The Hong Kong government has launched a public consultation on proposed amendments to the city’s fire safety law, six months after the deadly blaze at Wang Fuk Court housing estate in Tai Po.

According to a government statement on Tuesday, the one-month consultation aims to enhance “public safety, regulatory coherence, enforcement effectiveness and accountability,” as well as to respond to public expectations for improved fire safety following the deadly blaze in November.

The proposed amendments will cover the Fire Services Ordinance and three subsidiary pieces of legislation on fire safety equipment in buildings, the professionals who oversee them, and the Fire Services Department’s powers to abate fire hazards, a Security Bureau spokesperson said.

“We will also take this opportunity to appropriately enhance the enforcement powers of the Fire Services Department (FSD) in specific areas and combat illicit fuelling activities, among others,” the spokesperson added.

See also: ‘Not good enough’: Key points from gov’t departments’ testimony at Tai Po fire inquiry

Tuesday marked six months since the fire broke out at Wang Fuk Court on November 26.

The blaze, which killed 168 people and displaced thousands of residents, exposed shortcomings in the FSD’s role in overseeing fire safety during major renovation works at densely populated housing estates, with officials pledging reforms at a public inquiry into the tragedy.

Tuesday’s proposals were made by the government’s Task Force on Strengthening Fire Safety Governance, established after the fire and chaired by Secretary for Security Chris Tang.

Members of the public may submit their views on the proposals by email or regular mail until June 25.

According to the statement, the government hopes to finalise the proposals and table a bill in the Legislative Council later this year.

Hong Kong’s top leader has defended a management firm’s delay in holding a meeting with owners displaced by the deadly Wang Fuk Court fire, saying those procedures must be carried out “in accordance with the law.”

Chief Executive John Lee said at a Tuesday press conference that Hop On Management “has always given people the impression that it is serious,” citing two briefing sessions held online last month and arrangements for maintenance fee refunds.

“My requirement is that they need to handle all matters in accordance with the law,” Lee added.

Lee replied to a reporter’s question about whether the government would take any steps regarding the Lands Tribunal’s decision to deny Hop On’s bid to extend the statutory deadline for an owners’ meeting.

After receiving a petition from Wang Fuk Court homeowners in late April, the firm originally had to call a meeting by May 13 and hold it by June 13.

The Lands Tribunal ruled last week that postponing the deadline would affect homeowners’ rights to have a meeting. Judge Gary Lam said in his ruling that Hop On remained in breach of its statutory obligations and added that it should “convene and hold the meeting as requested as soon as possible.”

Lee said that the tribunal had acknowledged difficulties faced by Hop On, from verifying the petition’s 247 signatures to putting together a complete register of owners’ particulars.

He said that some of the people killed in the fire may have been flat owners and that probate certifications would be needed to account for those cases.

“Hop On needs to make residents understand that it will handle all matters in accordance with the law,” he said, adding that the government would continue to assist the firm.

See also: Wang Fuk Court administrator to study ruling after court rejects bid to extend meeting deadline

Following the tribunal’s ruling, Hop On told HKFP last week that it “is doing its utmost to discharge its duties in accordance with the law, even in difficult times.”

“Hop On is currently conducting a thorough review of the judgment, and will continue with its work in verifying owners’ signatures and identifying a suitable venue, aiming at convening the owners’ meeting while safeguarding the rights and interests of all owners of Wang Fuk Court,” it said.

A senior surveyor at a government inspection unit has admitted alerting the renovation consultant ahead of site checks at Wang Fuk Court before the estate went up in flames, a public inquiry has heard.

Victor Dawes, lead counsel to the independent committee investigating the fatal fire, questioned Andy Ku, a senior maintenance surveyor at the Housing Bureau’s Independent Checking Unit (ICU), on Wednesday.

Dawes presented to the committee Ku’s written witness statement, in which the senior surveyor said that the ICU had “no particular role in reviewing or confirming the quality, reliability, and integrity of consultants.”

The committee earlier heard in March that one of the directors of Will Power Architects, the consultancy firm overseeing the large-scale maintenance work at the Tai Po housing estate, had not carried out his duties as a “registered inspector” (RI).

“The RI’s work, in effect, is to act as a regulator. If it’s not up to you to keep them in check, who else would it be?” Dawes asked Ku.

