First charges laid over deadly Hong Kong fire

Hong Kong authorities have laid their first charges over the devastating fire at the Wang Fuk housing complex last November.

Two companies and seven people were handed a total of 25 charges, including manslaughter, conspiracy to defraud, attempting to pervert the course of public justice, and tax evasion.

The blaze, which killed 168 people , was the deadliest fire the city had seen in more than 70 years.

Authorities said they had charged the project consultancy firm and the main contractor tasked with delivering renovations, as well as individuals from both companies.

Structural engineering consultancy firm Will Power Architects and contractor Prestige Construction and Engineering have both been charged with manslaughter.

A director of Prestige, 52-year-old Ho Kin-yip, was also charged with manslaughter, along with a director of Will Power, 40-year-old Wong Hap-yin, and the firm's registered inspector, 44-year-old Ng Yeuk.

Having been first arrested soon after the fire, all three were denied bail on Wednesday.

An independent committee investigating the fire has identified several critical breaches that led to the massive blaze, which also left thousands of people homeless.

Among other things, fire alarms in seven of the eight residential blocks were deactivated while windows were boarded up with flammable foam boards.

"On the day of the fire, nearly all fire safety systems meant to protect lives failed because of human factors," the committee's lead lawyer Victor Dawes told a public inquiry earlier this year.

Some residents had also said that construction workers had been littering cigarette butts throughout the site while they were still lit.

The three men also face corruption charges laid by Hong Kong's anti-graft watchdog alongside four others - including Wong's wife and his friend.

They allege there was fraud in the tendering process for the renovation, fraud in the project supervision, money laundering by three individuals, and attempts to deceive investigators probing the blaze by hiding a massive bag of cash and pressuring a witness to lie.

The case is adjourned to 2 September to allow further investigations.

Police said they had arrested 35 people on allegations of manslaughter and fraud.

The corruption watchdog had also separately arrested 23 people, including consultants, contractors and members of the owners' corporation of the complex.

It is unclear how many others have since been charged or been released.

In an effort to contain public anger following the fire, authorities in Hong Kong and Beijing had warned the media not to spread "false information" or "smear" government efforts in dealing with the tragedy.

Just over a week after it broke out, Hong Kong's national security police arrested local columnist Wong Kwok-ngon, accusing him of publishing "seditious" content on the official response to the fire to "provoke hatred" toward the government.

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