Dengaran Hongfu Yuan | Perwakilan Dewan Pembangunan Kota: Hanya Peran Pendorong, Tidak Setuju dengan Tuduhan Tidak Menjalankan Tugas dengan Baik

Big Palm Fook Court Fire Independent Committee held its third hearing today. Senior barrister representing the Urban Renewal Authority, Lu Shijie, stated during his speech that in the scope of building maintenance and repair, the Urban Renewal Authority has always played the role of a “facilitator.” He disagreed with the committee’s lawyer’s view that the Urban Renewal Authority “accepts everything as is,” and believed it is unfair to imply or suggest that the Authority has not fulfilled its duties.

Noticing illegal manipulation of tenders

Lu Shijie pointed out that in the early years, during the process of assisting owners to organize repairs, he noticed that some illegal individuals manipulated the tender process, such as only certain contractors receiving tender documents, and after the bid closing, forcing out interested bidders. More seriously, there were cases of tampering with the opening and evaluation results.

Lu Shijie said that the Urban Renewal Authority has limited knowledge about the recruitment of consultant Hong Yi for the Hong Fu Court repair project, as the Authority did not directly engage Hong Yi through a tender process. The Authority cannot interfere with the owners’ tender process and does not participate directly in repair works. He emphasized that the Authority’s financial and human resources framework does not reserve personnel for building maintenance.

Regarding strengthening the “tendering” service, Lu Shijie indicated that the Authority is now working with the government to finalize implementation details, and the actual measures will be announced in due course. He stressed that no system can be foolproof, and even an enhanced version of “tendering” may not completely prevent bid-rigging.

Property management electrician claims to have turned off fire pump main switch

Lawyer Xu Weiqiang of Zhibang Xingye Limited (ISS), representing the management company, stated that two employees from the Hong Fu Court engineering department assisted the main contractor “Hong Ye” in the fire pump room drainage project. One electrician admitted that during the drainage work in the fire pump room, he turned off the fire pump main switch. He will personally explain the situation to the committee at the hearing.