Hong Kong Buildings Department files 259 charges over Wang Fuk Court fire

Hong Kong’s Buildings Department has filed 259 charges against two companies and four individuals over major renovation works at the inferno-ravaged Wang Fuk Court, after investigations found non-fire-retardant materials were used and safety obligations were not met.

The department said on Wednesday that the charges included allegedly permitting or authorising the use of substandard materials or materials in breach of the Buildings Ordinance, as well as failing to properly supervise repair works, among other offences.

The two companies charged are the project’s consulting firm, Will Power Architects, and main contractor, Prestige Construction & Engineering.

The four individuals are Will Power director Wong Hap-yin and registered inspector Ng Yeuk, together with Prestige directors Ho Kin-yip and Hau Wa-kin.

In June, both firms, the four individuals and three others were already charged by police and the Independent Commission Against Corruption with offences including manslaughter, conspiracy to defraud, money laundering, attempting to pervert the course of public justice and tax evasion.

The Labour Department also laid 25 charges on Wednesday against related parties – the contractor, the project consultant and an individual – under the Factories and Industrial Undertakings Ordinance, in connection with the deaths of five contractors’ staff during the fire.

A Buildings Department spokesman said the department and the Housing Bureau’s Independent Review Committee “spared no effort in investigating the major renovation works involved” following the Wang Fuk Court blaze.