Seven samples of scaffold netting collected from four residential blocks at Wang Fuk Court failed to meet fire-retardant standards, Chief Secretary for Administration Eric Chan Kwok-ki said on Monday.
Chan told reporters in the afternoon that police officers had gathered samples from 20 locations across the estate for testing. The results showed that seven samples taken from the upper, middle, and lower floors of Wang Tai House, Wang Tao House, Wang Yan House, and Wang Chi House did not comply with fire-resistant requirements.
Secretary for Security Chris Tang Ping-keung said the speed of the fire’s spread was “unusual,” attributing the severity of the blaze to the protective netting and foam materials used in the maintenance project.
Preliminary tests were first conducted on samples taken from the ground floor of Wang Chi House, which was not affected by the inferno.
While those samples met legal flame-retardant standards, Tang said they did not align with observations made by fire experts.
After the fire was brought under control, officers retrieved additional samples from hard-to-reach areas of eight blocks, including locations where firefighters had to climb to access. Chan said authorities suspected that substandard netting had been mixed with compliant materials to evade detection.
Independent Commission Against Corruption (ICAC) Commissioner Danny Woo Ying-ming said the issue began after a typhoon in July damaged the protective netting.
He said suspects then purchased replacement materials in batches from local suppliers.
Evidence suggests the suspects bought 2,300 rolls of substandard netting—around 75,000 square meters—at HK$54 per roll, enough to cover eight buildings.
Following a scaffold netting fire in Central in late October, they reportedly became concerned about possible spot checks. They then purchased 115 rolls, roughly 3,700 square meters, of compliant netting at HK$100 per roll from the same supplier.
This compliant netting was installed at selected building piles in an attempt to pass future inspections.
Woo added that an ICAC special task force is conducting a full investigation into potential corruption linked to the estate’s major maintenance project. So far, 12 people—including engineering consultants and contractors—have been arrested.
Meanwhile, Chan said the inter-departmental fire investigation task force led by the Fire Services Department has begun on-site inspections, collecting various construction materials—such as scaffold netting, foam boards, and tarpaulin—for further testing.
He said a separate task force on investigation and regulation is carrying out inspections of buildings currently undergoing major external renovation works.
As of 11am Monday, the Buildings Department had inspected 359 properties that reported ongoing maintenance projects, confirming that 300 had scaffold netting installed. Samples were taken immediately and will be tested in batches.
Chan stressed that the investigation into the Wang Fuk Court fire and the regulatory checks across other buildings will proceed simultaneously. He said enforcement actions “will respond promptly without any leniency” if violations are found.