Ku replied that the oversight system is essentially “self-regulating” and that the ICU does not have a formal auditing system.

The committee also heard on Wednesday that for most of its inspections, the ICU had notified a Will Power employee, who was also a representative for the RI. The inspector himself was not there for most of the ICU checks.

Dawes remarked that the ICU’s inspection practice deviated from the norm with other government departments, such as the Labour Department and Buildings Department.

The lead counsel also told the hearing that the ICU had conducted a total of 10 inspections at Wang Fuk Court, of which only two were held without advance notice. One of those two inspections was an impromptu check, which Ku conducted himself after a medical appointment in the same district.

“If you didn’t have a medical appointment in Tai Po that day, there wouldn’t have been an inspection?” Dawes asked. Ku agreed.

Dawes then showed the committee screenshots of ICU maintenance surveyor Amanda Lau’s text conversations scheduling an inspection with the RI representative, who then alerted the contractor, Prestige Construction & Engineering. Ku confirmed that Lau acted on his orders.

After the fire, the ICU began conducting inspections without advance notice, Ku said.

Dawes asked if the new arrangements meant that the ICU realised there were issues with its old system. Ku replied: “There was room for improvement.”

Scaffolding nets, foam boards

Ku was also grilled on his unit’s oversight of scaffolding nets and foam boards, which a preliminary investigation has blamed for contributing to the spread of the blaze.

The lead counsel brought up the ICU’s checks on the fire retardancy of scaffolding nets used at Wang Fuk Court.

He asked Ku why he told the Buildings Department the nets were up to standard, despite the ICU’s own test showing the nets continued to burn for more than 10 seconds before the flame was extinguished.

Ku said that upon two retrials of the same piece of netting, the net did not catch fire.

Dawes showed a fire retardancy certificate to the committee and asked Ku whether the ICU could verify the legitimacy of the certificate and whether it really corresponded to the same lot of scaffold nets.

Ku said the unit could not verify, as it relied on the contractor’s word.

Despite residents’ complaints, the senior surveyor told the hearing that he did not notice the estate’s windows were covered with foam boards during an ICU inspection in September because scaffolding nets were in the way.

A month later, the contractor and the inspector told Ku that only three floors would have windows covered with foam boards whenever spalling works were carried out.

Ku said he did not ask to see a fire retardancy certificate for the foam boards as he believed the phased arrangement would mitigate fire risks. “There was no basis to ask for a certificate,” he said.

Dawes scrolled through about a dozen photos from the site, most of which showed windows covered with foam boards in clear view. The photos were part of a slideshow report that Ku had previously seen.

Dawes questioned how Ku could have been unaware of the foam boards, to which the government surveyor said he was “focused on the concrete works.”

Ku added that in retrospect, he “had been lied to” and that he did not follow up on the matter because there were no further complaints from residents.

A group of Tai Po fire survivors have petitioned their housing estate’s administrator to hold a general meeting with homeowners to discuss long-term resettlement and related financial matters after collecting 247 handwritten signatures.

The petition organisers issued a media statement on Tuesday, saying that they had delivered the petition and the handwritten signatures to Hop On Management on April 29.

Hop On Management – a subsidiary of real estate giant Chinachem Group – was appointed by the government in early January to act as administrator of the incorporated owners of Wang Fuk Court after a tribunal dissolved the owners’ board of the Tai Po residential estate.

Displaced homeowners, who are scattered across Hong Kong following the deadly fire, have since urged Hop On to call a general meeting, but to no avail.

Jason Kong, one of the petition organisers, told HKFP on Tuesday that a Hop On staff member received the petition in person on April 29.

The staff member gave Kong an acknowledgement slip, which said the company had received the documents but also read: “Content not verified.”

Kong also said that within a couple of weeks, the organisers had gathered 247 signatures from Wang Fuk Court homeowners and representatives of those killed in the November inferno.

Each signatory not only signed their name but also gave their address at Wang Fuk Court and their contact number, he added.

“The responsibility of further verifying those signatures lies with Hop On,” Kong said in Cantonese, “We’ve collected signatures from around 12 per cent of all households [at Wang Fuk Court] – more than enough to call a general meeting.”

Hong Kong’s Building Management Ordinance stipulates that a management committee must convene a general meeting at the written request of at least five per cent of owners.

