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SCMP Reporters

This story has been made freely available as a public service to our readers. Please consider supporting SCMP’s journalism by subscribing.
A public evidential hearing into a devastating fire that engulfed a residential complex in Hong Kong and killed 168 people entered its second day on Friday.
Victor Dawes SC, lead barrister for an independent judge-led committee overseeing the hearing, continued his opening speech, a day after he cited a preliminary investigation report that the tragedy was likely to have been caused by cigarettes and outlined six identifiable causes.
They included the use of combustible scaffolding mesh, deactivation of the fire alarm system, removal of the fireproof windows at emergency staircases and turning off the fire hoses for months, exceeding the legal limit of 14 days.
Follow our live updates on the second day of the hearing.
Reporting by Brian Wong, Leopold Chen, Lo Hoi-ying and Theodora Yu
More from our coverage:
-Public hearing outlines 6 key failures behind Tai Po fire – as it happened
-Firefighter killed in Tai Po blaze may have entered wrong building, inquiry told
-Wang Fuk Court homeowners, residents to give evidence in fire probe
-Wang Fuk Court homeowners to petition Hong Kong’s John Lee for meeting


Day 2 of Tai Po fire hearing sheds light on potential corruption – as it happened

Deadly Tai Po fire revealed ‘unacceptable systemic failings’, inquiry hears

Firefighter killed in Tai Po blaze may have entered wrong building, inquiry told

Public hearing outlines 6 key failures behind Tai Po fire – as it happened

Hong Kong’s Tai Po fire tragedy

The fire at Wang Fuk Court last November killed 168 people. Photo: Eugene Lee

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Hong Kong

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Lead barrister for independent committee discusses potential corruption during tendering process, among other issues


Lead barrister for independent committee discusses potential corruption during tendering process, among other issues.


Hong Kong fires and safety

Hong Kong society

Accidents and personal safety in Hong Kong

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The blaze was likely to have been caused by cigarettes lighting flammable materials in a light well, Dawes said, citing a preliminary report from a cross-departmental government investigation panel.
He revealed that the Labour Department had inspected the site 16 times in response to smoking complaints, but noted that it never saw workers on scaffolding lighting up and ruled that all the cases “could not be justified”.
That was despite residents repeatedly capturing workers smoking on camera.



‘Cigarettes likely to have caused fire’

Victor Dawes on Thursday revealed that WhatsApp messages between contractors explicitly show that substandard scaffolding mesh was used.
He identified the view of the Housing Bureau’s Independent Checking Unit that there were no established fire retardancy testing standards, as well as the unit’s practice of flagging inspections in advance, as key failures related to the use of substandard scaffolding mesh.
Dawes also noted that the Labour Department failed to spot that the contractor had submitted an outdated fire retardancy report after it replaced netting damaged by a typhoon, swapping it for non-compliant mesh last year.
The report submitted by the contractor was the same as the one for its initial batch of mesh in 2024, he added.



Substandard mesh used

It was revealed on Thursday that Amanda Lau Ka-man, an officer with the Housing Bureau’s Independent Checking Unit, had informed project consultant Will Power a day in advance that an inspection of the site would take place on October 28 last year, and that the unit wished to check the quality of the scaffolding mesh.
In a WhatsApp message dated October 27, marked “confidential” in a group chat among contractor staff, workers were told to “check in advance which part of the mesh is compliant”.



Consultant tipped off about inspection

A firefighter killed while tackling the blaze might have gone into the wrong building before he died, the committee heard on Thursday.
Ho Wai-ho, 37, sent a “mayday” call after entering Wang Tai House while some of his equipment was found on the 31st floor of the building, Dawes said.
Dawes said he believed that Ho might have taken off the gear, broken several windows on the floor and tried to escape but fell and was found on the ground.
He said Ho had been called to a rescue on the 27th floor of Wang Cheong House, but might have gone to the wrong building amid the chaotic situation.



Firefighter may have fallen to death

Minutes into the second day of the hearing, some Wang Fuk Court residents and other parties involved queue up and enter the City Gallery in Central.
Meanwhile, at the Central Library’s lecture theatre in Causeway Bay, where a broadcast area had been set up, about 50 registered members of the public prepare to observe the meeting.
Concluding his speech on the first day, the committee’s leading counsel, Victor Dawes, said he would continue with the topic of polyfoam boards on the second day of the hearing.




