I am most interested in the tragic situation here with regard to whether or not there was a Strata Manager for the building and their what their responsibilities might have been.
I am definitely NOT saying a Strata Manager or Executive Committee or indeed Owners Corporation may have been negligent here. But I AM saying the old disclaimer: strata managers “can only act as instructed by the owners corp and their elected representatives” is starting to sound very hollow. As does: “This building was marketed heavily to the Chinese community and owners may have had limited appreciation of what their rights and responsibilities were.”
Surely an ‘expert’, such as a Strata Manager, should make sure certain things are done and in place and frankly it’s time, since some make a ton of money (if they weren’t, why is one getting so huge and ‘acquiring’ a lot of others), to stand up and stop wriggling out of the responsibilities they surely must have instead of taking the money and running, absolving themselves of responsibility by saying we can only do what we’re instructed to do.