Hong Kong court winds up Wang Fuk Court renovation consultant over debt

A Hong Kong court has ordered the winding-up of an engineering consultant behind a HK$336 million (US$42.8 million) renovation project at the fire-ravaged Wang Fuk Court over an unspecified debt.The High Court on Wednesday granted Tong Yiu-kwok’s application to wind up Will Power Architects after the company neither filed a statement in opposition nor sent a representative to explain its position at the hearing.The court did not disclose Tong’s relationship with the firm or the amount of debt involved. It also ordered Will Power to bear the costs of the civil proceedings.Will Power director Wong Hap-yin has been remanded in custody since being charged with 16 offences in connection with the deadly blaze at Wang Fuk Court last year.The 40-year-old previously told West Kowloon Court that he had difficulty arranging legal representation for the company because he was in custody.The fire, which killed 168 people and displaced nearly 5,000, was the deadliest in the city’s recent history.The tragedy exposed loopholes in fire-risk management for large-scale renovation projects and shed light on widespread collusion among engineering firms to manipulate the lucrative building maintenance market.