Wang Fuk Court has a total of 1,984 units, and 247 signatories exceed the required threshold.

HKFP has reached out to Hop On for comment.

The Tai Po fire broke out on November 26, claiming 168 lives and burning the homes of thousands. The blaze is Hong Kong’s deadliest since 1948.

March petition

Kong and other fire survivors launched a similar petition online in March, signed by more than 400 homeowners and representatives of those killed in the fire.

However, Hop On rejected the demand. In an email sent to Kong on April 5, Hop On said the petition did not meet the statutory requirement and that it would not hold a formal owners’ meeting at that stage.

“Following a detailed review and consultation with legal counsel, we note that… you had gathered owners’ concerns via an online form, but provided no further information,” Hop On said in the email, which was seen by HKFP.

Four days later, the Home Affairs Department said it received complaints from several Wang Fuk Court residents, who alleged that the petition did not verify the identities of the signatories.

“Individual flat owners said the so-called petition lacked authentication mechanisms and may involve people impersonating owners and forging signatures. Personal information collected is also at risk of being abused or misused without authorisation,” the department said.

The department also said it had referred the matter to law enforcement agencies for investigation.

Kong said that this time, he and other organisers spent a couple of weeks personally collecting ink signatures from homeowners.

“Once we found out some information was missing, such as a home address, we contacted the signatory again to fill out the information,” Kong said.

Many Wang Fuk Court homeowners hope to discuss long-term resettlement options in the long-awaited meeting, as well as the government’s arrangements for fire survivors returning home to pack personal belongings, he said.

They also want to discuss financial matters related to Wang Fuk Court, such as insurance claims, Kong added.

Hong Kong authorities cannot rule out theft in 16 of 142 lost property reports filed by residents of the fire-ravaged Wang Fuk Court housing estate, the security minister has said.

Secretary for Security Chris Tang said on an RTHK programme on Saturday that in 48 cases, the police and the residents were able to retrieve the missing items.

“About 20 per cent [of the reports] concerned flats that were severely burned, for which we, as well as the residents, believe the items had likely been incinerated,” Tang said in Cantonese. “In 30 per cent of cases, the residents could not clearly describe the items, making it difficult to follow up.”

But Tang said in the remaining 16 cases, the missing items might have been stolen, and that police were investigating.

Wang Fuk Court residents were allowed to return to their homes twice since April to collect personal belongings, months after a massive inferno in November ripped through seven blocks of the Tai Po housing estate, killing 168 people and displacing others.

The entire estate’s eight blocks have been cordoned off by the authorities since the blaze. Some residents raised alarms about a possible security loophole as they suspected valuable items at their homes had been stolen.

In March, weeks before residents made their first home trips, police arrested three men hired to carry out reinforcement works at Wang Fuk Court for allegedly stealing jewellery from unoccupied flats. Authorities said they had stepped up security at the estate since then.

Increased emergency hotlines

Tang also said on the Saturday programme that the Fire Services Department (FSD) had increased its emergency phone lines from 30 to 48 in recent months, with the figure expected to reach nearly 70 in the next two to three months.

After the FSD completes its command system upgrade early next year, there will be 100 available hotlines, Tang added.

The public inquiry into the blaze previously heard that hundreds of emergency calls during the fire had overloaded the FSD’s system, leading to backlogged calls and failed connections. In one case, a woman died after the police failed to pass her call to the FSD.

Tang said on Saturday that the 30-line system had been enough for handling fires in the past until the Tai Po blaze.

“We realised 30 lines were not enough in an event like this, so we felt the need to immediately increase that. But we have to strike a balance between resources and needs, and we think that 100 lines will be enough,” Tang said.

He also mentioned the government’s proposal to revamp the city’s fire safety laws, saying it aims at ensuring the FSD has the “final responsibility” in the oversight of buildings’ fire risks.

After the revamp, the FSD will actively refer structural fire hazards, such as exit points for workers in a building’s fire staircase, to the responsible departments and follow up on the matter, Tang said.

The proposed amendments will cover the Fire Services Ordinance and three subsidiary pieces of legislation on fire safety equipment in buildings, the professionals who oversee them, and the FSD’s powers to abate fire hazards, the government announced last week.

A one-month public consultation regarding the proposed revamp is underway. Residents have until June 25 to submit their views in writing.

