In the second half of April, the public inquiry into the deadly Tai Po blaze heard from multiple government departments about authorities’ oversight during a major renovation at Wang Fuk Court before the tragedy unfolded.

In the first 10 days of the hearings, residents gave damning testimony of how their complaints about potential fire hazards during the renovation had fallen on deaf ears. Departments passed around their complaints, and when officers did inspect the housing estate in Tai Po, they said they failed to find evidence of irregularities.

During the 11 days of hearings from April 13 to Friday, a number of high-ranking officials and frontline officers acknowledged that the ways departments handled residents’ complaints were “not good enough” and that things could have been “done better.”

Victor Dawes, the lead lawyer for the independent committee investigating the inferno, summed it up well last week.

“During this inquiry, it appears that all government departments agree that things were not ideal. I have lost count of how many times we have heard, ‘Not good enough,” he said in Cantonese.

Judge David Lok, the committee chair, also noted that the blaze had exposed a “grey area” in which government departments lacked clear communication and a demarcation of responsibility for specific fire hazards.

So far, witnesses from the Fire Services Department, the Labour Department, the Buildings Department, the Home Affairs Department, and the Urban Renewal Authority have testified before the committee. Here is the summary.

Fire department as ‘ultimate gatekeeper’

The Fire Services Department (FSD) has the highest number of witnesses among government departments so far, with a total of 14 officers – ranging from frontline commanders to the director of fire services, Andy Yeung.

In his testimony on April 24, Yeung – the first departmental chief to testify – touched on several issues relating to the FSD’s oversight of fire hazards arising from building renovation projects.

Yeung also corrected the accounts given by some of his senior subordinates who had earlier given testimony.

For example, Michael Yung, assistant director of fire safety at the FSD, told the committee on April 22 that fire hazards like non-fire-retardant scaffold netting, flammable foam boards and workers smoking on construction sites fell outside the department’s purview.

The FSD is only responsible for “active” fire safety measures, such as alarm systems, and lacks the expertise on construction work, Yung said, while risks concerning construction materials fall under the purview of the Buildings Department.

Yeung, the fire services chief, said otherwise. He agreed with Dawes when the lawyer suggested that the FSD should be the “ultimate gatekeeper” to eradicate fire risks.

Yeung said the FSD and the Buildings Department should complement each other when it comes to mitigating fire risks, citing the experience following the fatal mini-storage unit fire in 2016, which killed two firefighters.

At that time, there was no law regulating the size of and the distance between storage units, Yeung recalled.

After the 2016 blaze, the FSD and the Buildings Department worked together to develop the regulations, ensuring they aligned with fire safety, as well as other structural elements, such as lighting and ventilation.

Yeung said that, following the Tai Po fire, the two departments had conducted a review of several issues, such as wooden boards in emergency staircases – which served as temporary openings for workers to access bamboo scaffolding – and foam boards used to protect windows from falling debris.

He also said both departments could make prosecutions and that inter-departmental communication would be improved regarding enforcement.

Labour Department admits shortcomings

On April 21, three occupational safety officers from the Labour Department, including the chief officer of operations, Murphy Yuen, testified before the committee.

Lam Sau-ching, an occupational safety officer who had handled Wang Fuk Court residents’ complaints, said the department conducted a total of 17 inspections, none of which found evidence of workers smoking.

“When officers say the complaint could not be justified, they meant that during the inspection, they could not see evidence for the complaint,” Lam said in Cantonese.

Lee Shu-wun, a lawyer for the independent committee, said workers may have smoked even though the department did not find any evidence, to which Lam agreed.

Lam admitted that an e-mail response she wrote to a resident to address a complaint regarding the fire-retardant quality of scaffold netting “could be improved.” In the e-mail, Lam mistakenly said the Labour Department had no regulations on the fire-resistance quality of the nets.

She also admitted that the department did not check the issue dates on fire-retardancy certificates submitted by Prestige Construction & Engineering, the main contractor for Wang Fuk Court’s renovation.

Yuen, the chief officer of operations, said the Labour Department could have referred to a list of approved laboratories provided by the Housing Department to check the authenticity of certificates, but his department still relied on the contractor’s integrity.

“If some contractors are bent on tricking us, there is nothing we can do other than refer the case to law enforcement agencies,” he said in Cantonese.

Li Man-pong, a senior occupational safety officer, said the installation of wooden boards in emergency staircases did not breach labour safety regulations as it was to facilitate workers accessing bamboo scaffolding safely.

Judge Lok said Li’s account appeared to suggest a conflict of interest between workers and residents.

The committee had previously heard that the temporary openings allowed smoke to enter the emergency staircases, accelerating the spread inside the buildings and trapping residents.

Buildings Department contradicts ICU

On Monday, two Buildings Department members testified before the committee.

