Construction firm Prestige Construction and Engineering, responsible for the comprehensive rehabilitation work of the Wang Fook Court public housing complex in Tai Po, Hong Kong, where a fire broke out on Wednesday that left at least 94 people dead and more than 200 people missing, has built up a history of punishments for serious workplace safety violations.
The fire broke out in the eighth tower of the residential complex, which consists of eight 31-story buildings built in 1984 and inhabited by about 4,600 people, many of whom are elderly.
According to initial expert reports, the fire spread in a few minutes to six other buildings due to the use of highly flammable expanded polystyrene sheets installed in the elevator shafts and non-fireproof outer mesh grilles.
Three of Prestige’s top managers, administrators Haw Wa Kin and Ho Kin Yip, as well as agent Steve Wong Chung Kee, were arrested on Thursday on charges of aggravated reckless homicide.
In parallel, the Independent Anti-Corruption Commission formed a special team to investigate possible irregularities in the award of the contract, which was put out for tender in 2023 at a value of HK$330 million (US$42 million, €36.5 million) and won by Prestige out of 57 competing companies.
According to Labor Ministry documents cited by Hong Kong’s South China Morning Post, the company was found guilty in November 2023 of two labor violations at a construction site in the Middlefields area, with fines of HK$3,000 and HK$4,000 for failure to supervise scaffolding and safe access.
Likewise, in August 2023, the Registered Contractors Disciplinary Board disqualified her for four months from carrying out minor works and imposed penalties for similar deficiencies at the Ning Yong Terrace and Parkway Court projects.
He received the highest qualifications despite his background
Despite this background, the technical report prepared by the consultancy Will Power Architects, responsible for evaluating the bidders, confirmed in 2023 that Prestige had no criminal record or pending litigation and gave it the highest rating (B), which facilitated its appointment.
The owners corporation hired Will Power as a consultant for the project in 2021, though that same year a group of neighbors tried to remove the board over allegedly murky contracting processes, according to posts on social media and local media.
The Labor Ministry admitted on Friday that it had conducted 16 labor inspections since July 2024, with three penal measures in progress, and that it had issued a specific warning on November 20, nine days before the fire, requiring enhanced fire-fighting measures due to the use of combustible materials on facades.
Will Power Architects issued a statement ensuring it was fully cooperating with police, firefighters and the Department of Housing’s Independent Verification Unit, providing plans, data and technical advice.
The Hong Kong government reported that Prestige had eleven active contracts in private buildings, which had already been inspected by the Department of Buildings, and announced the precautionary suspension of any contractual relationship with the company.
Chief Executive John Lee ordered urgent reviews of all public housing complexes undergoing major rehabilitation work.
To date, 56 people remain in hospital, nine of them in critical condition, distributed among nine hospitals. Rescue teams continue to work on the upper floors, where there are still active outbreaks requiring the use of aerial platforms.
mg (EVI, DPAA)