Investigation finds that SOGO, the landmark department store in Causeway Bay, turned its 12th to 16th floors from an office space into a shopping area without authorisation, resulting in fire safety concerns.
SOGO in Causeway Bay is suspected of exploiting a legal loophole by registering a club license for its 11th to 16th floors, while the ‘members only’ policy required by the license had not been followed for years, FactWire finds.
FactWire’s investigation confirms that a raid was conducted on March 19 at an unlicensed massage parlour in Wan Chai which rumours say is where the Director of National Security was found, suggesting that the top officer might have been visiting an unlicensed, sexual massage parlour on a working Friday afternoon.
The amount of rebars actually used in the construction work under Contract 1112 in the Shatin to Central Link project outweighed what was estimated in the contract by about 8,000 tonnes, from the Highways Department’s response following FactWire’s detailed inquiry on the matter.
The Highways Department replied to FactWire last Thursday that, according to an assessment by the MTR consultancy, approximately 260,000 couplers were actually used for the Hung Hom extension works of the Shatin to Central Link project under Contract 1112. This is 44% more than 179,925, the amount originally specified in the contract.
FactWire found that public entries accounted for less than half of all the visitors to the disciplinary forces training schools open day held last week, in support of the National Security Education Day on April 15, 2021.
FactWire found that the government’s prosecution against the scandal-plagued Shatin to Central Link project’s main contractor concerns only a plant room of approximately 200 square feet, without mentioning the other exposed problems regarding rebars and coupler connections.
The number of completed nano flats soared to nearly a thousand last year, the highest in history. FactWire’s investigation found that the surge in nano flat construction was related to the loosening of lighting and ventilation regulations of open kitchens.
Frozen meat smuggling to Mainland China remains frequent despite multiple operations conducted by customs and marine police this year. According to FactWire’s investigation, smuggling syndicates operate daily. At least 26 local barges are involved. On average, more than ten are suspected to be smuggling over 600 tonnes of frozen meat every day, more than the amount that customs and marine police have seized in the past three months.
The police said they arrested 52 people at Prince Edward Station on 31 August. FactWire interviewed 47 of them and reconstructed the situation at the station based on their accounts. Investigations revealed that aside from the arrestees who were taken to Lai Chi Kok by a special train, there were also arrested people taken away by police vans directly from Prince Edward station.
After 8.31 Prince Edward Incident, many people suspect that someone died in the station because of the discrepancy in the injuries and the closure of the subway station for more than 30 hours afterward. FactWire got in touch with 47 of the arrestees from that night to reconstruct the chaotic situation in the subway station.
Hong Kong police were seen idly walking in Sham Shui Po before they approached and arrested student leader Keith Fong for suspicion of possessing offensive weapons after he bought laser pointers, security camera footage obtained by FactWire has revealed.
Police fired at least 10 rounds of rubber bullets without warning at anti-extradition bill protesters outside Hong Kong’s legislature on June 12, despite claiming that only “a few rounds” were used.
In an audio recording leaked to FactWire, an HKT manager is heard admitting that some offices in Ngau Tau Kok Engineering Centre were knowingly operating in violation of lease conditions, before telling her staff to remove incriminating items ahead of a visit yesterday by Lands Department officers
CCTV footage has emerged of the moment a suspicious fire broke out and ripped through a dock and a boat at the Nam Sang Wai wetland in early April, following a spate of suspected arson attacks targeted at the conservation area in Yuen Long, New Territories
In the aftermath of the deadliest bus crash in recent Hong Kong history, bus drivers continue to face low pay and long hours, with ever increasing pressure on their shoulders
A Hong Kong kindergarten attended by a five-year-old who reportedly died after being found unconscious at home was aware of multiple bruises suffered by the girl months before her tragic death, according to photos taken by teachers and obtained by FactWire
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