Karen Cheung, assistant director of mandatory building inspection, said both access openings for workers and foam boards used to seal windows violate the city’s building construction regulations.

Not only did Cheung’s testimony differ from that of the Labour Department officers, her account also appeared to contradict a written submission by Andy Ku, a senior surveyor of the Housing Bureau’s Independent Checking Unit (ICU).

The ICU oversees construction works at government-subsidised housing estates like Wang Fuk Court.

According to Ku’s submission, Hong Kong’s laws do not regulate the use of foam boards because they are “temporary materials.” It is unclear if Ku will testify before the committee in person.

However, Cheung said using foam boards to cover windows extensively violated regulations as the laws stipulate that every unit of a residential building should have natural light and ventilation.

When asked by Dawes about her discrepancy with Ku regarding the regulations, Cheung said: “I think Mr Ku should be the one explaining this point.”

Cheung also said the Buildings Department would never inform contractors ahead of an inspection following a complaint. Officers would only seek the contractor’s assistance when they need to collect samples of construction materials for testing, she said.

The committee previously heard that the ICU had notified the consultant firm of Wang Fuk Court’s renovation project, Will Power Architects, about details of scaffold netting checks in advance.

Jenkin Suen, representing the government in the hearings, defended the ICU’s practice last month. He said at the time that inspections carried out by Buildings Department officers would also inform the inspected parties in advance.

Cheung declined to comment on the ICU’s practice. However, when pressed by Dawes, Cheung said: “This is not how we do things generally.”

In his written statement, Ku said that he consulted with Tse Kam-ming, a former senior building surveyor at the Buildings Department who was seconded to the ICU between 2023 and 2025, regarding foam boards used at Wang Fuk Court.

However, Tse told the committee that he had no recollection of giving any advice to Ku regarding the matter.

Tse called it “unacceptable” to dismiss foam board hazards, citing the 2017 Grenfell Tower fire in the United Kingdom as a warning of the dangers posed by combustible cladding and foam.

Home Affairs Department on district councillors

Also testifying on Monday was Chan Hau-man, former Tai Po district officer at the Home Affairs Department, who spoke about district councillors.

Multiple residents had testified that Tai Po South District Councillor Peggy Wong, a member of the pro-Beijing Democratic Alliance for the Betterment and Progress of Hong Kong (DAB), had amassed proxy votes from residents and interfered with meetings about renovation matters.

Wong denied the allegations in a written submission to the committee, saying she had only voted on behalf of residents twice during a residents’ meeting that sought to oust a controversial owners’ committee. On both occasions, Wong voted against the motion.

Chan said her department “respects” district councillors when it comes to estate affairs, as long as they do not violate any law.

A district councillor has their own “community network,” and authorities respect that they may have an opinion and provide advice to residents regarding renovation, Chan added.

While current regulations do not specify an upper limit on the number of proxy votes a person can acquire, the department is reviewing whether a cap is needed, she said.

Urban Renewal Authority on bid-rigging risks

On Thursday, the committee heard testimony from Matthew Chan, a case manager for the Urban Renewal Authority (URA), which oversaw tender applications for the renovation work at Wang Fuk Court, a government-subsidised housing estate.

He said that the semi-government department had not considered the risks of bid-rigging in the tendering process for the large-scale renovation at the estate.

After securing the contract at a low price, Will Power Architects was able to “rig” the tendering process in favour of Prestige Construction & Engineering, an affiliated contractor, and carried out “rubber-stamp” inspections.

When Dawes presented a 2016 Competition Commission report on the prevalence of bid-rigging in Hong Kong’s building maintenance industry, Chan said that the URA did not take such risks into account despite being aware of rampant collusive tendering.

The case manager also said that the URA “would not comment on [Will Powers’] professionalism,” as the authority trusted the consultant’s experience and would want to avoid appearing biased or intervening in the owners’ board’s affairs.

The URA receives more than 10,000 tenders every year and has no ability to scrutinise every application in detail, Chan said.

Greenpeace has called the Hong Kong government’s planned measures at Sai Kung’s Sharp Island “a toothless tiger,” as authorities predict a daily influx of 1,000 visitors to the ecological hotspot during China’s Golden Week holiday in May.

The environmental NGO issued a statement on Tuesday in response to the measures announced by the Agriculture, Fisheries and Conservation Department (AFCD) ahead of the five-day Labour Day holiday in China, which begins on Friday.

To prevent environmental degradation due to excessive tourism, the AFCD will deploy 11 staff members to patrol Sharp Island – part of Hong Kong’s UNESCO Global Geopark – and conduct hourly drone inspections, local media reported on Tuesday.

Buoys will also be positioned at sea to mark coral reefs and prevent tourists from trampling the fragile ecosystems.

