The Hong Kong Special Administrative Region Government introduces the latest situation regarding the search and rescue and resettlement of the fire at Wang Fuk Court on the afternoon of December 1, 2025. Photo: VCG

Hong Kong police have arrested a total of 13 people on suspicion of manslaughter following the deadly five-alarm fire at the Wang Fuk Court residential compound, and there is a possibility of further arrests as the investigation is ongoing, according to an update made by the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region (HKSAR) government on Monday. According to police, on-site forensic work has found that scaffolding net samples taken from seven locations at the affected building did not meet flammability-resistant standards, the Xinhua News Agency reported. 

Over the past two days police collected scaffolding net samples from 20 locations in Wang Fuk Court and found that samples taken from four buildings at seven locations across high, middle and low floors did not meet flammability-resistance test standards, Eric Chan Kwok Ki, chief secretary for Administration of Hong Kong, said at a press conference on Monday jointly held with other officials including Secretary for Security Chris Tang, Commissioner of the Independent Commission Against Corruption (ICAC) Woo Ying-ming and Director of Operations of the Hong Kong Police Joe Chan Tung.

There are suspicions that substandard scaffolding nets were mixed into use, Tang pointed out during the press conference. While investigators found that seven samples failed to meet fire-retardant standards, many of the easily accessible samples were largely compliant, but the likelihood of non-compliance was much higher in the hard-to-access areas, he said. 

It's believed that the spread of the fire was linked to the use of non-standard scaffolding nets combined with highly flammable foam panels, which also caused window glass to shatter and allowed flames to enter the building interior, Tang said. 

As of 4 pm on Monday, there have been 151 deaths, while over 30 people remain missing, the police said during the press conference. The police do not rule out the possibility that the death toll may rise.

All seven of Wang Fuk Court's residential blocks engulfed by the fire were undergoing renovation before the incident, which has raised public concern over whether the external scaffolding used in the repair work posed safety risks.

The ICAC suspects that non-fire-retardant protective nets were mixed together with compliant scaffolding nets. 

When a typhoon in July damaged the protective nets covering the building during the renovation work, some individuals involved in the case then purchased replacement nets in batches from a local supplier. Evidence shows that they bought 2,300 rolls — about 75,000 square meters  of the non-compliant, non-fire-retardant protective netting at HK$54 ($6.90) per roll, which would be enough to wrap eight residential blocks, Woo said at the press conference. 

At the end of October, after a fire involving scaffolding occurred in Central, the downtown area of the city, the individuals became worried that inspections might be carried out. They then purchased 115 rolls — about 37,000 square meters — of compliant, fire-retardant protective netting from the same supplier at HK$100 per roll, and installed these only at the base of each building in an attempt to pass as compliant. They later passed subsequent inspections, Woo said. 

Currently, the Hong Kong police and the ICAC have arrested 14 people. According to the police, 13 of them have been detained on suspicion of manslaughter, including individuals connected to the main contractor, the engineering consultancy, the subcontracted scaffolding company and the subcontracted external façade works company, Tang told the press conference. 

Based on currently available information, the main culprit behind this blaze was the flammable materials on the exterior wall catching fire, which then spread to the safety nets, Lee Kwong-sing, chairman of Hong Kong Institute of Safety Practitioner, told the Global Times on Monday. 

"How can we prevent history from repeating itself? We strongly recommend installing a fire monitoring system and adding sprinkler equipment on the scaffolding. In the event of a fire, this would allow for timely warnings and automatic water spraying, reducing fire risks at the source," Lee said. 

Chan stressed during the press conference that the individuals involved in the case were "highly deceitful," as they mixed compliant and non-compliant safety nets together, placing the substandard ones in locations accessible only to firefighters in order to evade government inspections, according to local media reports. 

Chan also strongly condemned those involved who caused multiple deaths for petty profits, emphasizing that the government will step up regulation and oversight to prevent similar tragedies from happening again, media reports said. 

The HKSAR government began distributing financial assistance to the families of those who died in the fire on Monday. The families will receive a condolence payment of HK$200,000 and a burial subsidy of HK$50,000, with the first batch covering 18 cases. Additionally, the government is providing a living subsidy of HK$50,000 to the first 20 cases.

In addition to the condolence payments, burial subsidies, living allowances and the emergency relief of HK$10,000 previously issued, the government will also provide the following special assistance to injuries. A payment of HK$100,000 will be given to those hospitalized for seven days or more, while those hospitalized for six days or less will receive HK$50,000, according to the HKSAR government. 

Also, a special subsidy of HK$20,000 will be provided to all students residing in Wang Fuk Court to help them replace their textbooks, stationery, computers and other learning tools, or cover transportation costs between their temporary accommodation and schools. 

A subsidy of HK$20,000 will be granted to construction workers, cleaners and security guards who worked at Wang Fuk Court. 

Foreign domestic workers, who may not have family or relatives in Hong Kong, could face significant hardships, especially if their personal belongings were destroyed or if their employer passed away in the fire. A special subsidy of HK$20,000 will be issued to foreign domestic workers employed at Wang Fuk Court. 

The "Tai Po Wang Fuk Court Relief Fund" established by the government has so far has received HK$1.3 billion in donations. Combined with the HK$300 million in government seed funding, the total fund now stands at approximately HK$1.6 billion. The funds will be used to assist residents in rebuilding their homes and provide long-term and ongoing support, the HKSAR government said.