursed in phases.
Social workers from the Social Welfare Department (SWD) have been in contact with more than 1 980 affected households, and more than 4 900 residents have been registered for the "one social worker per household" follow-up service. The SWD will maintain liaison with the affected households to provide all necessary assistance while fully supporting the relief work of the Government.
The Advisory Committee on Mental Health also announced today the launch of a one-year Compassionate Support Programme for Bereaved Families with the participation of a number of non-governmental organisations. Dovetailing with the "one social worker per household" service of the SWD, the programme provides free mental health support services, including grief and bereavement counselling for the bereaved, and refers them to clinical psychologists and/or psychiatrists for follow-up services as required based on mental health risk assessments, with a view to accompanying them through the pain of loss.
Accommodation support
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As of this morning, a total of 1 457 residents have been accommodated, through the co-ordination of the Home and Youth Affairs Bureau, in youth hostels, camps, or hotel rooms. Another 2 796 residents are currently living in transitional housing units provided by the Housing Bureau or units from the Hong Kong Housing Society. The temporary shelter at Tung Cheong Street Community Hall has stopped admitting new users and will remain in operation until the existing users have relocated to arranged emergency accommodations.
Relief supplies and donations
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The supplies donation online platform, established by the Government and the information technology sector, continues to operate, facilitating the registration of supplies donations from organisations and the public. The Government has so far received over 1 700 registrations, of which approximately 30 per cent were submitted by organisations, whereas the others were contributed by the public. The various registered donation items include food and beverages, clothing, daily necessities, bedding, and electrical appliances. The Government is actively assessing residents' actual needs through the relevant policy bureau, government departments, and service organisations for the matching of donated supplies in order to distribute appropriate items in phases to places in need. So far, about 19 500 pieces of donation items covering various categories have been distributed to different places. The matching and distribution of supplies will continue.
Judiciary support
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The Legal Aid Department (LAD) has established a dedicated task force and will implement a series of support measures to assist residents and other affected persons in applying for legal aid in accordance with the statutory requirements to handle litigation and related matters about personal injury claims, property damage claims, employees' compensation claims, etc. Taking into account the burden and needs of residents and other affected persons, the LAD will arrange suitable legal representatives to handle their litigations upon approval of their legal aid applications, and will maintain communication with the residents and other affected persons throughout the process to ensure their rights and interests are fully safeguarded. In this regard, the LAD reminds residents and other affected persons intending to apply for legal aid not to arrange their own legal representation, or give instructions or sign authorisation documents for legal services, to avoid incurring unnecessary costs and safeguard their own interests.
The Judiciary has taken forward a series of facilitative measures so that all potential legal proceedings related to the incident will be handled with priority and expeditiously. These measures include setting up a dedicated task group to ensure the swift and priority handling of legal proceedings related to the incident at all court levels, designating a team to handle probate-related matters concerning the deceased victims, waiving probate-related fees, and expediting the processing of coroner-related matters with priority.
Regulation and inspection work
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While the scaffolding at the four Home Ownership Scheme courts, namely Yee Kok Court in Sham Shui Po, On Kay Court in Kwun Tong, Sui Wo Court in Sha Tin and Ching Lai Court in Sham Shui Po, as well as Fung Wah Estate in Chai Wan under the Tenants Purchase Scheme, has all been removed, the Independent Checking Unit of the Housing Bureau still conducts regular inspections to monitor the conditions of the scaffolding. The contractors have been required not to place any miscellaneous items on the scaffolding to ensure the safety of residents.
The Development Bureau today announced a new mechanism for scaffold nets on external walls to be sampled on-site, so as to ensure that scaffold nets used at construction sites comply with recognised standards. In addition to scaffold nets used in repair projects, the new mechanism also applies to those used in new building works.
The new mechanism comprises three components: (1) contractors must provide certificates and test reports for the fire-retardant performance of the scaffold nets; (2) upon delivery of the scaffold nets to Hong Kong, contractors are required to take a specified number of samples in a specified manner, and send them to designated laboratories for testing. Samples must all pass the test before the scaffold nets can be installed; (3) the enforcement departments of the Government will conduct random verification checks after the scaffold nets are installed. The Buildings Department (BD) will allow flexibility for new buildings which are yet to be occupied or in use, considering the relatively lower level of risk. Contractors may first install the scaffold nets before conducting sampling and testing, so as to avoid affecting work progress.
Taking into account the space constraints of some repair sites or construction sites of new buildings, the BD will allow on-site or off-site sampling. Contractors are required to establish a tracking system to the satisfaction of the BD so as to ensure that the installed scaffold nets are from the same batches that have passed laboratory testing.
To facilitate the implementation of the new mechanism, the Government is identifying additional designated laboratories and aims to have a preliminary list drawn up next week. The Government has initially identified a suitable site for the industry to conduct off-site sampling, which is expected to be ready for use next week.
To effectively address the short-term surge in demand for scaffold nets and testing services, the Construction Industry Council (CIC) will make special arrangements for collective bulk procurement and coordinated testing services. Contractors who have recently removed scaffold nets may use this service and take the opportunity to familiarise themselves with the operational procedures under the new mechanism. The CIC will also provide appropriate support to contractors facing cash flow pressure to facilitate their reinstallation of scaffold nets. In addition, the CIC has expanded the quota of the Multi-skilled/Skill Enhancement courses, which are tuition-free and with subsidies, to mitigate the impact of work suspension on workers. The Government and the CIC will work towards having the first batch of scaffold nets reinstalled in about one month after procurement and testing.
The Labour Department (LD) continues to inspect fire protection facilities and the fire emergency preparedness of building maintenance work sites with large-scale scaffolding to ensure the occupational safety of workers. As of 4pm today, the LD has inspected 440 construction sites, issued a total of 226 written warnings and 105 improvement notices, and taken out 25 prosecutions.
Source: AI-found images