Wang Fuk Court fire survivors Jason Kong and his wife have been arrested for alleged government loan fraud – two weeks after he delivered a petition asking the estate’s administrator to meet with homeowners.

Sing Tao Daily reported on Friday morning that Kong and his wife were arrested on Thursday over “money laundering” and “conspiracy to defraud.”

The couple, both directors of an interior design company, are alleged to have used fraudulent means to obtain several hundred thousand dollars in loans under the government’s Special 100% Loan Guarantee scheme.

The scheme was launched by the Hong Kong government in early 2020 to help companies amid the Covid-19 pandemic.

According to Sing Tao Daily, Kong allegedly faked the income records for January to March 2020 of his interior design company when he applied for the loan in 2022, “creating the impression that his company was affected by Covid-19.”

It is suspected that he obtained “several hundred thousand dollars,” and some funds were transferred to his personal account, the newspaper reported.

Sources familiar with the matter told HKFP that, as of Friday morning, Kong and his wife were being detained at a police station.

HKFP has not been able to reach Kong since Thursday afternoon.

In response to HKFP’s enquiry, police said on Friday afternoon that they arrested a local man and a local woman in Yuen Long on Thursday, following an investigation by the Regional Crime Unit of New Territories South.

The pair were arrested on suspicion of money laundering and conspiracy to defraud, police said. The suspects, aged 62 and 64, are accused of defrauding the government’s Special 100% Loan Guarantee scheme.

Outspoken

Kong is a flat owner at the fire-ravaged Tai Po residential estate. He was also a member of the Wang Fuk Court owners’ board when the fire broke out.

He and his wife survived the fire, but their dog died in the blaze.

Kong has been outspoken on matters of displacement and long-term resettlement. He has been urging the government and the government-appointed administrator, Hop On Management, to hold a meeting with homeowners.

On April 29, Kong delivered a petition, which garnered 247 handwritten signatures, to Hop On, asking the firm to hold a general meeting with homeowners to discuss long-term resettlement and related financial matters. He was one of the petition organisers.

Hop On said on Wednesday that it would seek to extend the statutory deadline for holding a homeowners’ meeting, citing the need for more time to verify owners’ signatures and find a suitable venue.

The company also said it would not communicate with “specific” residents.

“As the administrator, Hop On’s responsibility is to represent and serve all owners of Wang Fuk Court, rather than communicating only with a portion of owners or specific individuals,” the company said.

In early April, state-backed newspaper Ta Kung Pao reported that Kong collected 500 online signatures for a petition urging Hop On to hold a general meeting with homeowners.

The report questioned the authenticity of the signatures and asked why Kong did not introduce a mechanism to verify them.

It also questioned why Kong joined the owners’ board of a residential estate in Sai Kung District. In response, Kong, who owns a property on the estate, asked why somebody should not be allowed to serve on several owners’ boards across different housing estates.

Arrests linked to gov’t loan

Since last year, there have been other arrests related to the government’s pandemic loan scheme.

In April 2025, police arrested six people, including at least one director of independent media outlet Channel C’s parent company, for allegedly defrauding the Special 100% Loan Guarantee scheme.

Channel C – founded by a small group of former Apple Daily employees in July 2021 following the closure of the pro-democracy newspaper – ceased operations soon after the arrests.

In March this year, businessman Jason Poon, who took on corruption in the construction sector, was arrested over the same government loan scheme.

He was active in highlighting issues in renovation projects at Hong Kong’s residential estates, including the quality of scaffolding nets and the bid-rigging epidemic – issues that arose in the wake of the Wang Fuk Court fire.

Following his arrest, Poon said that he would focus more on his family.

In April, the 70th month since Beijing imposed the national security law, the Hong Kong government applied to the court to seize assets belonging to Apple Daily founder Jimmy Lai, who is serving a 20-year prison sentence.

On National Education Day, a top Chinese official delivered a warning about those who “politicised” the deadly Tai Po fire and tried to “stir up chaos” in the city.

Gov’t seeks to seize Jimmy Lai’s assets

The Hong Kong government filed an application with the High Court on April 2 to seize “offence-related” properties owned by jailed pro-democracy media tycoon Jimmy Lai on national security grounds.

