Factory blaze victims shunned

Victims of a Shenzhen factory fire which killed 16 people 12 days ago have yet to receive compensation from either the Government or the owner of the plant, according to an SAR-based group.

The Hong Kong Christian Industrial Committee sent a five-member investigative team to the Bo'an Shajing district, where the fire destroyed the Taiwanese-funded Zhimao Electronics factory.

Earlier reports said the Government and company would each set aside five million yuan (HK$4.6 million) for compensation.

But committee member Alice Kwan Ming-wai said yesterday: 'Families of the dead and the wounded in the hospital still have not heard from the Shenzhen Government or the factory.' The team was told by survivors and workers from the plant's sister factory that several more people had died or been injured in the blaze than had been announced.

Among the dead were two teenage sisters, about 15 and 17, who had started just two days before the tragedy.

The committee said the firm had underpaid and overworked its staff, subjecting them to a crowded and dangerous working environment.