A government official has said authorities will “look into” the situation after a resident at the fire-hit Wang Fuk Court found rubbish and other items that did not belong to his flat when he retrieved his belongings.

The resident of Wang Cheong House, the first block hit by the blaze, told reporters on Tuesday that he found items such as cigarette butts, face masks, and drink packets that he believed were left behind by construction workers who had entered his unit.

He also found other items that did not belong to his flat, which he believed were his neighbours’, local media reported.

“When our neighbours come up looking for their things, will they know that their belongings have been placed in my flat?” said the resident.

Deputy Chief Secretary Warner Cheuk said at a press conference on Tuesday: “Regarding the situation where it appears people had discarded items in the flats, I will have to look into that.”

Tuesday marked the ninth day of Wang Fuk Court residents returning to their units to retrieve their belongings.

On that day, residents of Wang Cheong House, which sustained the most fire damage, and Wang Tao House were allowed to return to their homes in batches.

The blaze broke out in November last year and engulfed seven of the Tai Po housing estate’s eight blocks, killing 168 people and displacing thousands.

‘Easy to say’

On Tuesday, resident Ma Chung-kui, who plays the zheng, salvaged his collection of the traditional Chinese musical instrument from his flat at Wang Tao House.

He said he hoped to return to his flat again, as the three-hour time slot was only enough for him to retrieve a third of the instruments.

“How could I let go? That’s crazy. It’s easy to say, but not to do,” he said, referring to Cheuk’s earlier remarks advising residents to be mentally prepared to “let go” of some of their belongings and prioritise things with sentimental value.

Another family, who returned to Wang Cheong House, laid down flowers to mourn their parents, who died in the fire.

At the same Tuesday press conference, housing chief Winnie Ho also addressed concerns about why residents were not allowed to take the lift to their flats. She said that the water used to combat the blaze might have rusted the metal components of the lifts.

“We take residents’ safety very seriously. We understand that residents wish to take the lifts to make it easier for them to get in and out, but safety must be our top priority,” Ho said.

Hong Kong authorities have said they will extend their buyout plan to include flats in the only Wang Fuk Court block unaffected by the deadly fire if three-quarters of the owners agree to sell their properties.

Deputy Financial Secretary Michael Wong announced the plan at a press conference on Tuesday, around two months after the government unveiled the initial buyout plan covering the housing estate’s seven fire-hit buildings but not Wang Chi House.

The buyout price for Wang Chi House will be consistent with the seven other blocks, at HK$8,000 or HK$10,500 per square foot, depending on whether the premiums for the homes have been paid.

Wong also said a preliminary survey suggested that 77 per cent of Wang Chi House residents were willing to sell their homes to the government for cash or move into another government-subsidised estate under a flat-exchange exercise.

“We do think that the proposal is a good one for them… but it doesn’t mean we would like to force them to accept the proposal. At the end of the day, it is their decision,” he said.

“But we do think that what we have on the table is very reasonable and should actually be quite attractive.”

He said that owners faced a slew of difficulties and uncertainties, including the wait before they could move back into the Tai Po housing estate, as well as matters involving the land agreement and deed, high maintenance costs, and complex insurance matters.

Some owners had concerns about the emotional toll of moving back into the estate and about drops in property value, he added.

The total cost of buying out 248 units at Wang Chi House will be about HK$1 billion, he said.

Threshold

Wong said that a government liaison team had reached out to 99 per cent of Wang Chi House flat owners, 77 per cent of whom were willing to sell their flats to the government.

“We believe the 75 per cent threshold adequately reflects the requirement of a high degree of consensus,” Wong said.

Speaking at the same press conference, Secretary for Housing Winnie Ho said 14 per cent of Wang Chi House flat owners were still considering the offer, while the remaining 9 per cent were not willing to sell their properties.

Those who agree to the buyout will have to sign and submit a letter of acceptance to the government. Those who do so before June 30 will be given special priority to choose another flat offered by the government, while the deadline for expressing interest has been set for August 31.

