Seven people and two firms that oversaw renovation works at Wang Fuk Court, the site of the city’s deadliest fire in decades, have been charged with manslaughter and a slew of other offences.

Three directors and employees at the two companies were among those formally charged by police and the Independent Commission Against Corruption (ICAC) at the West Kowloon Law Courts Building on Wednesday.

The defendants face a total of 25 charges, including manslaughter, conspiracy to defraud, money laundering, attempting to pervert the course of public justice, and tax evasion.

The blaze at Wang Fuk Court, a government-subsidised housing estate in Tai Po, in November killed 168 people and displaced thousands of residents.

‘Gross negligence’

According to the charge sheets, the two firms are Prestige Construction & Engineering, the main contractor for the HK$330 million renovation project at Wang Fuk Court, and Will Power Architects, the consultancy firm overseeing the government-mandated work.

Among the seven individuals charged are Will Power director Wong Hap-yin, its registered inspector Wilson Ng, and Prestige Construction director Ho Kin-yip.

Wong, Ng and Ho, along with their two companies, were charged with five counts of manslaughter.

The other four defendants are: Hau Wa-kin, another director at Prestige; Chung So-fan, Wong’s wife; Hung Kwok-wai, Wong’s friend; and Lin Min, assistant manager at Will Power.

The charge sheets also included the names of the 168 people killed in the fire.

Senior Superintendent Basil Tang of the New Territories North Regional Crime Unit said at a press conference on Wednesday, “The firms and individuals responsible for the Wang Fuk Court renovation project failed in their duty of care and displayed gross negligence in their supervision of construction materials and engineering protocols.”

Police investigation found key safety violations, including the use of non-flame-retardant scaffold netting and flammable foam boards, and the removal of windows along the emergency escape stairwell, Tang also said.

Tang told reporters that the three men charged with manslaughter were denied bail and the case had been adjourned to September 2 for the next court mention.

Bid rigging

At the same press conference, ICAC Principal Investigator Hazel Law said that Wong, Ho and Hau colluded to rig the tendering process and favour Prestige by omitting the contractor’s conviction records from tender documents.

Ng, who was tasked with overseeing the inspection and supervision of the repair work, “completely failed to carry out the inspections and responsibilities required of his professional role,” Law said.

“We suspect that this tragedy was fuelled entirely by individual greed,” she said. The defendants “not only failed to carry out their professional responsibilities but resorted to deep-seated corruption and fraud to achieve their objectives, displaying a disregard for the lives and properties of the residents.”

According to a police statement on Wednesday, the force and the ICAC laid the charges following investigations, and after seeking legal advice from the Department of Justice.

Hong Kong’s anti-graft watchdog has arrested seven people for alleged corruption in building maintenance projects, including the owner of a contractor firm who concealed his control over a company tasked with overseeing tendering.

The Independent Commission Against Corruption (ICAC) said in a statement on Tuesday that it arrested five men and two women, aged from 37 to 75, who were part of a corruption syndicate in the building maintenance industry.

Among them were the chairman of an owners’ board, the proprietor of a maintenance contractor, the directors of a consultancy firm, and a registered inspector.

After investigating a report alleging corruption in the tender exercise for maintenance work at a building in Mong Kok, the ICAC found that the project contractor’s proprietor “allegedly controlled the project consultancy firm through his associates.”

‘Dual role’

According to the ICAC, the proprietor “secured the consultancy contract for the grand maintenance project at a low price, and concealed his dual roles as project contractor and consultant, along with his conflicting interests during the tendering process,” with the intention to induce the owners’ board “to select his company as the project contractor.”

The contractor eventually failed to secure the HK$20 million contract after property owners suspected irregularities in the tender exercise.

The ICAC also suspected the owners’ board chairman of bribery and alleged that the registered inspector, who maintained a full-time job in the finance industry, might not have carried out her duties in accordance with the Buildings Ordinance when signing inspection reports.

The consultancy firm and the contractor also concealed their affiliation in two other maintenance projects currently undergoing tender exercises – one in Tai Hang and another in Sham Shui Po – with contracts worth about HK$6 million.

The watchdog raided the offices of the consultancy firm and the contractor, as well as the suspects’ homes, seizing documents and accounting records related to the maintenance projects.

“The ICAC successfully intercepted these illicit activities and reminded property owners of potential corruption risks during contract awards,” it said.

“As the relevant corruption investigation is ongoing, the ICAC does not rule out further enforcement actions.”

The latest arrests come after the deadly fire at Wang Fuk Court brought to light bid-rigging and other illicit practices in the industry.

The watchdog appears to have ramped up anti-corruption arrests in maintenance projects in the months since the fire broke out.

The government-subsidised housing estate in Tai Po was undergoing large-scale maintenance work under a mandatory government order when the blaze broke out in November. The inferno – the biggest in Hong Kong in nearly eight decades – killed 168 people and displaced thousands of residents.

A 67-year-old man has been handed a two-month jail term, suspended for 24 months, after he pleaded guilty to resharing a social media post urging a boycott of the 2025 “patriots only” legislative elections.

According to a press release from the Independent Commission Against Corruption (ICAC), Lam Kin-sik admitted on Monday to inciting another person not to vote, in violation of the Elections (Corrupt and Illegal Conduct) Ordinance.

Whilst it is legal to cast a blank ballot or boycott an election in Hong Kong, it is unlawful to encourage another person to do so during an election period.

