A judge-led panel investigating the deadly Wang Fuk Court fire continued to hear testimony from various parties while new power bank rules for air passengers surprised some. Here are some of the top stories covered by the City desk this week.

In today’s edition:

• Fire alarms deactivated

   

• Limits on power banks

   

• 14 jailed over school bribes

Fire alarms deactivated

An independent committee investigating the Tai Po inferno that claimed 168 lives last November has been hearing disturbing details about the disaster at Wang Fuk Court and harrowing accounts from survivors.

The judge-led panel was told that fire alarm and fire hose pump systems were found to have been switched off at the estate, which was being renovated, a week before tragedy struck – with no action taken to reactivate them.

The panel also called on the public to provide information on whether systemic problems, such as collusion, occurred in building maintenance works elsewhere and whether the tendering process involved bid rigging.

Limits on power banks

A new rule limiting departing air passengers to no more than two power banks appears to have caught many off guard. Some flying out of Hong Kong on Sunday, the first day of enforcement, said they were unaware of the restriction, with few reminder notices visible at the airport.

Hong Kong International Airport announced the measure the previous night. The airport’s operator, citing new regulations from the International Civil Aviation Organization and Hong Kong’s Civil Aviation Department, said the global body introduced the requirements to address emerging safety risks posed by lithium battery power banks on aircraft.

14 jailed over school bribes

The District Court sentenced 13 parents and a middleman to up to 14 months in jail for offering bribes ranging from HK$20,000 to HK$200,000 to a kindergarten administrator at the English Schools Foundation (ESF) in exchange for admission.

Some of the defendants earlier pinned the blame on ex-ESF worker Fatima Rumjahn, accusing her of “taking advantage of the parents’ eagerness to get their children into school” and “luring them” into bribing her. Rumjahn handled admission applications at ESF Wu Kai Sha International Kindergarten from 2018 to 2021.

Stressing that bribery was a serious offence, the judge slammed the defendants for “depriving others of a fair chance” to attend the school.

You can read these stories and more at SCMP.com.

Politics

• New constitutional affairs chief Janice Tse to lead Hong Kong’s first 5-year plan

   

• Errors in Hong Kong Tai Po blaze hearing transcript raise transparency concerns

   

• Singapore’s Lawrence Wong meets tycoons, leaders as he wraps up Hong Kong visit

   

• Beijing summons US envoy in Hong Kong over alert on national security law changes

   

• University town to be fast-tracked, Eric Chan says after mainland China visit

Society

• Is it time to call an end to Hong Kong’s boar war?

   

• Tai Po fire survivors mourn heroine who alerted neighbours to flames

   

• ‘Like a horror movie’: Hongkonger rescued after forced labour ordeal in Myanmar

   

• Revamped transport fare scheme triggers concerns about cost for working elderly

   

• Hong Kong to impose 2‑tier penalty for carrying vapes in public from April 30

Law and crime

• ICAC arrests 10 over using triad links to win HK$160 million renovation project

   

• Hong Kong trade office manager in London denies running spy network

   

• Knife-wielding man shot by Hong Kong police dies after 10 days in critical condition

   

• Hong Kong woman loses HK$2.5 million in online collagen drinks scam

   

• Hong Kong man gets 22 months in jail for pregnant woman’s death in truck accident

Economy

• Hong Kong weighs tougher enforcement against illegal fuel sales as prices soar

   

• Hong Kong retail sales jump nearly 12% in first 2 months of year

   

• Hong Kong investment chief joins global board in first for Chinese sovereign funds

   

• HKTVmall parent firm under fire for testing how long detached animal heads can survive

   

• Crowds pack Hong Kong airport, West Kowloon station at start of Easter holiday

3 things to do this weekend

- Curated by Kevin Kwong and Enid Tsui from our Culture desk

• Easter food highlights from Sunday lunch to hot cross doughnuts

   

• Where are the best swings? Ask the man who has tested over 200 sets 

   

• Gold by Serakai Studio’s new exhibition, ‘Certainly’, leans into unpredictability