Hong Kong’s Buildings Department (BD) has launched more than 200 prosecutions against four individuals and two companies that oversaw renovation works at the fire-hit Wang Fuk Court.
Wang Fuk Court. Photo: Kyle Lam/HKFP.The 259 charges, covering the use of defective or substandard materials and failure to adequately supervise renovation works, were initiated on Wednesday – more than nine months after the fire broke out.
The prosecutions were launched after a joint investigation by the BD and the Housing Bureau’s Independent Checking Unit (ICU), the Wednesday statement said.
The blaze at Wang Fuk Court, a government-subsidised housing estate in Tai Po, killed 168 people and displaced thousands of residents in November last year.
Nine months on“The investigation revealed that the Registered Inspector (RI) employed by the project consultant failed to properly supervise the prescribed repair works and failed to ensure that the building was safe or had been rendered safe,” the department said on Wednesday
“Meanwhile, during the course of the works, the main contractor and the project consultant allegedly permitted or authorised the use of non-fire-retardant scaffold netting and tarpaulins, as well as non-fire-retardant styrofoam boards to cover windows,” it continued.
A tender analysis report signed off by Will Power director Wilson Ng in August 2023. Photo: Kyle Lam/HKFP.Fireproof windows along the emergency fire escape stairwell were also removed to create temporary access openings, causing smoke and fire to pour into the buildings and “ultimately resulting in 168 fatalities and 79 injuries,” the statement read.
The two prosecuted companies are Will Power Architects, consultants for the estate’s HK$330 million renovation project, and the main contractor, Prestige Construction & Engineering.
The four prosecuted individuals are Will Power’s director Wong Hap-yin and the inspector employed by the company, Wilson Ng, as well as Prestige’s two directors Hau Wa-kin and Ho Kin-yip.
The same four people were also charged with a slew of offences in June, with Wong, Ng, Ho, and the two companies they represent facing manslaughter charges.
‘Widespread systemic issues’Similar findings have previously been detailed in evidentiary hearings set up by an independent committee to probe the cause of the fire and its rapid spread.
In March, the committee heard that the blaze revealed “widespread systemic issues” ranging from potential collusive tendering to rubber-stamp inspections and unauthorised proxy votes.
The companies and the four individuals were discussed extensively at the hearings, though they did not testify in person.
The blackened exterior of an apartment block in Wang Fuk Court, Tai Po, on November 27, 2025, with what appears to be styrofoam boards attached to the windows. Photo: Kyle Lam/HKFP.The BD and the Housing Bureau’s ICU have also been subject to scrutiny in the independent committee’s evidentiary hearings, with a senior government surveyor admitting to alerting the consultant ahead of site checks before the estate went up in flames.
The Wednesday statement said that the BD has stepped up regulation, site inspections, and enforcement actions since the Wang Fuk Court fire. This includes requiring fire-retardancy test reports, conducting random spot checks, and launching an inspection operation for 400 renovation projects citywide.