Hong Kong housing secretary resigns as Wang Fuk Court fire report blames government failings

Mixed · 2Hong Kong leader John Lee announced on Thursday 29 October that Housing Secretary Winnie Ho had resigned over the Tai Po fire that killed 168 people in November 2025. 1 2 Centre · 2Lee said Ho should bear political responsibility although no personal wrongdoing was found on her part, and that she had resigned on Wednesday 28 October; Lee and seven other top officials bowed in apology at the start of the press conference. 3 4 Mixed · 2Lee made the announcement at a press conference marking the release of a report of roughly 1,000 pages (SCMP counted 1,154 pages in two volumes) by a judge-led independent committee, which detailed wide-ranging governance and supervisory failings in the building-renovation system. 2 5

Mixed · 2The fire at Wang Fuk Court spread through seven 31-storey tower blocks that were undergoing renovation; CNA called it the city's deadliest blaze since 1948, and ABC said it was the world's deadliest residential building fire since 1980. 1 2 Left · 1The report found the fire was most likely caused by a glowing source, likely a cigarette, which ignited paper materials on a flat roof outside. 2 Centre · 1The report said there was "no direct evidence" that a lit cigarette started the fire but "ample circumstantial evidence", including substantial evidence of construction workers smoking on site and a cigarette end found on the roof; it also cited low humidity of 40-50 per cent and ruled out welding sparks. 5

Centre · 2The committee, led by Judge David Lok Kai-hong, called the main contractor Prestige Construction & Engineering and the consultant Will Power Architects "the main culprits" who "deserve the most severe criticisms", saying they used non-fire-retardant scaffolding nets and flammable foam boards on windows and cut openings in escape staircases. 5 3 Centre · 2The report said most deaths were from smoke inhalation, and that the fire spread rapidly because of the estate's building geometry, abundant combustible material and the scaffolding nets; it also cited the disabled fire alarm system and blocked views from foam-covered windows as factors in the toll. 3 5 Mixed · 2Lee said four government bodies bore partial responsibility: the Housing Bureau's Independent Checking Unit (ICU), the Buildings Department, the Fire Services Department and the Labour Department; the report said the housing department should bear a greater share. 1 2

Centre · 1The report said regulators were deceived by private parties but that the deception "succeeded because the regulators' own practices enabled it"; it criticised the ICU for pre-notifying consultants and contractors of site inspections and noted multiple complaints about the foam boards and netting were not properly investigated. 3 Mixed · 2Lee apologised, saying: "As chief executive and head of the government, I am deeply saddened," and promised extensive reforms to the building industry and regulatory system. 2 1 Centre · 1The ICU, deemed most at fault, will be axed and replaced by a public housing control unit covering all public rental and subsidised sale housing, according to Deputy Financial Secretary Michael Wong, who is acting housing secretary. 1

Centre · 2A separate investigation, due within three months, will examine individual responsibility and whether rules or the Civil Service Code were breached under the second tier of the Heads of Department Accountability System; the Public Service Commission will then recommend whether to take disciplinary action, as reported by the South China Morning Post via CNA. 1 4 Centre · 1Secretary for Security Chris Tang announced a new large-scale fire prevention region under the Fire Services Department for contingency plans on high-risk scenarios, and said authorities will explore a mobile app to alert residents to fires. 1 Left · 1Lee said a steering committee will oversee changes, including laws criminalising bid-rigging across the construction industry, with fines up to HK$10 million and 10 years' imprisonment. 2

Centre · 1The report found features of the tender for the renovation "indicated the presence of bid-rigging" and that some stakeholders had "triad affiliations"; officials called bid-rigging "the source of the problem". Measures include a joint police task force, tougher penalties under the Organised and Serious Crimes and ICAC ordinances, an independent body to help homeowners with renovations with HK$300 million start-up funding by the end of the year, and a steering committee chaired by Chief Secretary Eric Chan Kwok-ki. 4 Left · 1The committee held more than 30 hearings since March and heard that almost all fire safety measures failed because of "human errors"; its leading counsel said in July the disaster "was preventable but not prevented, and foreseeable but not foreseen". 2 Mixed · 2The complex was home to more than 4,600 people, 1,700 of them aged over 65, and 114 of those who died were 65 or older; thousands of residents were displaced. Criminal proceedings continue, with charges including manslaughter against seven individuals and two companies and at least 35 arrests. 2 1

Centre · 2The fire began on 26 November 2025, injured 79 people, and took firefighters more than 40 hours to bring under control; the renovation contract was worth more than HK$300 million, and prosecutors allege two companies and some defendants conspired to conceal a firm's litigation record from owners. 5 3