A resident of the fire-ravaged Wang Fuk Court housing estate in Tai Po has said homeowners ran into hitches registering for online information sessions scheduled later this month.

Hop On Management, which took over estate management duties after the owners’ corporation committee was dissolved in the wake of the fatal blaze, said in an SMS message to a resident on Sunday that he had not completed registration for an “update session” on May 20, two days after the firm initially confirmed his registration.

The management company – a subsidiary of real estate giant Chinachem Group – announced last week that it had scheduled two online sessions on May 12 and 20. Tuesday’s session will be the first time for Hop On to address residents collectively.

It will give updates on the firm’s work as well as the financial situation of the now-dissolved owners’ board and refund arrangements for the renovation works that were under way when the fire broke out in November.

According to a Hop On document shared with residents and seen by HKFP, the session is only intended to explain the current situation to Wang Fuk Court residents and answer any questions they may have. No voting procedures will take place.

Registration ‘not completed’

The resident, who declined to be identified, showed HKFP the text message he received from Hop On. It said: “You have not completed the registration procedures for the Wang Fuk Court owners update session. Therefore, we cannot confirm attendance arrangements.”

The resident said he registered for the first session when registration opened on Wednesday, days before the deadline on Sunday at 11.59pm.

Hop On confirmed his registration on Friday but told him on Sunday afternoon that his registration had not been completed.

As of Monday morning, the resident’s registration had not been confirmed.

He said that another resident told him of experiencing the same issue.

Since Hop On was appointed administrator of Wang Fuk Court in January, residents have called on the company to hold a general meeting with homeowners. A petition launched by a group of survivors collected 247 handwritten signatures, or some 12 per cent of all households at the estate.

Hong Kong’s Building Management Ordinance stipulates that a management committee must convene a general meeting at the written request of at least five per cent of owners.

The Home Affairs Department earlier alleged that a similar petition, conducted online, could have contained fraudulent signatures.

The Tai Po fire broke out on November 26, claiming 168 lives and burning the homes of thousands. The blaze is Hong Kong’s deadliest since 1948.

A group of Tai Po fire survivors have petitioned their housing estate’s administrator to hold a general meeting with homeowners to discuss long-term resettlement and related financial matters after collecting 247 handwritten signatures.

The petition organisers issued a media statement on Tuesday, saying that they had delivered the petition and the handwritten signatures to Hop On Management on April 29.

Hop On Management – a subsidiary of real estate giant Chinachem Group – was appointed by the government in early January to act as administrator of the incorporated owners of Wang Fuk Court after a tribunal dissolved the owners’ board of the Tai Po residential estate.

Displaced homeowners, who are scattered across Hong Kong following the deadly fire, have since urged Hop On to call a general meeting, but to no avail.

Jason Kong, one of the petition organisers, told HKFP on Tuesday that a Hop On staff member received the petition in person on April 29.

The staff member gave Kong an acknowledgement slip, which said the company had received the documents but also read: “Content not verified.”

Kong also said that within a couple of weeks, the organisers had gathered 247 signatures from Wang Fuk Court homeowners and representatives of those killed in the November inferno.

Each signatory not only signed their name but also gave their address at Wang Fuk Court and their contact number, he added.

“The responsibility of further verifying those signatures lies with Hop On,” Kong said in Cantonese, “We’ve collected signatures from around 12 per cent of all households [at Wang Fuk Court] – more than enough to call a general meeting.”

Hong Kong’s Building Management Ordinance stipulates that a management committee must convene a general meeting at the written request of at least five per cent of owners.

Wang Fuk Court has a total of 1,984 units, and 247 signatories exceed the required threshold.

HKFP has reached out to Hop On for comment.

The Tai Po fire broke out on November 26, claiming 168 lives and burning the homes of thousands. The blaze is Hong Kong’s deadliest since 1948.

March petition

Kong and other fire survivors launched a similar petition online in March, signed by more than 400 homeowners and representatives of those killed in the fire.

