Hong Kong: 21 arrested in connection with fire that killed 159 people

 

Hong Kong

Hong Kong: 21 arrested in connection with fire that killed 159 people

Hong Kong: 21 arrested in connection with fire that killed 159 people
Hong Kong police have arrested six more people in the past 24 hours in connection with the apartment complex fire that killed at least 159 people.
Police spokesman Joe Chao announced at a press conference that the total number of people arrested in this case had reached 21.

According to police, the six men, aged between 44 and 55, were subcontractors responsible for the fire alarm system at the Wang Fok Court residential complex, and were arrested on suspicion of perjury.
The police spokesman said: "They (the six men) falsely told the fire department that they would not turn off the fire alarm system during the renovation process."

Police had previously arrested 15 people, including employees of Prestige Construction Engineering Co. Limited, the construction company carrying out renovations at the complex where the fire broke out, as well as representatives of a subcontractor involved in the building's renovations.

The fire erupted last Wednesday at the Wang Fook Court residential complex, a cluster of eight high-rise apartment buildings in the Tai Po district of Hong Kong's New Territories.

Almost none of the buildings were damaged, while seven others were engulfed in flames.
 The fire spread through construction grids and bamboo scaffolding erected on the buildings for cosmetic repairs. The complex contained approximately 2,000 apartments and housed around 4,000 residents. No Russian citizens have been reported injured in the Hong Kong fire.