Hong Kong’s antitrust watchdog has called for bid-rigging in the city’s building renovation sector to be criminalised, as closing arguments in the public inquiry into the deadly Tai Po fire began.
Wang Fuk Court on May 4, 2026. Photo: Kyle Lam/HKFP.
The remarks were made as hearings for an independent committee investigating the Tai Po fire last November resumed for closing submissions.
Authorities suspect that bid-rigging was involved in a major renovation project at Wang Fuk Court, where the blaze broke out and killed 168 people.
Lester Lee, executive director of legal services of the Competition Commission, told the committee that anti-competitive behaviour such as bid-rigging was “widespread” and “systematic” in the city, with criminal groups commanding a vast network of renovation contractors in the market.
Lee spoke of an ongoing investigation in which a suspected syndicate reached out to contractors beyond its network to orchestrate a bid-rigging conspiracy, only to be told by the firms that they had already been recruited by another bid-rigging group.
Police officers outside City Gallery, where the investigative hearings are taking place, on July 15, 2026. Photo: Kyle Lam/HKFP.
“It shows how widespread and brazen these bid-rigging syndicates are,” Lee said in Cantonese.
The Competition Commission believes that existing regulatory regime and penalties are not sufficient in deterring bid-rigging, Lee said. He added that the commission supports measures that could enhance the detection of bid-rigging schemes and successful prosecution, he said.
Currently, cases involving breaches of the city’s Competition Ordinance are civil in nature and are heard by the Competition Tribunal, which can impose sanctions such as fines or director disqualifications.
Lee called for bid-rigging to be criminalised and for offenders to “face severe custodial sentences,” while the civil regime could remain at authorities’ disposal.
He said the flexibility of allowing authorities to adopt criminal or civil proceedings based on the strength of the evidence could bolster the deterrent effect.
Wang Fuk Court in Tai Po, pictured on November 28, 2025, in the aftermath of the fatal blaze. Photo: Kyle Lam/HKFP.
The commission also called for the maximum fine to be increased through legislative amendment, he added.
Also speaking on Wednesday, Senior Counsel Mike Lui, representing the Urban Renewal Authority (URA), rejected allegations that the semi-government body had “evaded responsibilities” and “dwarfed its own role” over the combat against bid-rigging.
URA has come under criticism for failing to address the risks of bid-rigging , despite its responsibility of overseeing tender applications for the renovation work at Wang Fuk Court.
Lui said the URA faced “practical limitations” as it is not a law enforcement agency and lacks the power and resources to investigate suspected bid-rigging.
The URA’s “Smart Tender” platform, which anonymises the bidding process, was merely “a shield, but not a fortress” against illegal tender practice, Lui said.
Martin Ho, representing ISS EastPoint Properties, attends the public inquiry into Hong Kong’s deadly Tai Po fire, on July 15, 2026. Photo: Kyle Lam/HKFP.
Martin Ho, representing ISS EastPoint Properties, said the property management firm had no role in overseeing the renovation works at Wang Fuk Court.
The committee previously heard that ISS electrician Law Kwok-shui unknowingly deactivated the fire alarms at Wang Fuk Court months before the blaze.
Ho said on Wednesday that despite Law’s mistake, fire safety contractors Victory Fire Engineering and China Status Development and Engineering should bear responsibility for failing to rectify the blunder.
Aaron Chan, representing China Status director Leung Ping-kay, said on Wednesday citing an expert’s analysis that, even if the fire alarms had worked when the fire broke out, the time for escape would be no more than 10 minutes.
Hong Kong judge David Lok on July 15, 2026. Photo: Kyle Lam/HKFP.
Committee chair Judge David Lok interrupted and dismissed Chan’s submission, saying: “If you wished to say firm alarms would have been useless [in the fire], I think no one would agree with you.”
Chan said he was merely suggesting that there were other factors that might have obstructed residents’ escapes during the blaze, such as the foam boards used to shield windows that blocked their views.
Lawyers for nine Wang Fuk Court residents and the government’s representative are set to deliver their closing arguments when the hearing resumes on Thursday.