June 11, 2026
HONG KONG – Official investigators on Wednesday charged the contractor and the engineering consultant for Wang Fuk Court’s renovation work, along with seven individuals from the two firms, with 25 offenses linked to the estate’s deadly fire last year.
The charges filed in connection with the Nov 26 blaze include manslaughter, conspiracy to defraud, money laundering, attempting to pervert the course of public justice, and tax evasion.
The two cases were addressed at the West Kowloon Magistrates’ Courts on Wednesday afternoon. According to a Hong Kong Police Force statement, a joint investigation task force, set up by the city’s Police Force and the Independent Commission Against Corruption (ICAC) after the fire that claimed 168 lives, filed the charges after thorough investigations and legal advice from the special administrative region’s Department of Justice.
One case involves manslaughter charges against the renovation project’s engineering firm — Will Power Architects’ director, Wong Hap-yin, and then-director and Registered Inspector Wilson Ng Yeuk, as well as contractor Prestige Construction’s then-director and technical director, Ho Kin-yip.
In another case, the same three, plus their two companies and four others — Prestige Director Hau Wa-kin; Wong’s friend Hung Kwok-wai; Wong’s wife, Chung So fan; and Will Power employee Li Min — face additional charges. These include conspiracy to defraud, money laundering, attempting to pervert justice, and tax evasion.
The conspiracy to defraud charges allege that the defendants concealed and made false statements about Prestige’s litigation record over the past eight years, and also fabricated information in the tender process. The charge of attempting to pervert the course of public justice alleges that on the day after the fire, Hung and Wong allegedly induced or instructed Ng, as registered inspector, to backdate renovation forms and related reports for the estate.
The prosecution applied for a 12‑week adjournment, citing the need for the ICAC to examine electronic records, estate documents and fund flows between more than 10 bank accounts, while the investigation into money laundering and tax evasion also requires obtaining tax records. Chief Magistrate Victor So Wai‑tak granted the request, adjourning the cases until Sept 2. Two defendants, Hau and Chung, were granted bail, while the other five were remanded in custody.
Wednesday’s court documents also made public the complete list of the 168 victims of the fire for the first time, including firefighter Ho Wai-ho, who lost his life in the line of duty.