Residents, officials prepare for second day of hearing

Committee chairman Justice David Lok Kai-hong says he is “concerned” about the extensive media coverage of the evidence presented, which has led some members of the public to believe that conclusions have already been drawn.
“The committee has not reached any final conclusions,” he says. “We must remain objective, fair and transparent.”
Lok adds that drawing conclusions before hearing the explanations of the parties under investigation would breach the committee’s principle of impartiality.
His remarks are echoed by counsel for the government, who urges the public to remain patient and allow the committee to conclude its investigation in accordance with proper procedures.



Committee chair warns against premature conclusions

The committee hears that the contractor, Prestige Construction and Engineering Co, had used non-retardant polyfoam boards to protect windows during the renovation process.
Citing evidence, Dawes says some residents had filed complaints in September 2024 about the large quantity of such materials stored in the estate to the Fire Services Department, which responded that the matter was “not an irregularity concerning the FSD”.
The following month, another complaint about the polyfoam boards was also lodged with the FSD, but it again replied that the issue was beyond its remit and advised the complainant to seek guidance from the Buildings Department.



Complaints about polyfoam boards ignored

The Housing Bureau’s Independent Checking Unit told residents who had filed complaints that the use of polyfoam boards was a temporary measure and did not amount to construction work, and was therefore not regulated under any established legislation.
In its reply, the unit also said the contractor was attempting to replace some polyfoam boards with fire-retardant ones, and advised the complainant to contact the contractor directly for future inquiries.
“However, the unit had never conducted a burning test on the new boards or even asked for a fire-retardance certificate,” Dawes says.
The unit had also carried out multiple inspections at Wang Fuk Court between November 2024 and June 2025, but, according to its written testimony, had not paid attention to the boards while handling other complaints.



No regulations over polyfoam boards: Housing Bureau

Dawes says the main switch for both the fire services pump and the fire alarm system had been shut down as the estate was undergoing water tank maintenance.
To legally do so, contractor Victory Fire Engineering, like all fire services providers, needed to serve a shutdown notice to the Fire Services Department every 14 days.
Dawes says the whole system had been suspended for more than half a year by the time of the fire, adding that such notices had been served 16 times.
The notices were served on behalf of the contractor by China Status Development and Engineering, but the latter had never inspected the sites to assess the necessity of the decision or whether additional fire extinguishers were required.
“In other words, no licensed fire services providers have ever assessed the impact or necessity of shutting down the system,” Dawes says.
In a WhatsApp message from China Status Development and Engineering director Leung Ping-kay to another member of the company, he says: “Victory Fire wants to shut down the system. They will place more fire extinguishers and post the notices themselves. We just need to help file the notices to FSD and can charge [Victory Fire] HK$3,000.”



No assessment for shutdown of estate’s fire services equipment

Dawes reveals testimony from the Fire Services Department showing that its officers did not check the fire hoses or alarm systems when they inspected Wang Fuk Court in response to the shutdown notices.
According to an inspection record obtained by the committee, the department carried out an inspection on April 23, 2025, but scheduled another visit only four months later, even though the validity of a notice is just 14 days.
Dawes calls on the department to explain its justifications at later stages of the hearings and questions why it allowed the repeated filing of such notices.



Fire Services Department under scrutiny

Moving to the issue of movable wooden boards installed in emergency staircases to give workers easier access to scaffolding, Dawes says the Buildings Department found the modification had “completely destroyed” the staircase’s evacuation function.
“The installation of combustible wooden movable boards to provide access to scaffoldings introduced additional hazards,” the department’s written testimony says.
The department added that the precautionary measures put in place by the contractor were insufficient.
According to Dawes, the contractor had submitted minor works applications to the Housing Bureau’s Independent Checking Unit (ICU) for replacing fireproof windows with the boards. The applications included photographs of the boards, which were apparently non-compliant with regulations, yet were still approved by the ICU.
When asked by the committee why the applications had been approved, the unit said it had only assessed whether the paperwork was procedurally compliant and had therefore failed to identify the problems.
Sighs are heard among the public as Dawes read out the ICU’s remarks.



Wooden boards in stairwells ‘destroyed’ evacuation function

Dawes says the committee has received testimonies from the directors of the renovation project’s contractor and consultants, but they have refused to attend the hearings to give their accounts.
He adds that Tai Po district councillor Peggy Wong Pik-kiu, who served as consultant to the Wang Fuk Court owners’ corporation when the project was approved, was also invited to the hearing.
However, Dawes does not specify whether Wong has agreed to attend.