In a statement issued the same day, the government mentioned Lai’s earlier convictions under the Beijing-imposed national security law. It said the High Court had found that he was the “mastermind and driving force behind the case, consciously using Apple Daily and his personal influence” to undermine local and Beijing authorities.

In a writ dated April 2, the secretary for justice listed HK$127 million in assets to be “forfeited” to the authorities.

The assets include credit balances in bank accounts belonging to or linked to the Apple Daily founder.

Fifteen bank accounts under Lai’s name – 10 with HSBC, two with Hang Seng Bank and three with Shanghai Commercial and Savings Bank – have over HK$32 million.

The government is also seeking to seize bank accounts belonging to 17 companies linked to Lai. It is also demanding that Lai give up shares in 17 companies, some of which overlap with the 17 firms whose assets the government is seeking to seize.

Among the companies whose assets and shares the government wants to seize are Dico Consultants Ltd, which has over HK$404,302 in its HSBC account, and Lai’s Hotel Properties Ltd, which has over HK$3.1 million in its four HSBC accounts.

Lai has been summoned to the High Court on July 8 to hear the government’s application. The case will be presided over by Esther Toh, one of the three judges who heard his national security trial.

The move to seize Lai’s assets came after the government designated three companies linked to Lai’s now-defunct Apple Daily tabloid “prohibited organisations” in late March and removed them from the corporate registry. Police cordoned off the Apple Daily building in Tseung Kwan O a day later.

The three firms were tried and convicted alongside the Apple Daily founder in his high-profile national security case. Lai was sentenced to 20 years behind bars in early February, while the companies were each fined over HK$3 million.

Political commentator appears in court

A Hong Kong political commentator charged with disclosing details of a national security investigation appeared at the District Court on April 28.

Wong Kwok-ngon, known by his pen name Wong On-yin, has been detained since his arrest in December for allegedly divulging in a YouTube video details of enquiries made by police during a national security investigation.

Judge Stanley Chan said the pre-trial review would take place behind closed doors on August 11, and the trial would begin on October 9.

Wong’s offence falls under the Safeguarding National Security Ordinance, a homegrown security law known as Article 23. It was added to the ordinance in May as part of subsidiary legislation, and Wong is the first to be charged under the new law.

He is also charged with sedition over videos posted on YouTube between January 3 and December 6 last year. He plans to plead not guilty to both charges.

The defendant, who continues to represent himself, told the court he had dropped his legal aid application.

Asked by the judge whether he had legal knowledge for self-defence, Wong said he had “three law degrees” and was confident of handling the case.

Nat. security clauses for restaurant licences

Secretary for Environment and Ecology Tse Chin-wan said in early April that all Hong Kong restaurant licences would include national security clauses from September.

Tse made the remarks on April 7, nearly a year after the Food and Environmental Hygiene Department (FEHD) introduced the provisions for restaurant licence renewals in May.

“With restaurants renewing their licences gradually, we expect that by September this year, all restaurant licences will contain the clauses,” Tse told reporters, according to RTHK.

Retiree jailed over seditious Facebook posts

A Hong Kong man was jailed for a year under the city’s homegrown national security law after pleading guilty to making seditious remarks on Facebook, including comments supporting Hong Kong’s and Taiwan’s independence.

Raymond Chong pleaded guilty before national security judge Victor So at West Kowloon Magistrates’ Courts on April 14 to one count of knowingly publishing publications with a seditious intention – an offence under the city’s local security law, also known as Article 23.

The magistrate handed Chong, a retiree in his early 60s, an 18-month sentence but discounted it by six months after considering his guilty plea.

Chong was accused of making 53 seditious social media posts between March 2024 and November 2025, local media reported.

The posts had wording such as “dissolving the Chinese Communist Party is the most important thing” and “Hong Kong independence is within sight.”

The defendant posted on a public Facebook page called “Holy Raymond,” which features the Chinese phrase “Heaven will destroy the Chinese Communist Party, God bless Hong Kong” as its profile picture.

During mitigation ahead of sentencing, his lawyer argued that Chong was a Falun Gong believer who had come to hate the Chinese Communist Party because of false information that the CCP engaged in live organ harvesting.

Beijing official warned of ‘politicising’ Tai Po fire

China’s top official in charge of Hong Kong affairs warned of some people who “politicised” the deadly Tai Po fire and tried to use the disaster to “stir up chaos” in Hong Kong.

