HK orders citywide removal of scaffolding nets after deadly blaze

All renovation work to stop as inspectors verify netting meets safety standards

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HONG KONG - Hong Kong ordered all buildings undergoing major repair work to immediately remove exterior scaffolding nets, as the authorities investigate suspicions of forged safety certifications in connection with the city’s recent deadly blaze.

All buildings currently carrying out major repair works - more than 200 private projects and about 10 public ones — must take down their netting at once and complete the removal by Dec 6, Hong Kong Secretary for Development Bernadette Linn said at a press briefing on Dec 3.

An independent inspection team from the Buildings Department and the Housing Bureau collected documents and some netting samples from four housing estates and suspected that some paperwork had been falsified, Ms Linn also said.

The authorities are investigating suspected false safety documents for netting from a Shandong, China-based manufacturer used at two renovation sites in the city.

Prestige, the main contractor at Wang Fuk Court - the site of the deadly blaze, was involved in renovation works at one of those sites, according to the authorities and notices at the site seen by Reuters.