Directors of contractor decline to attend hearing

Moving on to the possible bid-rigging over Wang Fuk Court’s renovation project, Dawes says the committee must consider whether Will Power Architects Company, the project’s consultant, obtained the contract at prices far lower than would reasonably have been expected.
The company had offered to carry out an initial inspection of the estate’s eight residential blocks and to oversee the entire project for HK$220,000 (US$28,078) and HK$308,000 respectively – both significantly below market rate.
In 2020, Will Power explained to residents that it could charge less because it was already familiar with the estate’s layout.
Will Power analysed 57 contractors bidding for the project through the Urban Renewal Authority’s Smart Tender electronic system and recommended Prestige Construction and Engineering Co, which residents eventually selected, as its “first choice”.
But Dawes says the consultant’s director, Ng Yeuk, who submitted the report, had likely failed to review the bids at all.
“He could very likely have simply been a rubber stamp, putting his signature to whatever document was given to him,” he says.
The report claimed that Prestige had not been prosecuted in the past eight years, whereas the firm had in fact been convicted 24 times for occupational safety breaches between 2017 and 2023.
A Will Power employee said he noticed the report had been amended to give Prestige a high rating for its “clear” criminal record – a change that ultimately placed the contractor above its competitors in the final ranking.
The employee said another company director, Wong Hap-yin, told him to ignore the alteration and continue using the modified version.
“We believe residents had already been misled at this stage,” Dawes says, adding that Wong could have deliberately falsified the document to conceal Prestige’s conviction record.
Both Ng and Wong were arrested by the Independent Commission Against Corruption before the evidential hearings.



Residents ‘misled’ into voting for renovation contractor, committee hears

Dawes also highlights the apparent interconnections between contractor Prestige Construction and Engineering Co and five other competitors in the bidding process.
He notes that Prestige’s director, Hau Wah-kin, jointly owned a company called Rich Surplus Develop with Richie Tam Chee-man, who was the director of Prestige’s competitor, Man Sing General Contractors.
Leung Ping-yiu, the director of Widely Construction & Engineering, was formerly a director of Prestige.
Hau also owned a now-dissolved company, Blazing Edge, together with Li Chik-hoi and Choi Man-ming, who were directors of San Hoi Construction Engineering and Sunarts (Holdings) Engineering respectively. Li’s and Choi’s companies had also bid for the Wang Fuk Court project.
Blazing Edge had shared the same company secretary as Mega Praise Construction & Engineering, another bidder for the renovation work.
Hau, who declined to give live evidence at the hearings, said in a written reply to the committee that his relationship with Leung had deteriorated and that their companies had since been in competition.
But Dawes urges the committee to treat Hau’s explanation with caution.
He notes that in another renovation project at On Kay Court in Ngau Tau Kok, Prestige – which served as the consultant – had recommended Widely to take charge.
“It can be seen that Mr Hau Wah-kin has some forms of relationship with five other companies competing for the contract [at Wang Fuk Court],” the barrister says, adding that these relationships were not disclosed.



Contractor and competitor connections under scrutiny

The morning session of the hearing on day two has been adjourned, with the afternoon session set to resume at 2.15pm.


Meeting adjourned

Wang Fuk Court homeowners voted to approve the renovation project in early 2024, with 570 ballots cast despite there being only 293 property owners, including those represented by authorised persons.
Some also complained that their names appeared on the list of those who had authorised others to vote on their behalf, even though they had never done so.
In February that year, some homeowners petitioned to convene an extraordinary general meeting of the owners’ corporation after securing the required threshold - no less than 5 per cent of all owners.
However, the chairman of the management committee of the owners' corporation at the time refused to do so.
Some residents also lodged complaints with the Home Affairs Department, which refused to intervene in the matter, despite being legally entitled to do so.
The department said it would only step in as its “last resort”.
In July, homeowners made a similar attempt, but the management committee chairman again ignored the petition.
In response to both situations, the Home Affairs Department only issued advisory letters to him, reminding him of his duty to act.



