Authorities in Hong Kong have charged seven people and two companies with offenses including manslaughter and conspiracy over the city’s deadliest fire in decades last November, as reported by NBC News.
The fire took seven apartment buildings and killed 168 people on November 26th, 2025. Authorities said police and the Independent Commission Against Corruption charged the suspects with 25 counts. Money laundering, attempting to pervert the course of public justice and tax evasion were also among the allegations.
The seven people played different roles in the major renovation project of Wang Fuk Court. The two companies charged are the project consultancy firm and the main contractor involved in the project.
In March 2026, police said they arrested 38 people on accusations related to the complex, including manslaughter and fraud. Nine have been charged. The anti-graft agency said in the same month that they also arrested 23 people on suspicion of offenses such as bribery and conspiracy to defraud.
A lawyer representing an independent committee conducting an ongoing inquiry into the fire’s cause, Victor Dawes, has previously stated that almost all fire safety systems failed on the day of the fire because of human error.