The AFCD expects 1,000 tourists to descend on Sharp Island every day during the Golden Week holiday – far higher than the average of 600 to 800 visitors during regular weekends and public holidays.

Many tourists lack environmental awareness but generally cooperate when told about “sea-friendly” behaviour, said Jim Chu, assistant director of fisheries and marine conservation at the AFCD.

He said authorities would distribute maps marking reef locations, while World Wide Fund for Nature (WWF) representatives will be on-site to promote conservation.

Greenpeace said the AFCD’s measures were advisory in nature and lacked deterrence, describing them as “a toothless tiger.”

The verbal advice by AFCD officers carries no legal weight and will be inadequate to tackle excessive snorkelling and other problematic activities, such as clam digging, the NGO said.

‘Short-term painkiller’

Greenpeace urged authorities to integrate Sharp Island into the city’s legally protected areas and roll out environmental protection policies for tourism hotspots.

Without data to assess Sharp Island’s tourism capacity, “the temporary measure of stepping up patrols is merely a ‘short-term painkiller’ that could not address the coming water sports season,” the green group said.

Chu acknowledged that the government has limited power in Sharp Island as it “is not a country park, marine park or marine reserve” – which means lacking the status of a legally protected area.

“The government is actively looking at whether to integrate Sharp Island into marine parks,” he added.

Greenpeace also urged the Culture, Sports and Tourism Bureau to cooperate with the AFCD to promote eco-friendly habits among tourists and formulate a conservation-oriented ecotourism framework alongside the Environment and Ecology Bureau.

During the National Day Golden Week in October, Greenpeace found tourists trampling corals and littering on Sharp Island, which drew more than 4,000 visitors on October 1, according to the NGO.

Authorities stepped up patrols on the island and said corals in shallow water sustained “minor damage” following the surge of tourists.

Chief Executive John Lee has pledged to step up management of the city’s eco-tourism sites after the influx to Sharp Island.

Hong Kong police have arrested nine men in a joint operation with law enforcement agencies in six other jurisdictions, targeting the production, use and distribution of child sexual abuse material online.

The city’s police force said on Monday that Operation Hurdler arrested a total of 326 people in March and April in Hong Kong, Singapore, Malaysia, Japan, South Korea, Thailand and Brunei on suspicion of child sexual abuse material-related offences and other sex crimes.

The nine men held in Hong Kong, aged from 18 to 61, were arrested on suspicion of possessing child sexual abuse material, police said. One of them is also alleged to have sexually assaulted a 12-year-old boy multiple times between 2023 and 2024, police added.

Ferris Cheung, a superintendent of the force’s cyber security and technology crime bureau, said at a press conference on Monday that officers arrested the suspects on April 14, seizing 15 computers and external storage devices, as well as eight mobile phones.

Over 200 child sexual abuse videos and photos were found on the electronic devices, Cheung said.

“Initial investigation shows that the suspects downloaded the child sexual abuse material through social media platforms, websites and torrent software, and stored them in their computers or phones,” Cheung said in Cantonese.

One of the suspects, a 28-year-old man, had over 20 indecent videos and photos on his devices and is suspected of sexually assaulting a minor between 2023 and 2024, according to police.

The man allegedly befriended the boy online before meeting him in person and sexually assaulting him. The suspect has been charged with indecent assault and appeared before a magistrate on April 16, police said.

Tip of the iceberg

At the same press conference, police clinical psychologist Michael Fung warned of sexual grooming.

Citing a study jointly conducted by police, the University of Hong Kong and Hong Kong Shue Yan University, Fung said 15 per cent of respondents admitted to having consumed child sexual abuse material.

The figure represented “the tip of the iceberg,” he said, adding that boys were just as vulnerable to online sexual predators as girls.

Offenders could come from different social classes, with varying income and educational levels, Fung said.

Tam Yik-wun, an acting superintendent of the force’s crime wing support, said that, while police recorded 62 cases related to child sexual abuse material in 2025 – down from 80 in the previous year – online sexual grooming remained a significant source of illicit content.

Offenders often lure minors into sending them intimate photos, which are then used for blackmail for money or sex, Tam said.

Some children mistakenly believe that sending images through the “view-once” function of social messaging apps is safe, Tam added.

She urged parents to be mindful of their children’s online connections, adding that in some cases, parents had successfully prevented their children from falling prey to sexual grooming by sharing social media accounts.

Cheung said the distribution of child sexual abuse material has been increasingly transnational, and that police will step up cooperation with counterparts in other jurisdictions in response.

Hong Kong has joined the International Child Sexual Exploitation Database, operated by Interpol and serving a network connecting investigators from 75 countries. The database has identified over 60,000 victims and led to the arrests of over 25,000 offenders, she said.