However, Hop On rejected the demand. In an email sent to Kong on April 5, Hop On said the petition did not meet the statutory requirement and that it would not hold a formal owners’ meeting at that stage.

“Following a detailed review and consultation with legal counsel, we note that… you had gathered owners’ concerns via an online form, but provided no further information,” Hop On said in the email, which was seen by HKFP.

Four days later, the Home Affairs Department said it received complaints from several Wang Fuk Court residents, who alleged that the petition did not verify the identities of the signatories.

“Individual flat owners said the so-called petition lacked authentication mechanisms and may involve people impersonating owners and forging signatures. Personal information collected is also at risk of being abused or misused without authorisation,” the department said.

The department also said it had referred the matter to law enforcement agencies for investigation.

Kong said that this time, he and other organisers spent a couple of weeks personally collecting ink signatures from homeowners.

“Once we found out some information was missing, such as a home address, we contacted the signatory again to fill out the information,” Kong said.

Many Wang Fuk Court homeowners hope to discuss long-term resettlement options in the long-awaited meeting, as well as the government’s arrangements for fire survivors returning home to pack personal belongings, he said.

They also want to discuss financial matters related to Wang Fuk Court, such as insurance claims, Kong added.

The administrator of the fire-hit Wang Fuk Court has said it is studying the Lands Tribunal’s judgment after the court denied its bid to extend the statutory deadline for an owners’ meeting.

Replying to media enquiries, Hop On Management, the government-appointed administrator of the housing estate, also said on Wednesday that it would continue to verify signatures in the petition from homeowners and would hold a meeting as requested.

Just a day earlier, the Lands Tribunal denied Hop On’s application to postpone the deadline for convening and holding an owners’ meeting, as required by the Buildings Management Ordinance (BMO), after the company received the homeowners’ petition.

Hop On also said on Wednesday that it made the application due to the extensive preparations for the meeting and that it hoped all homeowners would have a “fair opportunity” to participate in the meeting.

Hop On added that it appreciated the tribunal’s acknowledgement of the administrator’s efforts in contacting homeowners.

In his Tuesday judgment, Judge Gary Lam, presiding officer of the Lands Tribunal, said that the firm’s difficulty in contacting owners was “not insurmountable” as it had managed to collect addresses, phone numbers and email addresses of 1,601 owners out of 1,984 units at the Tai Po housing estate.

He also said it was “plain and obvious” that the BMO does not give the tribunal jurisdiction to extend the statutory deadline for holding owners’ meetings.

Replying to press enquiries, the Home Affairs Department (HAD) said that Lam’s ruling involved the interpretation of the BMO and that the government would study the judgment.

The department also noted that the tribunal gave Hop On and the HAD “credit” for their efforts in issuing notices and convening the meeting, given the exceptional circumstances.

On April 29, Hop On, a subsidiary of real estate giant Chinachem Group, received a petition with 247 handwritten signatures asking the firm to meet with flat owners to discuss long-term resettlement and related financial matters.

The total number of signatures supporting the petition exceeded the 5 per cent threshold needed to convene a meeting stipulated by the BMO.

According to the ordinance, the management committee should issue notice of the meeting within 14 days and hold the general meeting with owners within 45 days.

My Music Memorabilia posted a photo:

SUPER FURRY ANIMALS

ON TOUR IN APRIL / MAY
Fri 26 Middlesbrough Arena
Sat 27 Wolverhampton the Varsity
Sun 28 Gloucester Guildhall
Mon 29 Exeter Cavern Club
Tue 30 Southampton Joiners Arms
Sun 2 Aberystwyth University
Mon 3 Blackwood Institute
Tue 4 Bangor University
Sun 12 Cardiff University

NEW SINGLE
GOD! SHOW ME MAGIC
OUT APRIL 29
SFA

Fuzzy Logic In May

(1996)