Mong Kok blaze stall moved energy meter
Vendor brought box inside without telling supplier and did not have safety certificate
The most severely destroyed hawker stall in the 2011 Mong Kok inferno had relocated its electricity box without telling the city's largest energy supplier.
Ma Tat-man, a partner in the stall, told the Coroner's Court he had instructed an electrician to move the box from outside to inside the building five years ago.
The businessman did not know if the electrician was certified, and confirmed he had not issued a certificate to warrant the box's safety.
Ma had moved the electricity box, including a meter and wiring, inside to stop rain or water from air-conditioning systems dripping onto the unit.
CLP Holdings reinstalled the box outside Ma's store after the deadly blaze in November 2011 ripped through street hawkers' stalls and a walk-up building at 192 and 194 Fa Yuen Street, claiming nine lives.
Government counsel Simon Tam Man-fai questioned why Ma had not asked the energy supplier to place the box inside the stall after the fire. Ma suggested the outdoors position had been picked for safety reasons.
He said: "[The position] should be something ... related to safety [matters]." Tam asked: "Is it unsafe to place it inside?" To which Ma replied: "I don't know ... [The reinstallation] was taken charge of by CPL Holdings."