Under Hong Kong law, possession of child sexual abuse material carries a maximum penalty of five years in prison and a HK$1 million fine. The production or distribution of such material is punishable by up to eight years in jail and a HK$2 million fine.

Wang Fuk Court residents continued to return to their fire-scorched housing estate to collect personal belongings over the weekend.

One family said they planned to take “one last photo” inside their flat, while a couple brought flowers to mourn a neighbour who died in the blaze.

Residents of Wang Cheong House, the tower first hit by the blaze in November, as well as those of Wang Yan House and Wang Tao House – both of which sustained relatively little damage in the inferno – were allowed to return to their homes in batches on Saturday and Sunday.

It was five months ago that the blaze broke out and engulfed seven of the Tai Po housing estate’s eight blocks, killing 168 people and displacing thousands.

The government has offered to buy back the flats in the seven fire-damaged blocks and plans to tear them down and build a park or other community facilities on the site.

Returning with her sister and elderly parents, a Wang Tao House resident surnamed Poon said her family would take a group portrait in their apartment as a keepsake, local media reported.

“We had many family gatherings here. Each time a family member celebrated their birthday, we would return home for dinner… A lot of group photos were taken in this apartment. Many things happened here,” she told reporters in Cantonese.

“So, as this could be our last chance to return, we have decided to take one more family portrait inside the flat.”

She said the three-hour limit for collecting belongings was not enough. “You need more than three hours to pack if you pack for a holiday. Let alone if we retrieve belongings from a lifetime.”

‘To say goodbye’

While some residents successfully found documents and valuables from their flats, others said there might not be much to salvage.

“Everything’s been burned, there’s not much to collect,” an elderly Wang Cheong House resident surnamed Tang, who moved there when Wang Fuk Court opened in 1983, told reporters in Cantonese.

She climbed the building with her daughter despite having to walk with a cane. The pair retrieved only some jewellery, pottery, and coins.

Tang also paid tribute to several neighbours on the same floor who could not escape the fire. “The neighbours were really kind. I was sad that I couldn’t tell them to leave in time,” she said.

A resident surnamed Ma and his wife brought flowers to mourn a neighbour who died in the fire after learning of the death in a Facebook group for residents.

“Now that we can return… we want to pay tribute to her, to say goodbye,” the husband said.

Wang Fuk Court residents will continue to visit their homes until May 4, with some expressing a desire to return for a second time.

A man has died after reportedly collapsing during a Hong Kong-bound Cathay Pacific flight from the UK.

Police said they received a report at around 6.15am on Friday that a passenger had lost consciousness on an inbound flight. The man, 51, was declared dead at the scene after the aircraft landed at Hong Kong International Airport.

An autopsy is currently underway to determine the cause of death.

Local media reported that the flight was operated by Cathay Pacific and had departed from Manchester. The man suffered from a chronic illness, reports said, citing anonymous sources.

After the man collapsed, the flight crew alerted Hong Kong’s Air Traffic Control Centre, which then notified emergency services.

Paramedics boarded the aircraft immediately after it touched down at 6.53am. They attempted resuscitation, but he was pronounced dead at the scene.

Neither Hong Kong’s top “disaster” fire alarm signal nor an emergency alert system were deployed during the Tai Po fire because they were “not suitable,” a senior official has told a public inquiry.

Derek Armstrong Chan, deputy director of operations at the Fire Services Department (FSD), testified on Thursday before an independent committee investigating the deadly Wang Fuk Court fire in November, which killed 168 people.

The blaze was classified as a No. 5 fire at 6.22 pm on November 26 as flames spread rapidly and engulfed seven of the estate’s eight blocks.

The No. 5 alert is the second-highest fire alarm signal in the city, with the “disaster” signal being the highest.

Chan, who ordered the alarm to be upgraded to a No. 5 signal, said on Thursday that the fire was “unprecedented” and that the speed of its spread was “unexpected,” local media reported.

Victor Dawes, lead counsel for the committee, said the FSD deployed 391 fire engines, 185 ambulances, and 2,311 personnel during the blaze. Chan said it was one of the largest mobilisations of the FSD in his experience.

Chan said that, when he arrived Wang Fuk Court shortly after 3pm that day, firefighters were focusing on removing debris blocking the two worst-hit towers, Wang Tai House and Wang Cheong House, to ensure safe passage into the buildings.

As night fell, senior commanders were positioned at each block to take charge of the rescue missions, Chan said, adding that he believed the number of firefighters on the ground was “enough.”

However, with calls for help rising and the blaze persisting, Chan ordered the signal be raised to a No. 5 alert to step up the “command structure,” he said. At that time, there was already “six times” the manpower required for a No. 5 fire, he said.

