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| Wang Fuk Court Fire (Source: www.hk01.com) |
Tai Po's been home to me for over a decade. Words can't describe how heartbroken and devastated to see how a single spark has led thousands of residents losing their home, and even their loved ones.
Here's what happened in case you're not aware of the incident:
On the 26th of November 2025, a quiet Wednesday afternoon in Tai Po, Hong Kong, a single spark turned Wang Fuk Court into a towering inferno. By the time the flames were extinguished more than 24 hours later, at least 140 people were dead, dozens more injured, and over 100 remained missing. Seven out of eight towers in this housing complex, home to thousands of residents, had been gutted in the city’s worst fire disaster in nearly eighty years. (one tower within the complex has not been affected by the fire and was evacuated)
So, what went wrong exactly?
The government and some early official statements blamed the bamboo scaffolding, stating that it's the main reason that caused such a catastrophe and announcing an accelerated phase out to metal alternatives. Yet days after the blaze, the scaffolding themselves remains largely intact, perhaps charred on the surface but structurally standing on multiple towers despite being exposed to such intense heat for over 24 hours. Even with my limited knowledge in material science I can tell that it's definitely not what made things go so wrong. If bamboo were the main fuel or the decisive factor, the scaffolding would have collapsed or burned away already.
The real accelerants, ladies and gentlemen, were the non-compliant, highly flammable green construction safety netting, waterproof tarpaulins and polystyrene foam boards covering windows on each floor near lift lobbies. that melted, dripped, and created the deadly vertical fire channels.
Blaming the bamboo alone is, at best, a convenient oversimplification, and at worst, a deflection from the sub-par materials and the corrupt procurement process that put them there.
Let's head back to the beginning: The overpriced renovation of Wang Fuk Court
The $330 million (HKD) “grand renovation” of Wang Fuk Court was awarded by the owners' corporation to Prestige Construction and Engineering Company, a company with a documented history of a whopping 17 safety violations and accusations of bid-rigging in the past nine years. It's also the most expensive option among the other proposed renovation plans. What's more bizarre is that the owners' corporation sent lawyer's letter requiring each household to contribute around HK$160,000 to HK$180,000 depending on unit size and threatened legal action or penalties for late or non-payment. Residents had protested the high costs and lack of transparency. Their complaints were unsurprisingly, ignored by the owners' corporation and the $330 million project got pushed on regardless.
To me, it can't help but sound like a pre-selected contractor first inflates the budget, pockets the excess, then cuts corners on safety to secure the profit margin. Last time I checked, that's just textbook corruption, unless you have another word for it. Meanwhile, the bamboo scaffolding, Hong Kong’s centuries-old construction tradition, became the convenient scapegoat while the real culprits counted their cash while discussing who's next on the list to be ripped-off.
Within 48 hours of the fire, Hong Kong’s Independent Commission Against Corruption (ICAC) had arrested eleven people: directors of the main contractor, consultants, scaffolding subcontractors, and middlemen. The charges under investigation include bribery, bid-rigging, and conspiracy to use substandard materials. Police separately arrested four others on suspicion of manslaughter for approving and installing the highly flammable polystyrene boards and netting that turned the exterior of the buildings into a vertical fuse.
It's also worth noting that Peggy Wong, a
DAB District Councillor for Tai Po South, was an adviser for the owners' corporation during the promotion of the renovation plan. She posted on social media supporting the proposal, and while the original owners' corporation was subjected to a recall by owners due to the renovation controversy, she defended the original corporation and accused those who opposed to the plan of "spreading misleading claims." After the fire, she was quick to state that she's got nothing to do with it and knows nothing about it. She even claims that Wang Fuk Court is not even in her constituency, which was later proved to be untrue.
The Deafening Silence
Whistleblowers, who are simply apartment owners, elderly tenants, and community watchdogs, noticed the green safety mesh's suspiciously thin, plastic-like texture all the way back in July 2024. They tested samples of the green construction mesh draping the buildings. Using nothing but a butane lighter from a kitchen drawer, the mesh melted and dripped like candle wax within seconds of exposure to flame (as survivors later described the fire's behavior), far below the legally required fire-retardant standard (safety nets are supposed to resist fire for at least 30 seconds under Hong Kong's Buildings Department code). Formal complaints (including related issues on construction workers were suspected to be smoking near the scaffolding) were submitted to the Labour Department, Buildings Department, and the owners' corporation. Those warnings and complaints ultimately went nowhere.
Since the imposition of the National Security Law in 2020, the space for independent oversight in Hong Kong has shrunk dramatically. Journalists who once exposed shady estate contracts have been jailed or driven into exile. Residents who tried to organise against the Wang Fuk renovation were branded troublemakers. Even after the fire, volunteers distributing aid were reported to police for “unlawful assembly.” When a university student launched an online petition calling for an independent inquiry, he was detained within hours for "incitement intentions".
The Human Cost
Behind every arrest and every seized ledger lies the elderly residents who couldn’t outrun the smoke, children separated from parents in the chaos, and a firefighter who never came back down the ladder. These are just ordinary people and a brave man who saves lives for a living, all became the price for a rigged HK$330 million contract, for kickbacks skimmed on sub-par construction materials that doesn't meet fire-retardant standards, for warnings ignored because stopping the job would have exposed the graft.
Corporate greed didn’t just cost money.
Every single one of those deaths had a name, a story, and people who will mourn them for the rest of their own lives.
May the souls lost in the flames of Wang Fuk Court rest in eternal peace and be kept in prayers, tonight and always. May all survivors who escaped with nothing but the clothes on their back, who lost homes, pets, memories, and in far too many cases, the people they loved most, find the strength to rise again.
Hong Kong will heal, but it will never stop fighting for you, until justice is served and safety is more than a promise on paper.
Notice to Readers
Due to the devastating Wang Fuk Court fire on 26 November 2025 and the ongoing national mourning period, all originally scheduled blog posts for November and December 2025 are postponed or cancelled until further notice. This post will remain dedicated to remembering the victims, supporting survivors, and calling for full transparency and accountability.
Post Disclaimer
This post is written and published from the United Kingdom. All facts are drawn from publicly available sources (official statements, Reuters, BBC, AM730, HK01, ICAC announcements, etc.) and have been carefully fact-checked as of 30 November 2025. Allegations of corruption or negligence reflect ongoing, publicly announced ICAC and police investigations, arrests, and charges related to the Wang Fuk Court renovation.
Published in the public interest, this blog, including this post, is protected in the UK by:
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No intent to defame exists; all references to individuals or companies come from official public records.
This post contains no content that violates any Hong Kong law, including the National Security Law. It does not incite, encourage, or advocate any illegal act, such as secession, subversion, overthrow of the People’s Republic of China or the Hong Kong SAR Government, or any form of violence or resistance against lawful authority. It is a lawful exercise of freedom of expression focused solely on public-interest reporting and commentary.
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