Hong Kong leader says fire probe expected to conclude within 9 months

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HONG KONG, Dec 12 (Reuters) – Hong Kong will seek to wrap up an independent investigation into a fire that killed at least 160 people in the Asia financial centre within nine months, the city’s leader said on Friday.

John Lee spoke more than two weeks after the blaze ripped through seven high-rise residential towers and left the city searching for answers about the cause of the deadly tragedy, which also displaced thousands of residents.

The government has launched an independent committee to investigate the fire that erupted in the Tai Po district, close to the border with mainland China, and named Judge David Lok, who chairs the Electoral Affairs Commission, to lead the body.

“They all have the passion and the love of Hong Kong, to be so courageous to take up this responsibility and I am really thankful to them, I take my hat off to them,” Lee said at a news conference.

The independent committee will need to investigate whether there is a systematic problem within the construction industry, conflicts of interest, improper collusion and determine if there is bid-rigging in the sector when it comes to awarding contracts, Lee added.

Residents are angry about the blaze that took nearly two days to extinguish after it broke out on November 26. Authorities have said substandard building materials used in renovating the high-rise housing estate were responsible for fuelling the fire.

Lee said the government would work with the city’s legislature to “drive institutional reform” in the aftermath of the fire, as there have been some public calls and petitions seeking greater government accountability and improved oversight of the construction sector.

Eager to soothe the public’s dismay, authorities have launched criminal and corruption investigations into the blaze.

(Reporting By Clare Jim and Jessie Pang, Writing by Anne Marie Roantree; Editing by Muralikumar Anantharaman and Thomas Derpinghaus)