Residents of a housing complex destroyed in one of Hong Kong’s deadliest fires were misled into picking a convicted contractor for the estate’s renovation project amid “widespread” bid-rigging and other corruption in the construction industry, a public hearing has been told.

The judge-led independent committee also heard on Friday that an engineering consultant allegedly accepted a monthly stipend to “rubber stamp” tender evaluation reports, including one recommending Wang Fuk Court in Tai Po pick the most expensive option offered by a contractor .

In his opening speech on the second day of a series of evidential hearings, the committee’s leading senior counsel, Victor Dawes, highlighted what appeared to be suspicious connections between the contractor and five of its competitors in the tendering process, suggesting they could have “some forms of relationship” under the table.

“The information received from law enforcement is consistent, that such practice is widespread and common in the market,” he said.

The inferno that tore through seven of Wang Fuk Court’s eight blocks in November last year was the deadliest in Hong Kong since 1948, killing 168 people and leaving nearly 5,000 homeless.