Seven Individuals and Two Companies Charged by Police and ICAC with 25 Offences of Manslaughter, Conspiracy to Defraud, etc over Wang Fuk Court fire

Seven individuals and two companies charged by Police and ICAC with 25 offences of manslaughter, conspiracy to defraud, etc over Wang Fuk Court fire

The Police and the ICAC today (June 10) laid charges against seven individuals (five men and two women, aged between 33 and 60) and two companies with a total of 25 counts of offences, including manslaughter, conspiracy to defraud, “money laundering”, attempting to pervert the course of public justice and tax evasion in relation to the fire which broke out at Wang Fuk Court on November 26, 2025. The two cases were mentioned at the West Kowloon Magistrates’ Courts this afternoon.

The West Kowloon Magistrates’ Courts, the West Kowloon Law Courts Building

The Government of the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region is highly concerned about the Wang Fuk Court fire, including the relevant criminal investigations. Following the disaster, the Police and the ICAC swiftly set up the largest joint investigation task force in recent years to conduct comprehensive investigations in full swing within just six months into the causes of the fire and possible corruption in the major renovation project of the residential estate, arresting a total of 35 individuals to date.

Following thorough investigations by officers of the joint investigation task force and legal advice from the Department of Justice (DoJ), the Police and the ICAC today laid charges against seven individuals and two companies with a total of 25 offences. The Police charged three men and two companies jointly with five counts of manslaughter. Meanwhile, the ICAC charged five men, two women and two companies (including the three men and two companies charged by the Police), with a total of 20 offences, including conspiracy to defraud, “money laundering”, attempting to pervert the course of public justice and tax evasion.

The seven individuals played different roles in the major renovation project of Wang Fuk Court. They include directors and Registered Inspector of the project consultancy firm, and directors of the main contractor. The two companies charged are the project consultancy firm – Will Power Architects Company Limited (Will Power), and the main contractor – Prestige Construction & Engineering Co., Limited (Prestige) involved in Wang Fuk Court’s major renovation project.

The Police’s prosecution list:

• Ho Kin-yip, then director and Technical Director of Prestige;

• Ng Yeuk, then director and Registered Inspector of Will Power;

• Wong Hap-yin, director of Will Power;

• Prestige; and

• Will Power.

The ICAC’s prosecution list:

• Wong Hap-yin, director of Will Power;

• Hau Wa-kin, director of Prestige;

• Ho Kin-yip, then director and Technical Director of Prestige

• Ng Yeuk, then director and Registered Inspector of Will Power;

• Hung Kwok-wai, friend of Wong Hap-yin;

• Chung So-fan, wife of Wong Hap-yin;

• Li Min, employee of Will Power;

• Will Power; and

• Prestige.

The Hong Kong Police, Photo source: reference image

The Police laid charges against three individuals and two companies with jointly five counts of manslaughter

On June 10, 2016, Wang Fuk Court received a statutory notice under the Mandatory Building Inspection Scheme. In this connection, through respective tendering processes, Will Power was appointed for preparing a building inspection report and monitoring the repair works; Prestige was appointed for carrying out the prescribed repair works.

Following careful study of the case details and a comprehensive review of numerous documents and statements from parties concerned, the Police revealed that the companies and persons-in-charge responsible for the major renovation project are suspected of serious breach of duty of care, resulting in gross negligence in the supervision of construction materials and procedures. Investigation revealed that issues arising from the repair works include the use of non-fire-retardant safety nets and canvases; the use of flammable foam boards; and the creation of window openings at the fire escape routes of staircases for workers’ access to the external wall scaffolding. These construction arrangements are suspected of severely compromising the fire safety of the buildings, causing the fire to spread rapidly and obstructing escape routes, resulting in a large number of causalities.

The Regional Crime Unit of New Territories North of the Police is responsible for the investigation of the case. Following legal advice from the DoJ, the Police today charged the three men and the two companies jointly with five counts of manslaughter.