Xia Baolong, director of the Hong Kong and Macao Affairs Office, delivered his remarks on April 15 via a recorded video shown at a National Security Education Day ceremony.

In his speech, Xia mentioned the massive fire that broke out at Wang Fuk Court, a government-subsidised housing estate in Tai Po, on November 26, killing 168 people.

“After the Tai Po fire, some malicious people politicised the tragedy, attempting to use the disaster as a means to disrupt Hong Kong,” Xia said in Mandarin, without giving further details.

“Once again, it reminds us that along Hong Kong’s path toward prosperity under good governance, there will be various risks and challenges.”

Speaking at the same event, Hong Kong Chief Executive John Lee also warned that some people were “using the disaster to stir up chaos” and “to incite hatred” in Hong Kong.

“Only through the government’s swift action and decisive law enforcement has the situation been able to return to normal,” Lee said in Mandarin.

French journalist denied entry to city

A French journalist was denied entry to Hong Kong in November, Reporters Without Borders (RSF) said in late April, accusing the city’s authorities of “weaponising visas” against foreign media workers.

Antoine Vedeilhe, who was shooting a documentary for French public broadcaster France Télévisions, was questioned upon arrival at Hong Kong International Airport on November 2 last year, RSF said in a statement on April 24.

He was detained for three hours before being deported without being given a reason, it added.

The press freedom NGO said Vedeilhe was the 13th foreign media worker who had been denied entry or a visa by the city’s authorities following Beijing’s imposition of the national security law in 2020.

“In the journalist’s view, his detention was a reprisal for his work on a documentary examining Beijing’s grip on Hong Kong,” RSF said.

Another cameraman for the documentary was able to enter the city, RSF said, but he was followed by “unidentified individuals that he suspects were Hong Kong’s national security police.”

“In the following days, there was a hacking attempt on Vedeilhe’s private email account and his sources in the documentary were harassed by the national security police,” the NGO said.

In an emailed reply to HKFP’s enquiries, the Hong Kong government said it “strongly condemns the smearing remarks and distorted narratives by” RSF.

Prosecution and arrests figures

As of April 1, a total of 394 people have been arrested for “cases involving suspected acts or activities that endanger national security” since Beijing’s national security law came into effect, according to the Security Bureau. That figure includes those arrested under Article 23 and for other offences.

Of the 208 people and five companies that have so far been charged, 180 people and four companies have been convicted or are awaiting sentencing.

In total, 100 people and four companies have been charged under Beijing’s national security law, with 79 persons and three companies convicted. Thirteen people have been charged under Article 23, 10 of whom have been convicted.

An outspoken resident who survived Hong Kong’s deadliest fire in decades has said he will not give any more media interviews after his release following an arrest over alleged government loan fraud.

“Going forward, I won’t be responding to anything, OK?” Wang Fuk Court resident Jason Kong told reporters outside Tsuen Wan Police Station shortly after midnight on Saturday. “Thank you all for your care and support over the past few months.”

Kong and his wife were reportedly arrested on Thursday on suspicion of money laundering and conspiracy to defraud.

The couple, both directors of an interior design company, allegedly used fraudulent means to obtain several hundred thousand dollars in loans under the government’s Special 100% Loan Guarantee scheme, which was launched during the Covid-19 pandemic.

Sources familiar with the matter told HKFP on Friday that they were being detained at a police station.

The arrests came around two weeks after Kong was involved in organising and delivering a petition to Hop On Management, the government-appointed administrator for the Tai Po housing estate, asking the firm to hold a meeting with homeowners.

Kong, who was a member of the Wang Fuk Court owners’ board when the fire broke out in November, had also spoken with the media on other issues, such as long-term resettlement.

However, upon his release on Saturday, he refused to answer reporters’ questions about whether he was under investigation for other matters, as well as whether he would still handle matters relating to a petition for an owners’ meeting.

Asked whether he was still able to speak for residents, Kong said that he had “no comment.”

“I hope that everyone can stay safe and healthy, and once again I thank everyone for their support,” he said.

“I hope that residents can settle down as soon as possible,” Kong added as he got into a taxi.

Hop On, which received a petition with 247 handwritten signatures on April 29, has yet to hold an in-person meeting with homeowners. The management firm said last week that it would apply to the Lands Tribunal to extend the statutory deadline for the meeting.