A No. 5 fire normally sees at least 150 firefighters deployed to the scene, according to publicly available information.

He said some firefighters risked not putting on their oxygen masks after they started going up the buildings so that they could save those trapped on higher floors.

“There was heavy smoke and heat in the stairs… I understand that some colleagues took a risk to try to endure as long as possible before they turn on the oxygen supply, so that they can reach higher floors to carry out rescue,” he said in Cantonese.

Emergency alert

When asked about why he did not raise the highest disaster alarm signal, Chan said that signal is for citywide events involving multiple incidents across districts. That scenario would have to be one that overwhelms the capabilities of the FSD to the point that the People’s Liberation Army stationed in Hong Kong may be needed for assistance, he said.

He said that, in hindsight, it “would have helped a little” if the FSD raised the No. 4 signal earlier during the Wang Fuk Court blaze. On that day, the FSD classified the blaze as a No. 3 fire at 3.02pm and raised that to No. 4 at 3.34pm, according to the government.

Chan also said senior FSD officials decided not to use the government’s emergency alert system for fear that it may create confusion among residents trapped inside the blaze.

Chan said FSD commanders were worried that an emergency alert may prompt residents to leave their flats and that they would face a greater danger when outside.

He added that text-based warning would only be issued to the public an hour after the alert system is activated, which would have been of limited help for the rescue mission.

Chan said that the FSD was focusing on calling the residents trapped in the blaze individually and a public announcement of the blaze was not required.

Fallen firefighter

Also testifying on Thursday, Tung Wing-kei, a divisional officer for breathing apparatus at the department, told the committee about equipment belonging to firefighter Ho Wai-ho, who died in the line of duty during the blaze.

The committee previously heard that Ho was likely to have fallen to his death after he mistakenly entered Wang Tai House. His breathing mask and helmet were later discovered on the 31st floor of the block.

Tung said a metal valve controlling Ho’s mask had sustained “extremely rare” damage, which could have been caused by “severe impact.”

Ho also did not pass on a “red key” to a commander, which would have activated a firefighter locator system, Tung said.

Tung added that the FSD is procuring more advanced firefighter locator systems, which could emit two types of frequencies to bypass obstacles and its signals could reach up to 800 metres with interference.

Andy Yeung, the head of the Fire Services Department, will testify before the committee when the hearings resume on Friday.

Fire hazards like substandard scaffold netting, flammable foam boards and workers smoking on site fell outside the purview of the Fire Services Department (FSD), a senior official has told a public inquiry into the deadly Tai Po blaze.

Michael Yung, assistant director of fire safety at the FSD, testified on Wednesday that his department is responsible only for “active” fire safety measures, such as alarm systems, local media reported.

Meanwhile, “passive” protections like fire doors and windows are managed by the Buildings Department, he added.

Yung was among the highest-ranking FSD officials to testify before the independent committee investigating the massive Wang Fuk Court blaze in November, which killed 168 people. The housing estate in Tai Po was undergoing major renovation when the fire hit.

The committee previously heard residents lodged numerous complaints of possible fire hazards to multiple government departments, including the FSD, before the fire broke out.

The complaints included wooden boards installed in emergency staircases to replace fireproof windows, allowing workers access to scaffolding; foam boards used to shield windows from falling debris; non-retardant scaffold nets; and workers smoking.

Yung said that wooden boards, foam boards, and scaffold nets were under the remit of the Buildings Department and its Independent Checking Unit (ICU), while the issue of workers smoking should have been handled by the Labour Department.

“It appears that none of the fire hazards concerning residents was your department’s responsibility?” Victor Dawes, the lead lawyer for the committee, asked in Cantonese, to which Yung agreed.

‘No expertise’ in construction

Citing an initial investigation, Dawes said last month that the blaze was “most likely” caused by smoking, while flammable construction materials may have contributed to the rapid spread of fire and smoke.

During Wednesday’s hearing, Dawes drew attention to the city’s Fire Services Ordinance, which stipulates that the FSD should “give advice on fire protection measures and fire hazards as occasion requires.”

Yung agreed that the FSD should advise residents on passive fire safety measures, but maintained that his department was not the most suitable government agency to handle complaints regarding flammable construction materials.

“We do not have the expertise. If we hastily order the removal of such materials, it may obstruct the construction work,” he said.

‘Oversight vacuum’

Email correspondence between residents and the FSD showed that officers urged residents to contact the ICU regarding the issue of foam boards.

Judge David Lok, the chair of the independent committee, said the blaze exposed a “grey zone” in government oversight of building renovations, to which Yung agreed.

Yung admitted that the FSD could have improved its handling of complaints. Following the blaze, the FSD will refer residents’ enquiries or complaints to the responsible departments if they consent, he said.

