Bid-rigging isn't new. Hong Kong must revisit old complaints

Feel strongly about these letters, or any other aspects of the news? Share your views by emailing us your Letter to the Editor at letters@scmp.com or filling in this Google form . Submissions should not exceed 400 words. The fire at Wang Fuk Court in Tai Po, which claimed 168 lives, exposed a system in which flat owners – the people who pay for and live with the consequences of building renovation decisions – are practically powerless. One question deserves an answer: why did it take a tragedy to force the authorities to act? Owners across Hong Kong have filed complaints about rigged tenders and suspicious contracts for years, but little happened. Yet within months of the fire, investigations were launched. The obvious inference is that such malpractice is widespread, but extraordinarily difficult to prove. Collusion leaves few fingerprints – bids can be steered through consultant specifications, tender evaluations and proxy-stacked meetings that all look legitimate on paper. If malpractice only surfaces after a catastrophe, enforcement is reactive. That must change. Investigations and prosecutions should be standing practice, not post-tragedy theatre. I therefore urge the government and the Independent Commission Against Corruption to revisit complaints lodged by owners over the past 20 years concerning large-scale renovation projects.