Kong and other fire survivors previously launched a similar petition online in March, signed by more than 400 homeowners and representatives of those killed in the fire.

Hop On rejected the demand, while the Home Affairs Department said the signatures might have been forged.

Kong also testified before an independent committee investigating the blaze last month, saying that government agencies had “failed in their duties” despite receiving complaints about the renovation project at the estate.

Hong Kong’s competition watchdog has announced that it is considering criminalising bid-rigging, proposing a maximum penalty of seven years’ imprisonment.

Barrister Jat Sew-tong, chairperson of the Competition Commission, announced on Friday plans to amend the Competition Ordinance to criminalise bid-rigging, local media reported.

The commission hopes to table the amendment by the end of this year, Jat said, adding that the proposed maximum penalty would be seven years in jail.

Under the Competition Ordinance, bid-rigging is currently a civil violation, not a criminal offence, and it is penalised with a fine.

Jat said that he had been discussing the proposal with the city’s leader John Lee and the Hong Kong Bar Association, NowTV reported.

He said Lee had conveyed “orders” or “expectations” but did not specify what.

The commission’s move comes after a deadly fire broke out at Wang Fuk Court, a residential estate in Tai Po, in November. The estate was undergoing a large-scale renovation at the time of the fire.

The blaze, which claimed 168 lives, has brought to light the widespread issue of bid-rigging and corruption in major maintenance works at residential buildings.

Residents told HKFP in February that they had suspected graft and bid-rigging in the renovation project, and had attempted to report it to authorities without any success.

Jat also said on Friday that investigations by the Competition Commission revealed triads were involved in rigging bids for many large-scale maintenance projects.

However, due to the Competition Ordinance’s limitations, the commission cannot prosecute the cases and has to transfer them to law enforcement departments.

The Competition Commission is a statutory body established under the Competition Ordinance in 2012.

Secretary for Development Bernadette Linn said in February that the city’s corruption watchdog had received multiple complaints involving bid-rigging in building maintenance works over the past five years.

The Independent Commission Against Corruption (ICAC) received 24 complaints in 2025, more than double the number in 2021, Linn said.

The Hong Kong government said it has issued buyback offer letters to homeowners of the fire-hit Wang Fuk Court, moving forward with its plan to acquire property titles from displaced residents.

The government said on Thursday that it has distributed “letters of offer” to flat owners of the seven blocks affected in the massive inferno in November that killed 168 people – Hong Kong’s deadliest blaze in decades.

The move follows the authorities’ announcement in February that they would spend up to HK$6.8 billion to buy back flats from owners. The budget consists of HK$4 billion in taxpayers’ money and HK$2.8 billion from a support fund largely made up of public donations.

Owners can choose cash or a flat swap for a new government-subsidised unit under a special sales scheme, according to the February plan.

The government has established a company named Wang Fuk Court Property Rights Acquisition Limited, which has distributed the offer letters to owners, it said on Thursday.

Owners have until August 31 to sign a “letter of acceptance” enclosed with the offer letter and return it to the company if they choose to accept the acquisition, it said.

“Upon receipt of the owners’ duly signed ‘Letter of Acceptance,’ the government will make every effort to promptly assist in completing the Agreement for Sale and Purchase and the [Deed of] Assignment,” a government spokesperson said in a statement.

Early flat selection

For owners who opt for cash, authorities will expedite the payment for them to make purchases in the private market, the government said.

Those who want to participate in the government’s special sales scheme will be allowed to select their flats earlier if they accept the buyback offer quickly, authorities added.

They will receive priority if they return the letter of acceptance by June 30.

For homeowners of Wang Chi House, the only block not affected by the blaze, the government said that if 75 per cent of owners sign the letter of acceptance by June 30, the buyback plan will be made available to them. The government previously said buying out Wang Chi House would require an additional HK1 billion.

The Thursday statement did not mention what arrangements were available for those choosing not to accept the government’s buyback offers.

Amid calls from some residents for the housing estate to be rebuilt at its original location, the government has said that the buyback plan is final.

Authorities said the seven towers hit by flames suffered “irreversible” internal damage, and that they would be torn down to build a park or other community facilities.

However, some residents expressed scepticism about the government’s proposal after a public inquiry into the fire revealed that damage was concentrated in a number of buildings.

