The committee’s leading senior counsel, Victor Dawes, noted in his opening speech that the Labour Department, the Fire Services Department and the Housing Bureau’s Independent Checking Unit (ICU) all denied it was their responsibility to ensure the building materials used in the HK$336 million project met required fireproof standards.

When residents’ repeated complaints forced authorities to conduct inspections, the contractor, having been tipped off in advance, partially replaced substandard combustible protective nets used at the site with fire-retardant ones.

“Why would such a major fire happen in Hong Kong, known as an advanced city and for its world-class infrastructure, and why hadn’t the government and contractors been notified of the series of failures and mistakes?” Dawes said.

“This fire has revealed unacceptable systemic failings that cannot be overlooked.”