Photo of labourer smoking on scaffolding triggers anger after Tai Po blaze

Social media post shows construction worker smoking on bamboo scaffolding at residential building, prompting calls for company to act

An image of a Hong Kong construction worker smoking a cigarette while on bamboo scaffolding at a residential building has prompted outrage among internet users, who have drawn comparisons with the suspected cause of the city’s deadliest fire in decades.

An image shared on a Facebook page called the Shau Kei Wan Sai Wan Ho Concern Group showed a worker smoking a cigarette while standing on scaffolding erected around what was identified as Tai On Building.

A second worker in the same photo can be seen wearing a hard hat with the name of a local scaffolding company and its phone number shown.

The South China Morning Post has contacted the company for comment.

“This is a matter of life and death; this person’s licence should be revoked,” one user wrote.

“Take note before this becomes a Wang Fuk 2.0,” another wrote, referring to the Tai Po fire, which killed 168 people last year.