Some residents also expressed a desire to return to the estate after they were allowed to return to their homes to retrieve their personal belongings and found their flats largely unscathed, according to local media.

Deputy Financial Secretary Michael Wong, who is leading the buyback plan, said in February that the government would study whether “special legislation” would be needed if some owners refuse to sell their flats.

The administrator of the fire-hit Wang Fuk Court has said it is studying the Lands Tribunal’s judgment after the court denied its bid to extend the statutory deadline for an owners’ meeting.

Replying to media enquiries, Hop On Management, the government-appointed administrator of the housing estate, also said on Wednesday that it would continue to verify signatures in the petition from homeowners and would hold a meeting as requested.

Just a day earlier, the Lands Tribunal denied Hop On’s application to postpone the deadline for convening and holding an owners’ meeting, as required by the Buildings Management Ordinance (BMO), after the company received the homeowners’ petition.

Hop On also said on Wednesday that it made the application due to the extensive preparations for the meeting and that it hoped all homeowners would have a “fair opportunity” to participate in the meeting.

Hop On added that it appreciated the tribunal’s acknowledgement of the administrator’s efforts in contacting homeowners.

In his Tuesday judgment, Judge Gary Lam, presiding officer of the Lands Tribunal, said that the firm’s difficulty in contacting owners was “not insurmountable” as it had managed to collect addresses, phone numbers and email addresses of 1,601 owners out of 1,984 units at the Tai Po housing estate.

He also said it was “plain and obvious” that the BMO does not give the tribunal jurisdiction to extend the statutory deadline for holding owners’ meetings.

Replying to press enquiries, the Home Affairs Department (HAD) said that Lam’s ruling involved the interpretation of the BMO and that the government would study the judgment.

The department also noted that the tribunal gave Hop On and the HAD “credit” for their efforts in issuing notices and convening the meeting, given the exceptional circumstances.

On April 29, Hop On, a subsidiary of real estate giant Chinachem Group, received a petition with 247 handwritten signatures asking the firm to meet with flat owners to discuss long-term resettlement and related financial matters.

The total number of signatures supporting the petition exceeded the 5 per cent threshold needed to convene a meeting stipulated by the BMO.

According to the ordinance, the management committee should issue notice of the meeting within 14 days and hold the general meeting with owners within 45 days.

A Hong Kong company appointed by the government to administer the fire-ravaged Wang Fuk Court has asked the Lands Tribunal to postpone a statutory deadline for holding a homeowners’ meeting.

Hectar Pun, a lawyer representing Hop On Management, told the tribunal on Monday that the firm had faced challenges in verifying signatures and finding venues for the meeting.

Hop On, a subsidiary of real estate giant Chinachem Group, applied to the Lands Tribunal to postpone the May 13 deadline for notifying owners of the meeting and the June 13 deadline for convening the meeting.

Judge Gary Lam noted that Hop On had made an ex parte application – a request for a court order without the presence of the opposing party – and told the firm to consider the matter from the perspective of the flat owners.

He also asked whether the court should postpone the deadline every time Hop On encountered difficulties. Pun replied that the tribunal has the judicial powers to make delays as long as there is “good cause” to do so.

Judge Lam said that the court would hand down its decision at 3pm on Tuesday.

Hop On was appointed by the government to take over administrative duties at Wang Fuk Court from the board of the owners’ corporation weeks after the deadly November fire at the Tai Po housing estate.

The Lands Tribunal granted the government’s appointment of the firm in early January.

Homeowners’ petition

Hop On said last month that it would apply to the tribunal to extend the deadline for holding a homeowners’ meeting after it received a petition with 247 handwritten signatures asking the firm to meet with flat owners to discuss long-term resettlement and related financial matters.

The total number of signatures supporting the petition exceeded the 5 per cent threshold needed to convene a meeting stipulated by the Building Management Ordinance.

See also: Tai Po fire: Residents say ‘no choice’ but to accept buyback as deadline looms

According to the ordinance, the management committee should issue notice of the meeting within 14 days and hold the general meeting with owners within 45 days.

Wang Fuk Court resident Jason Kong, one of the petition’s organisers and a former board member, was arrested for alleged government loan fraud last month, two weeks after delivering the petition.

After he was released from police detention, he said he would no longer take media interviews.