Hong Kong's ICAC received 1.5 times more corruption complaints about building renovations in early 2024 vs. last year, following public concern over bid-rigging after a fatal fire. The ICAC has doubled investigators to 100.
Hong Kong's ICAC received 1.5 times more corruption complaints about building renovations in early 2026 vs. last year, following public concern after the Wang Fuk Court fire. The ICAC doubled investigators to 100.
Hong Kong authorities have charged seven individuals and two companies with manslaughter and other offenses, including fraud and tax evasion, over the deadly Wang Fuk Court fire that killed 168 people last year. The charges stem from a major renovation project of the public housing estate.
Compensation for Wang Fuk Court fire victims depends on proving negligence in the independent investigation; government assures buy-back scheme doesn't waive civil claim rights.
Stories filled with tragic bravery, outrage at heedless officials and horror as loved ones perished were among those shared by 24 residents of the fire-ravaged Wang Fuk Court estate, as they testified at a public hearing investigating Hong Kong’s deadliest blaze in decades. Over multiple sessions that began on March 19, some told the presiding committee how their repeated efforts to raise bid-rigging and safety concerns about the estate’s exterior renovation fell on deaf ears, well before the...
The Hong Kong government is confident that at least 75% of homeowners in Wang Chi House – the only block unscathed in the Wang Fuk Court fire – will accept its buy-back package by end of June. Deputy Financial Secretary Michael Wong Wai-lun said 77% of owners have expressed initial interest in selling their property rights. The offer requires 75% of owners to sign an official letter of acceptance by June 30 and agreement for sale and purchase by October 15.
Official data reveals that 45% of fire-fighting system shutdown notices in Hong Kong over the past two years involved renovation projects exceeding the new two-month limit. Of 12,558 notices issued in 2024-2025, 5,674 lasted more than two months, 2,663 extended beyond six months, and 44 lasted over a year. The tightened regulations were introduced after the deadly Wang Fuk Court fire in Tai Po last November.
This story has been made freely available as a public service to our readers. Please consider supporting SCMP’s journalism by subscribing. An independent committee investigating Hong Kong’s deadly Wang Fuk Court fire will scrutinise the roles of building and home affairs authorities on the 20th day of evidential hearings. Four witnesses from the Buildings Department and the Home Affairs Department are scheduled to give evidence before the judge-led panel on Monday. The inferno broke out on...
An independent committee investigating the deadly Wang Fuk Court fire in Tai Po will examine the roles of the Buildings Department and Home Affairs Department on the 20th day of hearings. Four witnesses from these departments are scheduled to testify. The November 26 fire killed 168 people and displaced nearly 5,000 residents. The inquiry has heard that multiple government departments referred fire risk complaints to each other rather than addressing them.
An independent committee investigating the deadly Wang Fuk Court fire in Tai Po, Hong Kong, will hear testimony from four witnesses from the Buildings Department and Home Affairs Department on the 20th day of evidential hearings. The November 2025 blaze killed 168 people and displaced nearly 5,000 residents. The inquiry is examining jurisdictional failures between government departments that allegedly referred fire risk complaints to each other instead of addressing them.
This story has been made freely available as a public service to our readers. Please consider supporting SCMP’s journalism by subscribing. An independent committee investigating Hong Kong’s deadly Wang Fuk Court fire will scrutinise the roles of building and home affairs authorities on the 20th day of evidential hearings. Four witnesses from the Buildings Department and the Home Affairs Department are scheduled to give evidence before the judge-led panel on Monday. The inferno broke out on...
Three Fire Services Department officers are testifying before a judge-led independent committee investigating the Wang Fuk Court fire that killed 168 people on November 26, 2025. Assistant director Michael Yung Kam-hung admitted the division of labour between the fire service and building authorities was not stipulated in written documents, calling the unclear duties among frontline staff "unacceptable". The blaze engulfed seven of eight buildings undergoing renovation in Tai Po, Hong Kong's deadliest fire since 1948.
Four Hong Kong fire department officers testified before an independent committee investigating the Wang Fuk Court fire that killed 168 people on November 26, 2025. The inquiry revealed that scaffolding nets installed after September 2025 were allegedly non-fire-retardant, while a Labour Department officer admitted authorities did not notice a fire retardancy report was dated July 2024 despite being a resubmission from the previous year. The deadliest blaze since 1948 also displaced about 5,000 residents and destroyed seven of eight buildings.
Four Hong Kong fire department officers testified Wednesday before an independent committee investigating the Wang Fuk Court fire that killed 168 people on November 26 last year. The blaze, the city's deadliest since 1948, destroyed seven of eight buildings and displaced 5,000 residents. Testimony revealed a conflict between worker safety laws prohibiting scaffolding climbing and fire risks, with movable boards installed in emergency staircases replacing fireproof windows and causing smoke to fill exits. A Labour Department officer also admitted authorities failed to notice a contractor resubmitted an outdated fire retardancy report dated July 2024.
This story has been made freely available as a public service to our readers. Please consider supporting SCMP’s journalism by subscribing. Four officers from Hong Kong’s fire department are testifying on Wednesday before an independent committee investigating the Wang Fuk Court fire, as hearings enter their 17th day. The conflagration, which broke out on November 26 last year amid a major renovation, claimed 168 lives, displaced about 5,000 residents and destroyed seven of the estate’s eight...
Four Hong Kong fire department officers testified Wednesday at an independent committee investigating the Wang Fuk Court fire that killed 168 people on November 26 last year. The inquiry heard evidence of conflicts between worker safety regulations requiring movable boards in emergency staircases—which replaced fireproof windows and allowed smoke to fill exits—and potential failures by the Labour Department to verify fire retardancy reports from contractor Prestige Construction and Engineering.
The 15th day of public hearings into the Wang Fuk Court fire tragedy heard testimony about proxy voting irregularities and failed fire safety oversight. Witness Kong Cheung-fat alleged the new owners' corporation leadership failed to address proxy ballot problems, and that his vice-chairman election was rigged. The fire killed 168 people in November and is the deadliest in Hong Kong since 1948.
The 15th day of public hearings into the deadly Wang Fuk Court fire heard testimony about proxy ballot manipulation and fire safety failures. Witness Kong Cheung-fat alleged election rigging and detailed how the owners' corporation failed to oversee renovation contractor Prestige Construction, which used flammable materials despite warnings. The November 2023 fire killed 168 people and left nearly 5,000 homeless.
