Enforcement agencies “failed in their duties” despite receiving complaints about the renovation project at Wang Fuk Court, a former member of the estate’s owners’ board has told a hearing into the deadly fire. Jason Kong, a former member of the Wang Fuk Court owners’ board. Photo: Kyle Lam/HKFP. Testifying on Monday, Jason Kong said the renovation project at Wang Fuk Court had numerous warning signs, in particular, flammable items used as protective material surrounding the buildings.
“There were so many warning signs, and the enforcement agencies failed in their duties,” he said in Cantonese.
The housing estate was undergoing a large-scale renovation project when the fire broke out in November and killed 168 people. The renovation project was carried out by Prestige Construction & Engineering, while Will Power Architects was the project’s consultant.
Kong said he made reports to the government. “I urged the enforcement agencies to conduct patrols proactively and follow up on the matter,” he said. “If they… had done this earlier, the whole blaze could have been averted… I did what I could have possibly.”
Initial investigation showed that the use of non-retardant protective nets and flammable foam boards exacerbated the spread of the fire, which began at Wang Cheong House and swiftly engulfed six other residential towers.
Kong said on Monday that he had raised safety concerns about the protective nets to the Housing Bureau’s Independent Checking Unit (ICU). A woman who worked at the ICU, Amanda Lau, responded to him but did not say if the department checked whether the nets were fire-retardant. Wang Fuk Court on fire in late November 2025. Photo: Kyle Lam/HKFP. Kong urged Lau, as well as directors of Prestige and Will Power, to testify at the hearings.
He also called for pro-establishment district councillor Peggy Wong to testify. Between 2021 and 2024, Wong was a consultant for the Wang Fuk Court owners’ board , which approved the controversial renovation project.
An independent committee chaired by a judge has been holding hearings to probe the Tai Po fire since March 19. Monday marked the 15th hearing. Witnesses who testified so far have included Wang Fuk Court residents, staff from the property management company ISS EastPoint, firefighters and the chairperson of the owners’ board at the time of the fire.
However, the committee revealed earlier that directors of Prestige and Will Power, and a manager of ISS Eastpoint, had refused to testify.
Consulting firm defended usage of foam boards
Kong said on Monday that he became a member of the Wang Fuk Court owners’ board in May 2024, when it was chaired by Tang Kwok-kuen.
When Kong was elected as a member, the board signed a contract with Prestige after homeowners and authorised representatives voted to hire the company as a contractor for the renovation project.
The project began in July 2024. Two months later, the owners’ board was ousted and replaced by a new group of homeowners after residents expressed dissatisfaction over the former board’s renovation plans.
Kong was re-elected as a member of the owners’ board, chaired by Tony Tsui. Tsui testified on Friday, saying the owners’ corporation tried to prevent the use of flammable materials in the renovation project, but was unsuccessful. Tony Tsui (centre right), the former chair of Wang Fuk Court owners’ corporation management committee, leaves the City Gallery on March 20, 2026, after attending a public hearing into the deadly November fire at the Tai Po housing estate. Photo: Kyle Lam/HKFP. Kong said during the hearing that many residents were concerned about using foam boards to cover their windows. However, a director at Will Power personally went to the estate and defended the use of the boards.
The owners’ board later tried to push Prestige to purchase fire-retardant boards to replace the foam boards, Kong said, but to no avail.
Kong said that both the old and new owners’ boards had filed complaints about workers smoking. He had proposed imposing fines on the contractor, such as introducing a tiered penalty system to address the issue.
However, Prestige merely responded that they would enhance staff training, and the problem ultimately showed no significant improvement, Kong said.