The owners corporation of Wang Fuk Court tried to pressure the renovation contractor not to use flammable boards and substandard construction mesh before the fire struck, an independent inquiry has heard.
Tony Tsui, who served as chairman of the management committee of the Wang Fuk Court owners’ corporation when the tragedy occurred, testified Friday at a hearing organized by an independent committee investigating the fatal fire at the Tai Po housing estate.
Tsui said he and other members of the Wang Fuk Court owners’ committee had told the main contractor, Prestige Construction & Engineering, not to use foam board – a flammable material – and not to allow construction workers to smoke at the renovation site.
However, he failed to push for a change, he said. Tsui broke down in tears at the end of his testimony, saying it was difficult and stressful to serve on the board of owners and oversee such a large-scale renovation project.
“How can residents like us lead a HK$330 million renovation project?” Tsui said in Cantonese, “I hope that after the hearings, major renovations (of residential buildings) can be helped more by the government in terms of regulations and supervision.”
Tsui, who works for MTR Corporation, was chairman of the owner’s board from September 2024 until he was dissolved by a court in January 2026 and replaced by a government-appointed firm.
Wang Fuk Court, home to 1,984 families, was under renovation when the fire broke out on November 26, killing 168 people and displacing thousands.
All eight of the estate’s buildings were covered with bamboo scaffolding and construction netting when renovation work began in July 2024. Construction workers also used foam boards to cover the windows to protect them from debris as they removed the old tiles.
The initial investigation showed that the use of non-retardant mesh and flammable foam boards worsened the spread of the fire, which started at Wang Cheong House and spread to six other residential towers.
Tsui said he raised concerns about the chalkboards at Prestige in September 2024 after residents filed complaints with the owners’ committee.
According to a transcript of a WhatsApp conversation shown at the hearing, a Prestige representative told the committee that foam boards will not ignite when they contact a cigarette butt and there was no law in Hong Kong prohibiting the use of foam boards in construction.
Tsui said the owners’ committee then asked Prestige to consult with the Fire Services Department (FSD). Prestige then responded that, according to the FSD, there was no regulation prohibiting the use of foam boards.
“As for the owner corporation, we have tried our best (to oppose the use of foam boards). However, there was no law in Hong Kong to (support) our advocacy and we felt powerless,” Tsui said.
Senior councilor Victor Dawes, the independent committee’s lead lawyer, told the hearing that some residents felt Tsui did not do much to oversee the construction project and that he was difficult to contact before the fire.
In response, Tsui said the accusation was unfair and that he shared his personal phone number with all residents after taking over as mayor. He added that he has also held weekly meetings to update residents on the progress of the renovation project, which everyone can join.
Smoking by workers on site
Tsui said that before the deadly fire, the board of owners continued to receive complaints from residents about construction workers smoking on the scaffolding.
The inquest had previously heard that The deadly fire was “most likely” caused by smoking.
The former chairman said the board asked Prestige several times to stop workers from smoking, even trying to withhold payments to pressure the contractor to address the issue.
A record of the WhatsApp conversation shown at the hearing confirmed this. However, a Prestige representative continued to ask the board to pay first.
Tsui also said he noticed that many scaffolding nets were torn after a major typhoon hit Hong Kong in September, and that construction workers replaced them with nets in a lighter green color.
Tsui said the board was concerned about the quality and safety of the scaffold nets and asked Prestige if it could replace them with higher-quality, fire-resistant nets. However, the contractor refused, he said.
