Hong Kong Housing Secretary Resigns Over Fire That Killed 168

Hong Kong's housing secretary, Winnie Ho, resigned Wednesday over the November fire at Wang Fuk Court that killed 168 people, after an independent committee found inadequate regulatory oversight behind the city's deadliest blaze in decades.

Chief Executive John Lee apologized publicly on Thursday. At the opening of his news conference, Lee and seven other top officials bowed in apology. Lee said the death toll deeply saddened him.

"As the chief executive, I apologize to the disaster victims and the public, and commit to fulfilling my responsibilities to lead the government with full force in resolving problems," Lee said. "Comprehensive reforms will also be carried out. Similar incidents will never be allowed to happen again."

Lee said Ho "should bear political responsibility," although the inquiry found no personal wrongdoing on her part.

The fire engulfed seven buildings in the apartment complex in a northern suburban district last November, killing 168 people and displacing thousands more. The buildings were undergoing maintenance work at the time. Former residents have spent nearly a year waiting for accountability.

What did the inquiry find?

The committee's report said evidence indicated a lit cigarette end likely started the fire on the flat roof between two apartments on the first floor of Wang Cheong House. Workers had smoked on site, and investigators found cigarette butts and partially burned materials, including cardboard boxes, on the roof.

The death toll had specific mechanical causes. Experts found foam boards, non-fire-retardant scaffolding nets and canvases fueled the fire's spread. Most victims died of smoke inhalation. Staircase windows had been replaced with movable aluminum composite panels or wooden boards for workers' convenience, letting smoke into escape routes. Opaque foam boards blocked sightlines and delayed evacuation. The fire alarm system had been shut down.

The committee placed blame squarely on two private firms.

"There is no doubt that they are the main culprits responsible for the occurrence of the inferno and the high fatalities in the tragic incident," the report said, referring to Will Power Architects Company, the project consultant, and Prestige Construction & Engineering Co., the main contractor.

The report also found an array of registered contractors and building professionals who did no substantive work and only lent their names to "rubber-stamp" statutory forms in return for a fee.

How did regulators fail?

The private firms deceived the regulators, the committee said — and the regulators made it easy.

"Deception succeeded because the regulators' own practices enabled it," the report said. "The regulator's reliance on the good faith of the regulated parties left obvious fire hazards uninvestigated."

The Housing Bureau's independent checking unit and the Buildings Department, the two agencies primarily responsible for supervising the Wang Fuk Court maintenance work, failed in their supervisory duties. The checking unit bears the greater share of responsibility, the committee said. It failed to properly investigate the use of foam boards and the fire-retardant quality of scaffolding nets despite multiple complaints, and it notified consultants and contractors of site inspections in advance.

The Fire Services Department and the Labor Department also had deficiencies, Lee said. A three-month investigation will now determine whether government employees were derelict in their duties.

Lee announced reforms: criminalizing bid-rigging in building maintenance projects, overhauling the complaints system, establishing a cross-departmental data system to share violation records, and creating a new organization to support residents in maintenance projects.

The committee's report cited many features indicating bid-rigging and associated misconduct at Wang Fuk Court. Police and anti-corruption authorities have already charged seven people and two companies — Will Power and Prestige — with offenses including manslaughter and conspiracy to defraud. Prosecutors allege the companies concealed previous litigation records of the firm later awarded the renovation contract, worth more than HK$300 million (over $38 million).

Are residents satisfied?

Beijing backed the government's response. China's Hong Kong and Macao Affairs Office said the handling demonstrated a sense of responsibility and a governing vision of putting people first and upholding the rule of law. Beijing's liaison office in Hong Kong also praised the government.

Survivors were less convinced. Phyllis Lo, who lost her mother in the fire, said she saw progress but justice had yet to be served. The criminal trial has not begun, and one resignation is not enough, she said.

"She was not being sacked. She resigned herself," Lo said.

Dorz Cheung, displaced by the fire, said the news conference focused mostly on the future. He said the government should first resolve matters residents face, including tax issues tied to purchases of new homes.

"The feeling is just like what a fellow resident said — the press conference only had three takeaways: Sorry. I'll do better, and it won't happen again. A minister has stepped down … What more do you want?" he said.

With a dereliction probe running three months and the manslaughter case still pending, accountability for the 168 deaths now rests as much in the courtroom as in the reform agenda.