The official also said that the FSD and the Buildings Department had begun discussions on how to improve interdepartmental referrals.

However, he disagreed with Dawes’ characterisation of an “oversight vacuum” regarding foam boards, after the lawyer cited the written submission by senior ICU surveyor Andy Ku, who said the unit had no power to regulate “temporary construction materials.”

Yung said the matter should be under the ICU’s purview, but declined to comment further.

He said the jurisdictions of different government departments are based on laws and “long-term cooperation, discussion, and perceptions” among the public bodies.

Committee member Chan Kin-por asked whether a mechanism exists for when the ICU could not handle a complaint forwarded by the FSD.

In response, Yung said the FSD’s deputy director would lead an interdepartmental effort to handle such a situation in the future.

A Hong Kong government pilot scheme to relocate elderly social security recipients to care homes in Guangdong province has seen 10 beneficiaries since its launch in October.

Secretary for Labour and Welfare Chris Sun revealed the figure in a written reply to a lawmaker last month, saying that the 10 elderly residents had moved to eight care homes across Guangdong as of early March.

A Legislative Council (LegCo) panel examined the pilot scheme on Tuesday. A government document submitted to the panel stated that only five applicants had been relocated to Guangdong as of February, with a total cost of HK$625,000.

The HK$128 million pilot programme, financed by the Community Care Fund, was launched in October to subsidise elderly recipients of the Comprehensive Social Security Assistance (CSSA) to reside in care homes in Guangdong.

Lawmaker Maggie Chan expressed concern over the low number of recipients.

Speaking at the LegCo panel on Tuesday, Sun said that the actual number of beneficiaries under the pilot scheme could be more than the February figures, without mentioning the more updated figures from March.

Nonetheless, he acknowledged that the number of successful relocations was “less than expected,” saying the government faced difficulties in persuading elderly residents to move to a new and unfamiliar place.

Sun said the scheme is designed to improve the lives of elderly residents, particularly those residing in private care homes with poor conditions or in substandard housing in the city.

It targets elderly residents who rely on social security but are not entitled to publicly funded care homes in the city. However, they may be reluctant to change to a new environment despite the possible improvement in quality of life, Sun said.

“They know that the environment [in Guangdong] is really good… but it takes time for elderly people to change their habits,” he said in Cantonese.

“Their living conditions could improve significantly, but they still choose to stay in Hong Kong instead of moving there.”

Sun said the pilot scheme was still in its early stages and that authorities would review its efficacy again in six months.

Annisa Ma, assistant director of social security at the Social Welfare Department, said the government would organise more activities, such as day trips, for elderly residents to get a taste of life in Guangdong and to dispel their doubts.

She added that the February cost of HK$625,000 covered “administrative fees” given to an agency responsible for assisting elderly residents interested in or benefited from the pilot scheme.

The pilot scheme has a quota of 1,000 elderly recipients, with each receiving a monthly subsidy of HK$5,000.

Sun also told the LegCo panel that the HK$6.9 billion Community Care Fund could operate for four more years without additional funding.

On-site inspections did not find evidence of workers smoking despite repeated complaints from residents, Labour Department officers have told a public inquiry into the fatal Wang Fuk Court fire.

Three occupational safety officers from the Labour Department testified on Tuesday before an independent committee investigating the inferno, local media reported.

Lam Sau-ching, an occupational safety officer, said the department conducted a total of 17 inspections at the Tai Po housing estate, which had been under major renovation since mid-2024. She said the department had stepped up inspections to almost once a month due to residents’ complaints.

The inspections were unannounced to Prestige Construction & Engineering, the renovation contractor, Lam said, adding that officers would only ask contractor staff to accompany them during an inspection “if needed.”

However, inspectors did not find evidence of workers smoking, and the department concluded that the complaints were “not justified,” according to records shown during Tuesday’s hearing.

Lam told the hearing, “When officers say the complaint could not be justified, they meant that during the inspection, they could not see evidence for the complaint.”

Lee Shu-wun, a lawyer for the independent committee, said workers may have smoked even though the department did not find any evidence, to which Lam agreed.

The massive blaze, which killed 168 people in November, was “most likely” caused by smoking, the committee’s lead counsel Victor Dawes told the inquiry last month.

Lam also said on Tuesday that, under current regulations, smoking at a construction site is not an offence. Officers must also assess the fire risk at construction sites before issuing a smoking ban, she added.

Li Man-pong, a senior occupational safety officer, said that, under the proposed blanket smoking ban on construction sites, the department would no longer need to identify fire hazards before enforcing it.

See also: Gov’t agencies ‘failed in their duties’ despite complaints about renovation project, ex-member of estate board says

Murphy Yuen, chief occupational safety officer at the department, said authorities would rely on evidence submitted by residents to prosecute any worker found smoking once the proposed ban comes into effect.

