Home Affairs Department ‘did its best’ on Wang Fuk Court complaints, official tells probe

This story has been made freely available as a public service to our readers. Please consider supporting SCMP’s journalism by subscribing.The deputy director of the Home Affairs Department and the former head of the Housing Bureau’s Independent Checking Unit (ICU) are the latest Hong Kong officials to testify at a public hearing on Friday into the city’s deadliest blaze in decades.Their cross-examination will also conclude the fourth round of evidential hearings held by the government-appointed independent committee investigating the Tai Po fire.The fire broke out on November 26, 2025, while Wang Fuk Court was undergoing facade 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, is the most senior official from the department to testify so far.The department has come 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, will also take the stand, following evidence earlier this week from two senior maintenance surveyors from the unit.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.More of our coverage: