Hearing into deadly Tai Po fire continues after shocking revelations on first day

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A public evidential hearing into a devastating fire that engulfed a residential complex in Hong Kong and killed 168 people enters its second day on Friday.

Victor Dawes SC, lead barrister for an independent judge-led committee overseeing the hearing, will continue his opening speech, a day after he cited a preliminary investigation report that the tragedy was likely to have been caused by cigarettes and outlined six identifiable causes.

They included the use of combustible scaffolding mesh, deactivation of the fire alarm system, removal of the fireproof windows at emergency staircases and turning off the fire hoses for months, exceeding the legal limit of 14 days.

Follow our live updates on the second day of the hearing.

Reporting by Brian Wong, Leopold Chen and Lo Hoi-ying

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