Tuen Mun's Elegance Gardens cancels owners' meeting after ICAC notice; consultant firm members reportedly arrested

The joint task force set up to combat bid-rigging in building maintenance and renovation projects carried out its first operation on Friday, dismantling an alleged triad-controlled bid-rigging syndicate and arresting 28 people.

Elegance Gardens in Tuen Mun, which had been due to hold a special owners' meeting on Friday night to select a new contractor for major repairs, was forced to cancel and postpone the meeting after receiving an urgent notice from the Independent Commission Against Corruption and law enforcement agencies. Sources said members of the maintenance consultant firm Far East Consulting Engineers were among those arrested by police and the ICAC.

Scaffolding up for over a year as unfinished works hit fresh bid-rigging concerns

The major repairs at Elegance Gardens have been mired in controversy. The estate only formally terminated its contract with Prestige Construction & Engineering, the contractor involved in the Wang Fuk Court fire, earlier this year, but works on the three blocks remain unfinished, with scaffolding erected for more than a year and work at a standstill.

The estate recently re-tendered the remaining works and received bids from 24 contractors. The owners' meeting was due to vote on the final selection on Friday night before the suspected bid-rigging infiltration came to light. The owners' corporation issued an emergency notice on Friday afternoon saying it had been notified by law enforcement that, given the arrests of those in charge of maintenance-related companies, the meeting was cancelled with alternative arrangements to follow.

Secretary for Security Chris Tang said at a press conference on Friday that the joint task force operation involved directors and staff of at least six contractors and 10 consultant firms. He said the government would not disclose the full list of affected buildings and estates for confidentiality and to avoid disrupting follow-up operations, but would notify the relevant owners' corporations individually.

𝗗𝗼𝘄𝗻𝗹𝗼𝗮𝗱 𝗧𝗵𝗲 𝗦𝘁𝗮𝗻𝗱𝗮𝗿𝗱 𝗔𝗽𝗽 ↓