Charges for Deadly Fire
Hong Kong Charges 7, Two Firms with Manslaughter After Deadly Wang Fuk Court Blaze
Anonymous
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At a Wednesday press conference, Senior Superintendent Basil Tang said the “firms and individuals responsible for the Wang Fuk Court renovation project failed in their duty of care and displayed gross negligence” in supervising construction materials and engineering protocols.
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Prosecutors’ bid-rigging allegations include claims that Will Power director Wong Hap-yin “conspired” with Prestige directors to “conceal litigation records and inflate tender scoring in a bid analysis,” which investigators say enabled Prestige to secure an estimated HK$300 million contract.
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SCMP reported that Hau Wa-kin (a Prestige director), who was charged with conspiracy to defraud, was released on bail set at HK$500,000.
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Bastille Post said the government described the post-fire response as the “largest joint investigation task force in recent years,” with investigations carried out within six months and involving arrests of 35 people to date.
Hong Kong police and the ICAC charged seven people and two firms with 25 offences on Wednesday over the Wang Fuk Court fire — the deadliest blaze in the city in decades. The November 2025 inferno killed 168 people and tore through seven of eight 31-storey towers in Tai Po over 43 hours. ITV reported that charges include manslaughter, conspiracy to defraud, money laundering, and attempting to pervert the course of justice.
The case centres on a government-subsidised renovation worth HK$336 million. Prosecutors allege that the two firms hired to run the project cut corners on fire safety — and then tried to cover their tracks. Senior Superintendent Basil Tang said the firms and individuals involved "failed in their duty of care and displayed gross negligence" in supervising materials and engineering work.
Flammable Materials Turned Seven Towers Into a Tinderbox
Will Power Architects served as project consultant. Prestige Construction & Engineering carried out the work. According to SCMP, investigators say both firms allowed workers to wrap the buildings in non-flame-retardant netting and polystyrene foam boards. That created what fire experts called a "continuous fuel bed" around the towers. A narrow 0.5-metre scaffolding gap created a chimney effect, letting fire spread at up to two metres per second.
Residents had warned authorities months before the fire. CNA reported that multiple complaints were filed with the Housing Department in September and October 2025 about workers smoking on-site and flammable green safety nets. Those reports went unresolved. The fire broke out on November 26, 2025, at 14:51 local time. It was not put out until 43 hours and 27 minutes later.
Bid-Rigging Scheme Helped Prestige Win the HK$336 Million Contract
The ICAC alleges the corruption started well before construction. Will Power director Wong Hap-yin allegedly conspired with Prestige directors to falsify bid analysis reports. The goal, prosecutors say, was to inflate Prestige's tender scores and hide the firm's 2023 convictions for safety offences. That scheme, if proven, helped Prestige secure the HK$336 million contract despite a troubled record, SCMP reported.
After the fire, authorities say the cover-up continued. Will Power director Ng Yeuk allegedly backdated renovation forms and signed off on fraudulent safety reports. A friend of Wong's, Hung Kwok-wai, is accused of helping backdate documents to obstruct the investigation. Wong's wife, Chung So-fan, faces two counts of money laundering involving roughly HK$40 million, according to China Daily.
Seven Named Defendants Face Charges Ranging From Manslaughter to Tax Evasion
Three directors — Wong Hap-yin of Will Power and Ho Kin-yip of Prestige, plus Will Power's Ng Yeuk — face manslaughter charges alongside the two companies themselves. Prestige director Hau Wa-kin was charged with conspiracy to defraud and released on bail set at HK$500,000, SCMP reported. ICAC Principal Investigator Hazel Law said the defendants acted "in self-interest with complete disregard for the safety of residents' lives."
Court documents also revealed the full list of the 168 people killed. Among the dead were one firefighter and ten foreign domestic workers. One Indonesian worker, Sri Wuni, died while shielding her 93-year-old employer. The disaster is Hong Kong's deadliest fire since the 1948 Wing On warehouse blaze, which killed 176 people.
Largest Joint Investigation in Years Led to 35 Arrests in Six Months
Bastille Post reported that the government described the probe as the "largest joint investigation task force in recent years." Police and ICAC worked together and made 35 arrests in total. The seven charged on Wednesday appeared at West Kowloon Court on June 10, 2026 — less than seven months after the fire broke out.
The disaster has already changed Hong Kong policy. Chief Executive John Lee ordered a shift from bamboo to metal scaffolding for all public works the day after the fire. The government also set up a HK$120 million support fund for the roughly 5,000 residents displaced by the blaze. Legal experts say the manslaughter charges against corporate directors mark a major step in holding firms accountable for industrial negligence in the city.
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