The department will also look at “circumstantial evidence,” such as cigarette butts on the floor, to justify a complaint and strengthen enforcement, Yuen added.

He also said that to strengthen inspections, the department would learn from the Department of Health’s Tobacco and Alcohol Control Office, which enforces smoking bans in the city, and use drones.

Outdated certificate, wooden boards

The inquiry previously heard that the Labour Department failed to notice an outdated fire-retardancy certificate submitted by Prestige after the contractor replaced scaffold netting following major typhoons last year.

On Tuesday, Lam admitted that the department did not check the issue dates on certificates and that this could be improved.

But, she said, officers from the Labour Department were not experts on fire-retardancy requirements. “We do not have relevant qualifications, and we won’t collect samples and conduct tests,” she said in Cantonese. “We focus on ensuring that the net will prevent items from falling.”

Yuen said the Labour Department could have referred to a list of approved laboratories provided by the Housing Department to check the authenticity of certificates, but his department still relied on the contractor’s integrity.

“If some contractors are bent on tricking us, there’s nothing we can do other than refer the case to law enforcement agencies,” he said in Cantonese.

The Labour Department officers also addressed the removal of fireproof windows and the installation of wooden boards in the estate’s emergency staircases, which may have accelerated the spread of smoke inside the buildings during the blaze.

Li, the senior officer, said the wooden boards were useful as entry and exit points for workers on scaffolding, because workers are forbidden to climb outside buildings due to the risk of falling from height.

Judge David Lok, the chair of the committee, said Li’s account appeared to suggest a conflict of interest between workers and residents.

Dawes said the issue could be handled at a later stage when experts testify at the hearings.

He also said that four Fire Services Department officers would testify on Wednesday.

Residents of the fire-hit Wang Fuk Court housing estate in Tai Po have begun returning home to collect personal belongings for the first time since the deadly tragedy in November.

Around 270 people returned to their flats in Wang Sun House, one of the seven blocks engulfed by the blaze, on Monday. Residents of each flat were given three hours under strict government supervision.

They were the first batch of around 6,000 residents that the government said had registered to return to their homes.

Residents were given helmets and protective gloves before entering Wang Sun House. With no electricity running, they had to climb the stairs.

Some of the residents already knew that their homes were severely burned and were left in ruins after they received photos of the flats from the government.

“I have seen photos of my flat burned to ashes, so I have no hope,” a resident who gave only his surname, Leung, told HKFP in Cantonese. “I only wanted to collect things of commemorative value, such as wedding rings.”

Leung was lucky to retrieve the rings. He provided HKFP with photos of his flat, showing the floor covered in debris and some items burned beyond recognition. The metal gate of his flat was also dismantled.

Others were less fortunate. Another resident, who declined to give his name due to privacy concerns, said his home was destroyed.

“There is nothing to go back to. We took a look, paid respect, and left,” he told reporters after visiting his flat.

A female resident surnamed Tai told reporters: “My home has nothing left, I only want to go up there and say goodbye.

“I am not in the mood to speak. I can only put on a wry smile,” she added.

‘Someone following’

Some, like 50-year-old Steven Chong, were able to retrieve valuable items as their homes escaped the flames. Chong found the computer storing his family photos and a religious painting he bought in Tibet, which he had brought with him when he moved house twice.

“Perhaps [the painting] has protected my home from the blaze,” he told reporters.

He used the time at the flat to remember his cat, who died in the fire. “I went to the spot where he liked to sleep and called him twice, telling him to reincarnate,” he said.

Chong said the three-hour time slot was “enough” for him to collect belongings, but said it may not be so for residents whose homes were damaged in the blaze.

The government said that all residents would be accompanied by police or Civil Aid Service personnel, citing the need to protect property in the building.

“At every step, there’s someone following,” a woman surnamed Chow said in Cantonese, calling the government’s arrangement “OK.”

Chow, a relative of a Wang Sun House resident, said it was fortunate that they found an album containing old family photos, but they may apply for a second trip as they could not move their safe this time.

Discontent

But some residents expressed discontent over the government’s arrangement. A man surnamed Lee is scheduled to return to his flat at Wang Yan House on Thursday.

He went to Wang Fuk Court on Monday, hoping to become familiar with the process, but officers denied him entry to a nearby community hall where residents checked in before going up the building.

“I am going back to my home. But it was like I had to beg for it. How can this be right?” he told reporters in Cantonese.

“It is my place. Don’t I have the right to stay there and pack my belongings?” he said, criticising the three-hour limit.

“I lived there for over three decades… There’s no way that I don’t go back, I can’t let it go,” he added.

Two of Hong Kong’s biggest conglomerates are in talks over a possible merger of ParknShop and Wellcome, the city’s two largest supermarket chains, according to the Financial Times (FT).

