Independent Committee Formed to Investigate Wang Fuk Court Fire in Tai Po

Government establishes Independent Committee in relation to fire at Wang Fuk Court in Tai Po

​The Government has established today (December 12) an Independent Committee in relation to the fire at Wang Fuk Court in Tai Po. Mr Justice David Lok has been appointed as the Chairman, and Mr Chan Kin-por and Dr Rex Auyeung Pak-kuen have been appointed as Members.

The Chief Executive, Mr John Lee, is extremely concerned about the Wang Fuk Court fire in Tai Po, which resulted in multiple casualties, and announced on December 2 that an independent committee led by a judge would be established to review the causes of the incident and related issues to prevent similar tragedies in the future.

The Terms of Reference of the Independent Committee are:

(1) Regarding the fire broken out at Wang Fuk Court in Tai Po, its rapid spread and the resulting casualties and property damage, to examine –

the causes and circumstances that led to the fire; the fire service installations and equipment in the buildings, and the supervision and responsibility for their effective operation; whether the construction safety requirements, standards, supervision and day-to-day maintenance regime for the building maintenance and renovation works were adequate; regarding the building maintenance and renovation works, whether the prevailing list of materials meeting safety standards is comprehensive, and whether the related verification and testing systems are effective; the roles and responsibilities of personnel with supervisory roles across all stages (including government officers, authorised professionals, contractors and others); and the liabilities arising from the aforementioned issues.

(2) Regarding large-scale building maintenance and renovation works, to examine –

whether there were systemic problems such as undue connected interests, conflicts of roles, or improper collusion across all stages of the works; and whether bid-rigging corruption, or irregularities were involved in the tendering process of these works.

(3) Regarding the two matters above, to examine whether regulation and penalties under relevant existing laws are adequate; and

(4) To make recommendations regarding matters in items (1) to (3) above.

The Independent Committee will formally commence operation in late December, with a view to completing its work within nine months of commencing operations. If the Independent Committee considers appropriate, it may publish interim report(s) at different stages, and provide recommendations to the Chief Executive. All the reports and recommendations made by the Independent Committee will be disclosed to the public (except for information which may involve judicial proceedings). Issues concerning legal liabilities of those involved in the fire at Wang Fuk Court in Tai Po on November 26, 2025 are matters for law enforcement agencies’ investigation. Such matters fall outside the scope of the Committee.

If in the course of its review work, the Independent Committee is of the view that, in order to conduct inquiry into specific issues or aspects, it is necessary to be provided with the same statutory powers as those of a commission of inquiry established under the Commissions of Inquiry Ordinance (Cap. 86), the Independent Committee may make recommendation to the Chief Executive. The Chief Executive-in-Council may, upon consideration, decide to enable the Independent Committee to become a statutory commission of inquiry for matters relevant to those issues or aspects pursuant to the Commissions of Inquiry Ordinance, to exercise those powers.

Brief biographies of the Chairman and Members of the Independent Committee are as follows:

Chairman

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Mr Justice David Lok is a Judge of the Court of First Instance of the High Court. He obtained his LL.B. and P.C.LL. from the University of Hong Kong in 1987 and 1988 respectively. He further obtained a Master of Laws Degree from the London School of Economics and Political Science in the United Kingdom in 1989. He was called to the Bar in Hong Kong in 1988 and was in private practice between 1990 and 1995. He joined the Judiciary as Permanent Magistrate in 1995. He was appointed as District Judge in 2001 and Judge of the Court of First Instance of the High Court in 2015. He was responsible for setting up the intellectual property list in the High Court and he is now the judge in charge of the list. He is the Chairman of the Electoral Affairs Commission, and he had also served on the District Court Rules Committee, the Municipal Services Appeals Board and the Public Complaints Committee of the Hospital Authority.

Members

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Mr Chan Kin-por is a Member of the Executive Council, Legislative Council (LegCo) Member for four terms, Member of the Board of Directors of the Hong Kong Exchanges and Clearing Limited, Chairman of Independent Commission Against Corruption Advisory Committee on Corruption, Non-executive Director of Urban Renewal Authority Board, Director of CUHK Medical Centre and Member of Honours and Non-official Justices of the Peace Selection Committee. He has extensive experience in the financial industry in particular banking and insurance sectors, and was Chairman of numerous insurance organisations and associations such as the Hong Kong Federation of Insurers and the Chinese Insurance Association of Hong Kong. He was previously Vice Chairman of the Independent Police Complaints Council and a Director of the Hong Kong Mortgage Corporation, and was a member of the LegCo Subcommittee to Study Issues Arising from Lehman related Minibonds and Structured Products for four years. He was the Chairman of the Owners’ Committee of a large housing estate for nine years and is familiar with property management operations and relevant legislation.