The first defendant, Ho Kin-yip, was then director and Technical Director of Prestige; the second defendant, Ng Yeuk, was then director of Will Power and Registered Inspector for the project; the third defendant, Wong Hap-yin, is the director of Will Power; the fourth and fifth defendants are Prestige and Will Power, respectively. The five defendants are suspected of failing to fulfill the duty of care in the supervision of the overall repair works, and ensure that the materials and work procedures complied with the safety standards or relevant legislations, resulting in the rapid spread of fire and severe casualties.

ICAC, Photo by Bastille Post

The ICAC laid charges against seven individuals and two companies with 20 counts of conspiracy to defraud, “money laundering”, attempting to pervert the course of public justice and tax evasion

After the Wang Fuk Court fire, the ICAC set up a task force to launch a full investigation into possible corruption in the residential estate’s major renovation project. The task force gathered evidence from multiple sources and achieved breakthroughs, discovering fraudulent practices across various stages of the project. Some individuals are also suspected of laundering crime proceeds derived from alleged corruption.

Based on the evidence currently gathered and pursuant to legal advice from the DoJ, the ICAC today laid charges against seven individuals, Will Power, the project consultancy firm in Wang Fuk Court’s major renovation project, and Prestige, the main contractor for the project, with a total of 20 offences. These comprise three counts of conspiracy to defraud, five counts of dealing with property known or believed to represent proceeds of an indictable offence (commonly known as “money laundering”), two counts of attempting to do an act tending or intended to pervert the course of public justice, and 10 counts of offences relating to tax evasion.

The charges mainly cover four areas: (1) fraud in tendering process; (2) fraud in project supervision; (3) “money laundering” by project consultancy firm’s director; and (4) attempting to pervert the course of public justice in ICAC’s investigation.

Area 1: Fraud in the tendering process of Wang Fuk Court’s major renovation project

(involving two counts of conspiracy to defraud)

One of the charges alleges that between May 2023 and April 2024, during the tender exercise for Wang Fuk Court’s major renovation project, Will Power’s director Wong Hap-yin, two directors of Prestige, Hau Wa-kin and Ho Kin-yip, as well as Will Power and Prestige conspired together to defraud the Incorporated Owners and flat owners of Wang Fuk Court by concealing the litigation records of Prestige in the preceding eight years and inflating the score given to Prestige in the tender analysis report, thereby inducing flat owners of Wang Fuk Court to vote for Prestige and causing Prestige to be awarded the major renovation project at a contract sum of over $300 million.

Another charge alleges that during the same period, Will Power’s director Wong Hap-yin, Will Power and an employee of the company consired together to defraud the Urban Renewal Authority (URA) by causing a tender analysis report containing false information to be published onto the URA’s electronic platform for access by flat owners of Wang Fuk Court, facilitating the award of the major renovation project.

Area 2: Fraud in project supervision at Wang Fuk Court and other estates

(involving one count of conspiracy to defraud)

Another charge relates to 86 building maintenance projects conducted by Will Power between August 2023 and November 2025, including that of Wang Fuk Court. It is alleged that Will Power and its director Wong Hap-yin and Registered Inspector Ng Yeuk, as well as Wong Hap-yin’s friend Hung Kwok-wai conspired together to defraud the Buildings Department and the Independent Checking Unit of the Housing Bureau by falsely representing that Ng Yeuk would carry out or had carried out his statutory duties to inspect and supervise the 86 projects, and signed some of the relevant reports under the Mandatory Building Inspection Scheme. In fact, Ng Yeuk had not duly carried out his statutory duties as Registered Inspector.

Area 3: “Money laundering” by project consultancy firm’s director

(involving five counts of “money laundering” and 10 counts of tax evasion)

In the past six years between 2019 and 2025, Will Power secured project consultancy contracts for multiple housing estates, including Wang Fuk Court. The five “money laundering” charges allege that during this period, Will Power’s director Wong Hap-yin, his wife Chung So-fan and Will Power’s employee Li Min dealt with various sums of crime proceeds suspected to be originated from corruption involving cash totalling over $40 million through Will Power’s bank accounts and their personal bank accounts. Most of the cash deposited into Will Power’s account was not supported by business records or receipts explaining their sources.

Ten other charges against Wong Hap-yin and Will Power allege that Will Power evaded tax for the years of assessment 2022/23 and 2024/25 by making false statements in the tax returns regarding the company’s turnovers and false accounting, etc.

