Southeast Asia’s State Power Giants Face Financial Reckoning 
The Philippines Emerges as Asia’s Renewable Energy Story 
Patrick Crotty on the Return of Forced Arbitration Clauses In Bank of America Contracts 
The deputy director of the Home Affairs Department and the former head of the Housing Bureau’s Independent Checking Unit (ICU) are the latest Hong Kong officials to testify at a public hearing on Friday into the city’s deadliest blaze in decades.
Their cross-examination will also conclude the fourth round of evidential hearings held by the government-appointed independent committee investigating the Tai Po fire.
The fire broke out on November 26, 2025, while Wang Fuk Court was undergoing facade renovation. It was the city’s deadliest blaze since 1948, killing 168 people and displacing nearly 5,000 residents.
Te Chi-wang, deputy director of the Home Affairs Department, is the most senior official from the department to testify so far.
The department has come under scrutiny after residents said they were intimidated during homeowners’ meetings on the estate’s controversial renovation project, with irregularities also reported in proxy voting.
Lau Fu-kwok, who headed the ICU at the time, will also take the stand, following evidence earlier this week from two senior maintenance surveyors from the unit.
The ICU, which oversees maintenance of government-built residential estates, has been repeatedly criticised for failing to act on residents’ complaints about flammable polyfoam boards and substandard scaffolding mesh at Wang Fuk Court.
Follow our live reporting as the hearing continues.
More of our coverage:
Don't Miss:
-
Liberal Islam in Indonesia is sliding into irrelevance
-
Steeper prices ahead after Qatar gas supply cut off, HK Electric tells customers
-
Inside the Singapore travel trend that’s swarming China’s furniture capital
-
Widen mental health support for Hong Kong youth beyond high-risk cases, adviser urges
-
Why are Chinese audiences going for Korean musicals rather than Western shows?