Dr Rex Auyeung Pak-kuen is the Non-executive Chairman of the Board of Directors of the MTR Corporation Limited, and a Member of the Hospital Authority Board. He was a Member of the Independent Review Committee on Hong Kong’s Franchised Bus Service, Chairman of the Principal Financial Group – Asia, and Chairman of the Council of Lingnan University. He was also a member of the Investment-linked Assurance and Pooled Retirement Funds Committee of the Securities and Futures Commission.

Source: AI-found images

OFNAA holds exhibitions to promote healthy Internet use

The Office for Film, Newspaper and Article Administration (OFNAA) is holding a series of eight roving exhibitions themed "Saying NO to Objectionable Information" at shopping malls and government premises starting today (December 12). Through a range of interactive experiences such as exhibition panels, game booths and educational videos, the exhibition aims to enhance the public's understanding of the Control of Obscene and Indecent Articles Ordinance (Cap. 390) (COIAO) and promote healthy Internet use among children and young people.

The first roving exhibition is open from 10.30am to 6.30pm at G/F, Atrium, Domain Mall in Yau Tong for three consecutive days starting today. Members of the public are welcome to visit. Details of the exhibition are available onOFNAA's website.

The Director of Film, Newspaper and Article Administration, Mr Chaucer Leung, visited the first roving exhibition today, during which he said, "OFNAA has been conducting publicity and educational work as well as working with various stakeholders to help children and young people develop the concept of the proper use of the Internet. I invite the public to bring their children to the exhibition to help them understand the importance of rejecting harmful materials." Mr Leung also exchanged views with the Healthy Information Student Ambassadors of the Healthy Information Student Ambassadors Scheme 2025, thanked them for assisting in promoting the message of safe and healthy use of the Internet, and encouraged them to set a good example among their peers.

In addition, OFNAA has actively strengthened interdepartmental collaboration through the past few months, working in conjunction with the Home and Youth Affairs Bureau, the Education Bureau, the Hong Kong Police Force, and the Customs and Excise Department to promote information on the COIAO and the message on healthy Internet use to young people, teaching staff members and the public through social media and talks. Initiatives include participating in the Primary Principals Liaison Meeting and briefing principals of participating schools on OFNAA's support to schools; partnering with the Hong Kong Police Force to organise 13 "Wise Use of Internet" talks to share common online pitfalls with 2 600 members of the Junior Police Call as well as primary and secondary school students; and organising a talk for members of "Customs YES" to promote the message of rejecting harmful materials.

With the aim of promoting the message of rejecting harmful materials to children and young people in a more targeted manner and enhancing their understanding of the COIAO, OFNAA also reached out to schools by introducing in-school mobile promotion stations in the current school year. The initiative seeks to allow the concept of healthy Internet use to take root firmly on campuses through enjoyable educational experiences fostered by activities including interactive games, case sharing, role play, quiz competitions and exhibitions. The first two sessions of in-school mobile promotion stations were held this week at primary and secondary schools in Tsuen Wan and Tseung Kwan O respectively, and the remaining 18 sessions will be held in the coming three months in various districts. It is expected that the initiative would attract about 4 000 participants.

With the rising popularity of emerging platforms such as video streaming platforms, video sharing platforms and social media among children and young people, OFNAA will also enhance multimedia publicity efforts to produce animated promotional videos for uploading onto the Internet and for playback at various publicity programmes. Students will also be encouraged to share the videos with their friends, thereby promoting the message of rejecting harmful materials among peers. The animated videos will be released by the end of the month.

OFNAA will continue to organise a series of programmes to actively promote the message of staying away from obscene and indecent content on the Internet, including talks, workshops, roving drama for schools, webinars, as well as the Healthy Information Student Ambassadors Scheme and the Healthy Chinese Public Speaking Competition. For details, please visit OFNAA's website.

Source: AI-found images