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.

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.