Ex-Bar head Victor Dawes named lead counsel in deadly Hong Kong fire inquiry

byVerified News Online

AdvertisementHong Kong societyHong KongSocietyEx-Bar head Victor Dawes named lead counsel in deadly Hong Kong fire inquiry

Dawes topped list of five lawyers appointed as counsel for Independent Committee probing Tai Po fire, according to document seen by the Post

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The fire broke out on November 26, raging for about 43 hours and engulfing seven of Wang Fuk Court’s eight blocks. Photo: Elson Li

Connor MycroftVictor Dawes, former chairman of the Hong Kong Bar Association, has been appointed lead counsel to an independent committee investigating the city’s deadliest fire in decades, with the inquiry expected to begin in the first quarter, the Post has learned.

“Preparation work [for the hearing] has been under way at full force. The target is to start the hearing within the first quarter of this year,” a source said on Thursday.

According to a document seen by the Post, Dawes topped the list of the five lawyers appointed as counsel for the Independent Committee probing the fire at Wang Fuk Court in Tai Po.

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The letter, dated January 6, was signed by Judge David Lok Kai-hong, who was appointed in December to lead the committee set up by the government to investigate the deadly blaze.

Dawes, who served as chairman of the Bar Association from 2022 to 2025, is currently a senior counsel at Temple Chambers.

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Aside from Dawes, the other lawyers named in the document are S.W. Lee, Jason Yu, Brian Lee and Jonathan Fung.

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