XN000022-1996-12-17 — Page 2

- 1 -

Governor appoints Commissioner of Inquiry

The Governor in Council has appointed the Honourable Mr Justice Woo Kwok- hing as the Commissioner of Inquiry to conduct an independent inquiry into the No. 5 alarm fire at Garley Building, Yau Ma Tei on November 20 this year.

A Government spokesman said today (Tuesday) that an independent inquiry chaired by a judge was appropriate and commensurate with the scale of the disaster and the public concern over the incident.

"The establishment of an independent Commission of Inquiry does not reflect a lack of confidence in the professional emergency response by departments, or on the various investigations undertaken by them," he added.

To be set up under the Commissions of Inquiry Ordinance, the terms of reference of the inquiry are:

To inquire into the causes of the fire and the circumstances leading to the Garley Building tragedy;

To consider the response of the emergency services to the fire, and to advise on the adequacy and the co-ordination of that response; and

To make recommendations as to the action needed to prevent such a tragedy from happening again.

"The Commissioner will prepare an interim report to the Governor within six months, covering the cause of the fire and the scale of casualties; and to submit a final report within one year," the spokesman said.

"Subject to any advice that the Commissioner may have, both reports are expected to be made public."

47

End