Tai Po probe: housing checking unit admits ‘blind spots’ amid ‘robotic’ workflow criticism - as it happened
Te Chi-wang, deputy director of the Home Affairs Department, and ex-ICU head Lau Fu-kwok take stand at hearing into Hong Kong’s deadliest fire in decades
The deputy director of the Home Affairs Department and the former head of the Housing Bureau’s Independent Checking Unit (ICU) were the latest Hong Kong officials to testify at a public hearing on the city’s deadliest blaze in decades.
Their cross-examination on Friday concluded the fourth round of evidential hearings held by the government-appointed independent committee investigating the Tai Po fire.
The blaze broke out on November 26, 2025, while Wang Fuk Court was undergoing a major renovation. It was the city’s deadliest blaze since 1948, killing 168 people and displacing nearly 5,000 residents.
Te Chi-wang, deputy director of the Home Affairs Department, was the first to take the witness box on Friday, becoming the most senior official from the department to testify so far.
The department came under scrutiny after residents said they were intimidated during homeowners' meetings on the estate’s controversial renovation project, with irregularities also reported in proxy voting.
Lau Fu-kwok, who headed the ICU at the time of the fire, also testified, following two senior maintenance surveyors from the unit, who gave evidence earlier this week.
The ICU, which oversees maintenance of government-built residential estates, has been repeatedly criticised for failing to act on residents’ complaints about flammable polyfoam boards and substandard scaffolding mesh at Wang Fuk Court.
Follow our live reporting as the hearing continues.
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