No evidence Wong Pik-kiu involved in bid-rigging: fire inquiry report
A independent committee report on a fire at Wang Fuk Court in Tai Po found no evidence that then-district councillor Wong Pik-kiu participated in any bid-rigging or anti-competitive conduct related to building maintenance tenders.
A report by the independent committee investigating a fire at Wang Fuk Court in Tai Po has stated that the evidence gathered by the committee did not show that then-Tai Po district councillor Wong Pik-kiu was involved in any bid-rigging activities or anti-competitive behaviour.
The report noted that some members of the public had expected Wong to attend the hearings in person to give a public explanation. However, from a legal perspective, the committee said it must first assess whether there was prima facie evidence that she had participated in some form of illegal or improper conduct.
Even if there were a large number of proxy votes or if certain members of the owners' committee might have favoured specific consultancy firms or contractors, the report said this alone was not sufficient to prove that the tendering for large-scale building maintenance works involved illegal activities or bid-rigging.
The committee added that if any individuals had obtained financial benefits by collecting proxy votes from residents, that would be a different matter. However, such complaints were best handled by law enforcement agencies that had the necessary powers to investigate these covert activities.
The committee expressed its belief that if any person involved in the Wang Fuk Court engineering tender was found to have engaged in misconduct, there would be an appropriate occasion in the future for them to publicly respond to the allegations against them.