The FT reported on Friday that Jardines was in “negotiations” with tycoon Li Ka-shing’s CK Hutchison to acquire ParknShop and merge it with Wellcome, citing four anonymous sources familiar with the matter.

The report cited one source as saying: “Talks have been going on for some time but a deal is not imminent.” The FT’s source declined to comment on valuation.

ParknShop is owned by CK Hutchison’s AS Watson group, while Wellcome is operated by DFI Retail, a subsidiary of Jardines.

There are about 260 branches of ParknShop across Hong Kong and Macau, and about 280 stores of Wellcome, according to publicly available information from the two supermarket chains.

The city’s two biggest supermarket chains have been fierce rivals for decades. If a deal is reached, their merger would create a dominant player in Hong Kong’s food retail market.

The FT cited the US Foreign Agricultural Service as saying that AS Watson and DFI Retail together controlled close to 90 per cent of the city’s supermarket sector in 2023.

However, the report also noted “growing competition from e-commerce and from Hong Kong shoppers crossing the border to buy at lower prices in mainland China.”

One of the sources in the FT report said the market share of the combined group would be less than 50 per cent, citing an “internal assessment.”

A spokesperson for DFI Retail said the company does not comment “on rumour or speculation.”

A spokesperson for AS Watson said the firm declined to comment on “market speculation.”

A former pro-democracy lawmaker has been struck off Hong Kong’s medical register following his conviction for conspiracy to subvert state power in the landmark “Hong Kong 47” national security case.

The Medical Council of Hong Kong ordered on Thursday that urologist Dr Kwok Ka-ki, 64, be removed from the General Register “indefinitely,” after a disciplinary panel found that his national security conviction had caused “damage” to the profession and that he “showed no remorse.”

The ruling is the first removal order by the council against a doctor convicted under the national security law, imposed by Beijing in 2020 following months of pro-democracy protests and unrest.

Kwok wrote on Facebook on Thursday that he “expected” the outcome, but added that his national security conviction did not result from “professional misconduct.”

‘Flagrant violation’

Kwok was not present and was not represented by a lawyer during a panel hearing on Thursday, according to a 15-page judgment.

The former lawmaker, who represented the medical sector between 2004 and 2008 and New Territories West between 2012 and 2020, had been included in the General Register since 1987 and in the Specialist Register’s urology section since 2004, according to the judgment.

The panel found Kwok guilty of a disciplinary charge after he was convicted of a national security offence as a registered physician. Kwok had a clear disciplinary record prior to the hearing, the judgment noted.

“We are particularly concerned about the damage that [Kwok’s] flagrant violation of the [national security law] had done [to] public confidence in the medical profession,” the five-member panel wrote.

Kwok’s mitigation plea failed to demonstrate his remorse or show that he had reflected on his conviction, the judgment also said.

Kwok was quoted in the judgment as telling the panel that: “[his] conviction was not related to [his] clinical practice. Basically, the charge arose from [his] political commitment as a member of the Legislative Council in the participation in the primary election in 2020. There was no complaint [about his] integrity, and no dishonesty and negligence to [his] duties as a doctor.”

The panel said Kwok’s plea showed that he was “still putting his political agenda [at] the forefront.”

The judgment added: “In his subsequent correspondence with the Secretary [of the council], [Kwok] went so far as to [say] that ‘It is an uphill battle for me to face all these challenges in preparing for the inquiry. While I am facing an authority with resources and manpower, I am here alone. I am always ‘an egg in front of a high wall.’

“This illustrates to us that the Defendant has showed no remorse and let alone been rehabilitated.”

‘Excel’

In his Facebook post, written in Chinese, Kwok said he would keep helping people despite being disqualified from practising medicine and urged supporters not to be frustrated.

“Nowadays, we know that all kinds of absurd things could happen. I don’t take it as a surprise, and people don’t need to be sad or frustrated,” he said. “We must live well and excel at what we can still do.”

Claudia Mo, a co-defendant in the “Hong Kong 47” case, expressed disbelief at the council’s decision in a Facebook post on Friday, saying: “Expected, but still …”

Kwok and Mo were sentenced to four years and two months in prison after they pleaded guilty to the offence.

They were released from prison in April last year, alongside former pro-democracy lawmakers Gary Fan and Jeremy Tam. The four were the first defendants to complete their jail terms in the case.

The “Hong Kong 47” case centred on an unofficial primary election held in July 2020 that aimed to help the pro-democracy camp win a controlling majority in the legislature.

The judges ruled that the defendants had planned to use their constitutional powers to veto the government budget, ultimately forcing the resignation of the chief executive and a government shutdown.

This, the judges ruled, would have resulted in a “constitutional crisis.”