Magistrate Shirley Cornelia Hung said a custodial sentence was inevitable as it was a serious offence, but it was suspended considering Lam’s guilty plea and mitigating factors such as his health condition.

Lam was among three people prosecuted by the ICAC in November after they shared social media posts by two overseas activists – Alan Keung and Tong Wai-hung – who called for a boycott of what they described as a “fake election.”

In the Monday statement, the anti-corruption watchdog said that the defendant shared a post published by Tong.

“A warrant for Tong’s arrest, who has since left Hong Kong, was earlier issued by a Magistrate upon the ICAC’s application,” the ICAC said.

See also: Hong Kong woman given suspended jail term for reposting calls to boycott legislative polls

Those found guilty of inciting another person not to vote, or to cast an invalid ballot, face up to three years’ imprisonment and a fine of HK$200,000.

In March 2021, Beijing passed legislation to ensure “patriots” govern Hong Kong. The move reduced democratic representation in the legislature, tightened control of elections and introduced a pro-Beijing vetting panel to select candidates. Authorities say the overhaul ensures the city’s stability and prosperity. But the changes also prompted international condemnation, as much of the traditional opposition remains behind bars, in self-exile or has quit politics.

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.

A woman has denied charges of offering bribes to Hong Kong immigration officers over a permanent residency application and obstructing anti-graft officers in the execution of their duties.

Wang Subing, an unemployed 36-year-old, appeared at the Kwun Tong Magistrates’ Courts on Thursday, Ming Pao reported.

She was charged with one count of offering an advantage to a public servant and one count of resisting or obstructing officers in the execution of their duties.

The case was adjourned to July 20 for a pre-trial review, and the defendant was released on HK$20,000 bail.

The Independent Commission Against Corruption (ICAC) charged Wang on April 1, the anti-graft watchdog said last month.

According to the ICAC, she lived in Hong Kong on a student visa between mid-2018 and early 2020.

“She later entered Hong Kong as a visitor and had a record of overstaying. The offences took place in 2025,” it said. “At the material time, the defendant was applying for the issuance of a permanent identity card of the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region.”

The Immigration Department rejected her application because Wang did not meet the requirement of seven years’ ordinary residence in Hong Kong.

Then, on September 17, Wang handed over a letter to immigration officers with banknotes of HK$1,100 and RMB100 – although applications for permanent residency are free of charge.

The ICAC investigated the case after the Immigration Department made a report to the watchdog.

Wang is also accused of resisting or obstructing ICAC officers on October 8, when they tried to take her from the Immigration Headquarters in Tseung Kwan O to the ICAC office.

Offering an advantage to a public servant in Hong Kong is an offence under the Prevention of Bribery Ordinance. Upon conviction, the maximum penalty is seven years’ imprisonment and a fine of HK$500,000.

A former senior police inspector has been jailed for 30 months over misconduct in public office and accepting HK$1.4 million in bribes in exchange for leaking case details and dropping an investigation into a suspect.

During sentencing on Tuesday, Deputy District Judge Terence Wai reprimanded former chief inspector of police Ho Siu-tung, 40, “for undermining public confidence in the Police, eroding Hong Kong’s proud reputation for integrity, and striking at the foundation of the city’s rule of law,” the city’s anti-graft watchdog said in a statement issued the same day.

“The judge also ordered the defendant to make restitution of over $1.14 million to the Government, equivalent to the total sum of bribes involved in the present case, within 42 months after serving his jail term,” the Independent Commission Against Corruption (ICAC) added.

Last week, Ho pleaded guilty to two counts of misconduct in public office and two counts of accepting an advantage as a public servant.

According to the ICAC, the defendant, who was posted to Wan Chai District, was responsible for overseeing criminal investigations conducted by the District Anti-Triad Squad and the District Crime Squad.

In June 2021, he became acquainted with a merchant who reported a deception case. The merchant was also involved in an assault case, which was investigated by the Anti-Triad Squad under Ho’s supervision.

In August 2021, Ho recommended to his supervisor, a police superintendent, that the merchant be excluded from prosecution in the assault case and attempted to terminate the investigation. The defendant also ignored two enquiries from his superior as to whether further inquiries were needed.

Instead, Ho ordered his own subordinate to release the merchant, despite his being identified as the assailant by the victim in the assault case.

‘Favourably disposed’

The ICAC’s investigation revealed that over one and a half years, Ho accepted two HK$500,000 cash payments from the merchant, as well as gifts worth over HK$140,000, such as Burberry and Ralph Lauren children’s clothing, a Chanel handbag, a red packet for his son and wife, and the payment of medical bills for his mother.

Between September 2021 and October 2022, Ho told the merchant information from the police investigation, including personal data of suspects and individuals involved in two cases, police interview summaries, and bail statuses.

The two cases were the deception case reported by the merchant and a case of false instruments involving a friend of the merchant.

Ho was “favourably disposed to the merchant and his friend” during relevant investigations, “including abusing his authority to extend the Police bail of the suspect in the deception case, and abusing his authority at the merchant’s request to prolong or curtail the relevant investigative work in the use of false instruments case without justification,” the ICAC said in the statement.

In mitigation, the defence said that Ho faced mental and financial pressure from family issues and “fell into the abyss of selling his soul.” Considering Ho’s guilty plea and mitigation, Judge Wai handed down a 30-month prison sentence, down from a starting point of four years.