Hong Kong housing secretary resigns over deadly Tai Po fire

HONG KONG: Hong Kong's housing secretary Winnie Ho has resigned over a fire in Tai Po that killed 168 people in November last year. 

Hong Kong leader John Lee announced this on (Oct 29), as he apologised for the deadly blaze and promised extensive reforms to its building industry and regulatory system.

Lee was speaking shortly before he was due to release a lengthy report by the judge-led panel that is expected to detail a series of regulatory and supervisory failings in Hong Kong's building-renovation system.

Ho was the first official to resign over the inferno. 

Lee also said that four government bodies bore partial responsibility.

The Hong Kong government, after receiving the committee's report last week, is expected to decide which individuals and officials, if any, should be held accountable, as well as outlining disciplinary actions and a reform plan.

The blaze that ripped through seven 31-storey tower blocks at the Wang Fuk Court residential complex, which was undergoing renovation work in the northern Tai Po district, was the deadliest in the city since 1948. Thousands of residents were displaced after their homes became uninhabitable.

This is a developing story.