Residents’ disputes over renovation vote ignored

Secretary for Labour and Welfare Chris Sun Yuk-han says the Labour Department will fully cooperate with the probe, after the first day of the hearing revealed that no workers had been caught smoking during the 16 checks conducted before the fire, despite residents filing multiple complaints.
“If there is a need for accountability, it will be pursued to the very end,” Sun says.
He adds that the Labour Department is proceeding “at full speed” with legislative amendments for a total ban on smoking at construction sites, aiming to brief lawmakers by the end of this month and submit the relevant documents to the Legislative Council by June.



Labour chief vows ‘full speed’ push for smoking ban on construction sites

Dawes explains his earlier contention that Wilson Ng Yeuk, a director of the renovation project’s consultant Will Power, had failed his inspection duty during the contractor’s tendering process.
The barrister says the evidence is conflicting as to who Ng actually worked for, as information shows that he was an employee of another engineering company at the time of the fire.
In a text message, Ng said that he had received a “monthly incentive” of HK$15,000, paid via cheque deposit for “acting as [a registered inspector] under my signature and accountability”.
He also revealed that there was a verbal agreement for an additional bonus for “completion of individual works”, adding that he had earned a total of HK$190,000 from the job.
The text records further revealed that a middleman who engaged Ng for the job told him that he only needed to “sign documents” and “pretend to cooperate with inquiries”.
The committee hears that Ng approved a total of 84 documents involving 56 projects, including Wang Fuk Court, between October 1 and November 10 last year. He earned HK$150,000 over the period.
Dawes argues that Ng was engaged solely to become a “rubber stamp” for approving inspection documents, questioning how someone who only worked on a part-time basis could genuinely examine such a large amount of paperwork in just over a month.



Consultant acted as ‘rubber stamp’ for inspection paperwork, Dawes argues

Dawes says potential corruption involving the tendering process of the Wang Fuk Court project is not the first in Hong Kong and “not rare” in the market.
The committee has received testimonies from various law enforcement agencies regarding bid-rigging, vested interest and corruption in the large-scale maintenance industry, he says.
“The information received from the law enforcement is consistent, that such practice is widespread and common in the market,” he says.
Some industry players also have ties with triad members, deterring many engineers from joining the trade and leaving the same circle of people to dominate the industry, Dawes says citing testimony from the Independent Commission Against Corruption.



Vested interest, bid-rigging and corruption ‘not rare’ in renovation market

Dawes wraps up his opening speech on Friday afternoon.
The lawyer representing the former management committee subsequently applies to make a statement at the hearing - a request approved by panel chairman David Lok.
Tony Tsui Moon-come, former chairman of the management committee of the Wang Fuk Court owners’ corporation, says he is confident the independent committee can help residents to uncover the truth about the disaster.
“I appreciate the [independent] committee’s effort to compile such a large sum of information and restore the truth,” he says tearfully.
“I know that there are many misunderstandings about us from the public, and I am grateful to the committee for allowing us to speak out about what we know.”



Former owners’ corporation chief expresses confidence in committee

The second day of the hearing ends ahead of schedule after Dawes concludes his opening statement earlier than expected.
Dawes covered issues including the use of polyfoam boards, movable combustible boards installed in emergency stairwells that replaced fireproof windows and potential corruption during the tendering process.
The next hearing, scheduled for Tuesday, will have other parties, including the government, give their opening address.
The government’s counsel will cover topics related to the Mandatory Building Inspection Scheme and the minor works regulatory regime.
Committee chairman Lok also says witnesses are likely to be called on the day.



Hearing adjourns early

A woman surnamed Cheung, who used to live at the estate’s Wang Cheong House, says many of the findings disclosed at Friday’s hearings were already known.
“We complained, but no one believed us. No one cared. Those were lives that were lost,” she says, tearing up.
Cheung says that there had already been suspicions about possible bid-rigging before the hearing.
She adds that it is the government’s responsibility to tackle the law’s grey areas, particularly strict supervision and oversight, things that she says are currently lax and underscore a systemic loophole.
“Today it was us, tomorrow it could be others,” Cheung says.



Hearing findings already known, resident says

Thank you for following our live blog. The hearing will resume on Tuesday. Please stay tuned for more of our coverage.


Day 2 of Tai Po fire hearing sheds light on potential corruption – as it happened

.css-1c6uqr6{color:inherit;font-weight:inherit;font-size:inherit;font-family:inherit;line-height:inherit;overflow-wrap:break-word;}Lead barrister for independent committee discusses potential corruption during tendering process, among other issues

Lead barrister for independent committee discusses potential corruption during tendering process, among other issues