Area 4: Attempting to pervert the course of public justice in ICAC’s investigation

(involving two counts of attempting to pervert the course of public justice)

The two remaining charges allege that Hung Kwok-wai attempted to pervert the course of public justice. It is alleged that on November 27, 2025, after the ICAC announced it had launched a criminal investigation into Wang Fuk Court’s major renovation project, Hung Kwok-wai and Will Power’s director Wong Hap-yin concealed a bag containing cash of totalling $600,000 (suspected to be part of the bribes offered by Prestige to Wong Hap-yin), and incited Ng Yeuk to make false representations to the Independent Checking Unit of the Housing Bureau.

The two cases were adjourned to September 2, 2026 for mention at the West Kowloon Magistrates’ Courts. As the relevant investigations by the Police and the ICAC are continuing, further law enforcement actions would not be ruled out.

Wang Fuk Court, Photo by Bastille Post

HKSAR LegCo firmly opposes and strongly condemns US politicians' wanton vilification and smearing of Hong Kong using the "LAI Chee-ying case"

The following is issued on behalf of the Legislative Council Secretariat:

A spokesperson for the Legislative Council (LegCo) of the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region (HKSAR) stated on September 17 that LegCo firmly opposes and strongly condemns politicians in the United States (US) Congressional-Executive Commission on China for using a so-called "hearing" regarding the "LAI Chee-ying case" to make false and smearing remarks, and threatening to impose "sanctions". The LegCo spokesperson stressed that, to set the record straight, the LegCo fully supports the HKSAR Government in acting in accordance with the law, and resolutely hit back at the maliciously provocative political maneuvering and alarmist talk by some politicians.

The LegCo spokesperson emphasised that the HKSAR is an inalienable part of the People's Republic of China. Safeguarding national security is the cornerstone for the country's stability and prosperity. It is also a universally recognised international practice and obligation. The US itself possesses a sophisticated national security legal framework, yet it is despicable to see these anti-China politicians display blatant hypocrisy and double standards by pointing fingers at the legitimate and lawful actions of the HKSAR in safeguarding national security. LegCo urges these politicians to earnestly respect China's sovereignty and immediately stop any form of interference in the affairs of Hong Kong, China.

Regarding these politicians using the "LAI Chee-ying case" to smear and vilify Hong Kong's rule of law and human rights, the LegCo spokesperson profoundly refuted them for disregarding facts and reversing right and wrong. As pointed out by the Government's spokesperson, the "LAI Chee-ying case" has nothing to do with freedom of the press. The defendants have used journalism as a guise over the years to create social conflicts, incite social antagonism, incite hatred and glorify violence, bringing harm to the our country and Hong Kong.

The LegCo spokesperson supports the courts of the HKSAR in conducting independent trials in accordance with the law and evidence, and setting out in full detail the court's analysis of relevant legal principles and evidence, as well as the reasons for convicting LAI Chee-ying and other defendants. The LegCo spokesperson strongly condemns anti-China politicians for attempting to intimidate HKSAR officials and judicial officers with so-called "sanctions". This is interfering in China's internal affairs and Hong Kong affairs, seriously violating international law and basic norms governing international relations.

The LegCo spokesperson pointed out that since the full implementation of the Hong Kong National Security Law, the Safeguarding National Security Ordinance and the principle of "patriots administering Hong Kong", Hong Kong's social order has not only returned to the right track, but its business environment has also attained remarkable performance. Hong Kong continues to rank among the top globally in economic freedom and rule of law indices, attracting investors from around the world. Leveraging its distinctive advantage of "enjoying strong support of the motherland and being closely connected to the world", Hong Kong is advancing toward higher-quality prosperity and development.

The LegCo spokesperson reiterated that as an integral member of the governance team of the HKSAR, LegCo will, as always, firmly support the administration of the HKSAR Government in accordance with the law, and to prevent, suppress and punish any acts endangering national security, while safeguarding the rights of citizens in accordance with the law, so as to ensure the steadfast and successful implementation of "One Country, Two Systems".

Source: AI-found images