Multiple Arrests Made in Connection with Deadly Hong Kong Tower Fire
HONG KONG – Authorities in Hong Kong have arrested eight individuals – seven men and one woman ranging in age from 40 too 63 – in connection with Wednesday’s devastating fire at the Wang Fuk Court residential complex, which has claimed 128 lives with approximately 200 people still missing. The arrests, conducted throughout Friday, center around alleged negligence and potential wrongdoing related to the building’s recent renovation.
The anti-corruption body initially arrested two directors of Will Power Architects, the architecture firm consulting on the renovation project, on Friday morning. Subsequent arrests included six additional individuals: two project managers from Will power Architects, a couple owning a subcontracted scaffolding company, and an intermediary. Authorities searched the offices of Will Power Architects as part of the investigation.
This brings the total number of people detained to five, following Thursday’s arrests of three senior managers from Prestige Construction & Engineering – Hau Wa-kin, Ho Kin-yip, and Steve wong Chung-kee – all charged with serious reckless homicide. Prestige Construction & Engineering was responsible for the rehabilitation work and has a history of workplace safety violations, according to investigators.
The fire originated in tower 8 of the Wang Fuk Court complex,comprised of eight 31-story blocks built in 1984 and housing roughly 4,600 residents,many of whom are elderly. The blaze rapidly spread to six other buildings, fueled by highly flammable expanded polystyrene sheets installed in elevator shafts and exterior mesh networks lacking fire resistance, preliminary reports indicate.
A special team has also been established to investigate potential irregularities in the awarding of the $42 million (36.5 million euro) renovation contract, which Prestige won from a pool of 57 competing companies in 2023.
In response to the tragedy – one of the worst in Hong Kong’s recent history – chief Executive John Lee has ordered urgent reviews of all public housing complexes undergoing major rehabilitation work.
