XN000022-1996-11-21 — Page 9

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Miss Margaret Ng: Mr President, I would respectfully join the Governor in his appeal to the community not to intrude into the grief of the families of these fire victims. However, I am also concerned that because this is a commercial building and people caught in it are working wage-earners, and therefore I am concerned that these families may be in some immediate financial worries. Has the administration been doing anything to make discreet enquiries as to whether... might be brought to the families of these victims, the families concerned?

Governor: Can I thank the honourable lady for the first remark that she made which I am sure the whole Council would endorse and which I hope will be taken account of by everyone in the community, by all sections of the community, over the coming days and weeks. It is an important issue. I am not going to be any more specific than that but I hope people will take what I have said and what the honourable lady has said to heart.

Secondly, she is entirely right about the importance of not only counselling in providing psychological support but also counselling in offering financial support if it is required. A package of assistance is available from emergency relief funds including: injury grant, disability grant, burial grant and death gratuity. We can also provide assistance to families in need with child-care. So there is a range of financial support which is available and I can assure the honourable lady that we will be going into a little more detail about that in the press conference that will be held at 4 o'clock.

I think there is a real problem in any community when a tragedy like this happens and it is a problem which I have discussed today with the Chief Secretary, and that is how you make sure that the relatives of those who may have been injured or killed, who may have a family member missing, are kept as informed as possible in circumstances where information is partial, is not complete and is changing all the time as you learn more about a tragedy which has taken place. It is very difficult to get it right but we have to try even harder than we are at the moment.

Dr Leong Che-hung: ... in grief, just like you, by what has happened in Garley Building yesterday, and I am sure all members of this Council would join with you and also be very appreciative of your concern for not only the victims but also the staff that have been working very hard to do their best. What we should really be looking for is lessons that can be learned so that, hopefully, such accidents or incident won't happen again.