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Police have dismantled an illegal refueling station in Kwai Chung and arrested three men following a nearby industrial building fire that raised suspicions of unlicensed fuel dispensing in the area.
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Officers launched the Wednesday evening raid on Kwai Tai Road, located just one kilometer from the Kwai Tak Industrial Centre Phase 2, where a fire had damaged the building’s exterior wall and a lorry the previous night.
Post-blaze probes discovered charred racks, burnt fuel pumps and leftover petrol residues around a ruptured oil tank, with CCTV footage confirming illicit refueling took place at the site. Police classified the fire as a suspected arson case.
Following the investigation, officers from the New Territories South regional anti-triad unit caught an operator refueling a private car on the roadside without any fire safety equipment.
The three detained men, aged between 22 and 42, face charges of dealing with and unlawful possession of illicit motor spirit.
One mainland Chinese operator holding a two-way permit is additionally charged with breaching his conditions of stay in Hong Kong.
A total of 1,600 liters of untaxed petrol, valued at HK$500,000, was seized alongside a private car and refueling tools.
Assistant Divisional Officer (Dangerous Goods Enforcement) Wong Hung-lek warned that unregulated roadside fuel operations carry catastrophic fire risks amid dense urban developments close to homes, hospitals and schools, where flames and toxic smoke can rapidly spread upwards through building ducts.
The Fire Services Department has rooted out five illegal depots around Kwai Wo Street over the past five months, confiscating over 14,000 liters of contraband petrol.
Following the fire, the department joined the police, Kwai Tsing District Office, and the District Fire Safety Committee for an urgent cross-department meeting to step up crackdown strategies against illegal fuel transfers.
Meanwhile, the FSD is pushing for legislative amendments targeting illicit fueling activities. Proposals include increasing maximum penalties under the Fire Services (Fire Hazard Abatement) Regulation Section 19 to a HK$3 million fine and three years’ imprisonment.
It also plans to introduce fines up to HK$1 million and one-year jail terms for fuel purchasers, while granting fire officers powers of arrest as well as vehicle and fuel seizure with subsequent asset forfeiture upon conviction.
A one-month public consultation on these proposed legal revisions commenced on May 26.
