Seven people and two companies were on Wednesday charged by police and the Independent Commission Against Corruption with 25 offences linked to last year’s deadly fire in Wang Fuk Court.

Police said the blaze, which tore through seven of the estate’s eight blocks and claimed 168 lives, broke out after the building received a mandatory inspection notice on June 10, 2016.

Speaking to reporters after two related cases were mentioned at the West Kowloon Magistrates’ Courts, senior superintendent Basil Tang said police charged three men and two local companies with five counts of manslaughter.

The two firms were Will Power Architects Company, which had been appointed to carry out an inspection report and supervise repairs at Wang Fuk Court, and Prestige Construction and Engineering, which served as the main contractor for the renovation.

Police investigations found that the companies and responsible individuals allegedly breached their duty of care, showing gross negligence in supervising construction materials and procedures.

"The investigation revealed the following problems with the works in question, including the use of non-fire-retardant safety nets and canvases, the use of flammable foam boards and the creation of window openings at the fire escape routes of staircases for workers’ access to the external wall scaffolding," Tang said.

These actions, he said, severely undermined the building’s fire safety, allowing the fire to spread rapidly and blocking escape routes, which led to the high number of casualties.

The three men charged with manslaughter are Ho Kin-yip, then director of Prestige; Ng Yeuk, then director and registered inspector of Will Power; and Wong Hap-yin, director of Will Power.

The defendants are jointly accused of failing to ensure that materials and procedures complied with safety standards and legal requirements.

Meanwhile, the ICAC has brought 20 additional charges – including conspiracy to defraud, money laundering, attempting to pervert the course of justice, and tax evasion – against the same parties as well as four other individuals.

These additional individuals were Hau Wa-kin, director of Prestige; Chung So-fan, Wong's wife; Hung Kwok-wai, Wong’s friend; and Lin Min, an employee of Will Power.

One of the charges alleged that between May 2023 and April 2024, Wong conspired with Hau and Ho to conceal Prestige’s litigation records and inflate its tender score, inducing flat owners to award Prestige a contract worth over HK$300 million.

A separate charge claims Wong, along with an employee of Will Power, had conspired to defraud the Urban Renewal Authority by causing a tender analysis report containing false information to be published on the authority's platform.

The ICAC also alleged that Will Power, Wong, Ng, and Hung conspired to defraud the Buildings Department and Housing Bureau’s Independent Checking Unit across 86 building maintenance projects, including Wang Fuk Court, with Ng failing to carry out his statutory inspection duties despite signing off on reports.

The cases have been adjourned until September 2.
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Last updated: 2026-06-10 HKT 19:57


Edited by Aaron Tam