The government-appointed administrator of Wang Fuk Court, the Hong Kong estate devastated by a deadly fire last November, will hold two online meetings with displaced residents this month after 240 flat owners threatened legal action in a petition.
Hop On Management Company announced on Wednesday that the Zoom meetings will take place from 7pm to 9pm next Tuesday and from 2pm to 4pm on May 20. Participation is limited to a maximum of two owners or their representatives per flat, on a first-come, first-served basis.
“Recording of audio and photography is strictly prohibited during the meeting. Participants may not upload or distribute any information regarding the proceedings without prior authorisation from the organisation,” the announcement stated.
Registered owners will receive a confirmation text message before the meeting, with the Zoom password sent through the same channel.
The meetings were arranged after more than 240 owners, representing over 12 per cent of households at Wang Fuk Court, petitioned Hop On in late April to convene an extraordinary general meeting within 45 days, warning they might take legal action if the request was ignored.
Under the Building Management Ordinance, the chairman of the management committee must convene a general meeting of the owners’ corporation within 14 days of receiving a written request from at least 5 per cent of owners and hold the extraordinary general meeting within 45 days.
The Lands Tribunal approved the government’s application to dissolve the management committee of the Wang Fuk Court owners’ corporation and appointed Hop On, a subsidiary of Chinachem Group, as interim administrator following the fire, which killed 168 people and displaced nearly 5,000 people.
The petition proposes that the administrator report on the estate’s finances, the progress of insurance claims, and the handling of contracts with renovation contractor Prestige Construction and Engineering and consultant Will Power Architects Company.
The estate was undergoing renovation at the time of the fire. Scaffolding and mesh covering the buildings accelerated the spread of the blaze, which affected seven of the complex’s eight blocks.
Owners also want to discuss and pass resolutions including allowing residents to make multiple trips back to their flats to retrieve belongings, returning the remaining balance of the renovation fund, and publicly disclosing full inspection reports for all eight buildings within a week of the meeting.