While the government respects private property rights, it would also offer the buyout option if the threshold is reached, the deputy minister said.

If the final number of purchasing agreements does not meet the threshold, the government “has the right” to roll back the buyout scheme.

Wong said in February that the government would look into whether special legislation would be needed to handle the cases of owners who refuse to sell their property rights.

However, on Tuesday, he said the authorities had yet to come up with a concrete legislative plan.

He vowed that the government would proceed by adhering to the principle of respecting private property rights under Hong Kong’s mini-constitution, the Basic Law, and offer compensation for buyouts.

A group of survivors of the deadly Wang Fuk Court fire have petitioned Hong Kong’s top officials twice in a week, urging the government to rebuild the fire-ravaged residential estate on site and to respect their private property rights.

According to copies of the petitions received by HKFP on Thursday, the petitioners sent the letters to a group of top officials on Wednesday this week and last week, asking them to reconsider the in-situ redevelopment of Wang Fuk Court.

The letters were sent to Chief Executive John Lee, Deputy Chief Secretary for Administration Warner Cheuk, Deputy Chief Secretary for Finance Michael Wong, Secretary for Housing Winnie Ho, and Secretary for Home and Youth Affairs Minister Alice Mak.

According to the petitions, Wang Fuk Court homeowners were not given transparent information and were not properly consulted about resettlement plans.

The petitioners urged the government to coordinate with the Hop On Management Company, appointed by authorities to take over the Wang Fuk Court owners’ board, to call a general meeting of homeowners to vote on on-site redevelopment.

“To us, Wang Fuk Court is more than just a private property protected by the sanctity of the law; it is a home we have spent half our lives building,” the letters said.

“We are grateful to the government for its earlier empathy in allowing residents to briefly return to Wang Fuk Court to retrieve precious belongings,” it continued.

“However, regarding the long-term planning that dictates the future of our homes and our resettlement, we have profound doubts and anxieties about the underlying logic and legal basis of certain official decisions.”

The petitions were organised by two Wang Fuk Court homeowners – known by their surnames: Cheung and Ho.

In January, they went to China’s Liaison Office and the Legislative Council (LegCo) to deliver the petition, which was signed by more than 1,100 homeowners and asked for on-site redevelopment.

The organisers told HKFP on Thursday that, so far, they had not received any response from the government.

HKFP has sent an enquiry to the government for comment.

Property rights of the minority

The government announced on February 21 a buyout offer for homeowners, rejecting the option to rebuild the apartment block.

Flat owners can either sell their property titles to the government or move into another government-subsidised estate under a flat-exchange scheme.

Wong, the deputy chief secretary for finance, said at a press conference that according to a consultation conducted by the government, 83 per cent of Wang Fuk Court homeowners preferred to prioritise speedy resettlement.

He also said that on-site redevelopment would take more than 10 years, and therefore would not be a good option.

However, some homeowners criticised the plan, saying it ignored their wishes.

In the letters sent this month, the petitioners said the government should not conclude that on-site redevelopment would take 10 years before conducting a formal survey.

They also pointed out that, with more than 1,100 homeowners from nearly 400 households signing the January petition, around 17 per cent of Wang Fuk Court households supported on-site redevelopment.

“The dignity of a society governed by the rule of law lies in the fact that the legal property rights of a minority should not – and will not – be easily stripped away under a crude administrative logic of ‘the minority yielding to the majority,'” the April petitions read.

“Even if only two or three buildings can ultimately be reconstructed on site, the government bears an inescapable responsibility to properly address the lawful wishes of these nearly 400 households.”

A massive fire ripped through Wang Fuk Court, a government-subsidised housing complex in Tai Po, in late November, engulfing seven of its eight towers. The blaze – Hong Kong’s deadliest in nearly eight decades – killed 168 people and displaced thousands of residents.