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there's history here, i won't list it all. but when the "Six Streets Area" was razed and turned into the Prosperous Gardens housing estate, that was a declaration by the HK authorities that they were in play for, shall we say, control, of that area, with, it is understood, other factions.
the LCSD (Leisure Cultural Service Dept) had little success, so after 20 years or so they formed the Urban Renewal Authority (URA). the biggest change in Mongkok has been Langham Place, which took about 15 years to build. it changed the neighborhood.
certain factions are still operating certain trades there, people say. could it be that the 141-hobby is one of them?
as for the fire, the article in today's SCMP explains some of the details as far as is currently known. i think HappyRabbit is likely on track with his comments, but what factions are doing what...i can't speculate. i do think that literally playing with fire in an area that crowded is criminal, and i can't fathom anyone who wd want to see people actually succumb in such an incident. it's ghastly. you'll note the article lists one "of the dead as a woman, Chen Xianxian, 24"...that's a mainland name, is it not. she was 24. this whole thing is just horrible:
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Arson probe as inferno kills 9
Police investigating fire that started in hawker stalls and tore through buildings - leaving another 34 injured, including an 11-month-old baby - confirm it is being treated as suspicious
Clifford Lo, Simpson Cheung, Jennifer Ngo and Lo Wei
Dec 01, 2011
Police investigating a suspected arson attack that left nine dead and 34 injured when fire tore through a Mong Kok street appealed to the public for information last night.
The nine bodies were found on the staircase of a building numbered 192 and 194 Fa Yuen Street.
Six of the deaths were confirmed by paramedics at the scene and the other three were declared dead in Kwong Wah Hospital.
A total of 44 fire engines and 210 firefighters were sent to tackle the blaze, with 26 ambulances called.
One of those injured in the blaze, which broke out early yesterday after hawker stalls caught fire, was an 11-month-old baby.
Anna Tsang Yim-sheung, police deputy district commander for Mong Kok, confirmed the blaze, the city's deadliest for 15 years, was being treated as suspicious.
She said: "We will consider all the clues. This is a very serious offence. We will try our best and use all our resources to investigate the crime."
Suspicions were raised when it was discovered that two booths at the opposite ends of Fa Yuen Street had caught fire simultaneously.
One police officer said inquiries also revealed there had been an argument in the street. He added: "We are investigating whether it [the argument] is linked to the arson case."
It is the second fire in Fa Yuen Street in a year. Last December, stalls caught fire leaving six injured and leading to the evacuation of 200 residents. Police last night named three of the dead as a woman, Chen Xianxian, 24, and two men, Choi Wai-ming, 51, and Ng Kui-mau, 63.
A fire officer who discovered some of the bodies said: "They were blackened, either from severe burns or because they were coated with black smoke." He said it appeared most died from smoke inhalation.
Along with the baby, 16 men and 17 women aged 20 to 75 were injured, of whom five are in critical condition.
The fire broke out at 4.40am and was under control at 11.11am. It was largely extinguished at 12.28 pm by 12 teams of firefighters equipped with breathing apparatus.
Kowloon's acting chief fire officer, Szeto Yat-san, said: "When we arrived, the fire was very serious. Over 30 residents called for help.
"We had to deploy some of the officers for a rescue operation. We needed a large number of colleagues in a short period of time, so we upgraded the fire alarm to category three and four afterwards."
He added: "We need to investigate why so many casualties were caused by the fire."
The death toll is the worst since the handover. It is exceeded only by the Garley Building fire in Jordan in 1996, which left 41 dead and 81 injured, and the January 1997 arson attack on Top One Karaoke in Tsim Sha Tsui, in which 17 died and 13 were injured. Official documents filed with the Land Registrar show that in June last year, inspectors declared that buildings in Fa Yuen Street through which the fire swept were "liable to become dangerous".
The owners were ordered to carry out repairs and maintenance by December but the records do not state if the work, on 188 and 196 Fa Yuen Street, was carried out.
Fourteen of the injured, including the baby, went to Kwong Wah Hospital, with 13 going to Queen Elizabeth Hospital and others to the Princess Margaret and Queen Mary hospitals.
Edward Leung Wai-kuen, vice-chairman of Yau Tsim Mong District Council, said poor building management had increased fire hazards in the neighbourhood, with many blocks in Fa Yuen Street lacking fire doors and security guards.
"If they had hired a guard to monitor safety, the number of deaths could have been reduced," he said.
Chief Executive Donald Tsang Yam-kuen expressed sadness and shock after visiting some of the injured in Kwong Wah Hospital.
He said: "Last year there was a fire in Fa Yuen Street. It was discussed in the district council.
"We have taken measures to separate the booths from the residential blocks. We have also restricted the amount of stock stored [in stalls] and expansion [of stalls].
"We have done all these things. But apparently they are not enough. We need to review these measures to prevent any similar incidents."
A government spokesman said Tsang had directed the chief secretary to lead an inter-departmental working group to co-ordinate efforts after the fire, including the provision of relief to affected families as well as actions to enhance public safety.
Secretary for Security Ambrose Lee Siu-kwong expressed sympathy to the victims' families after visiting the scene with Director of Fire Services Andy Chan Chor-kam.
Police want anyone with information to contact them on 9022 0072.
[ Last edited by JackTheBat at 2-12-2011 00:20 ]
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