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Photo of labourer smoking on scaffolding triggers anger after Tai Po blaze

An image of a Hong Kong construction worker smoking a cigarette while on bamboo scaffolding at a residential building has prompted outrage among internet users,…

By Samantha Johnson / April 25, 2026

An image of a Hong Kong construction worker smoking a cigarette while on bamboo scaffolding at a residential building has prompted outrage among internet users, who have drawn comparisons with the suspected cause of the city’s deadliest fire in decades.

An image shared on a Facebook page called the Shau Kei Wan Sai Wan Ho Concern Group showed a worker smoking a cigarette while standing on scaffolding erected around what was identified as Tai On Building.

A second worker in the same photo can be seen wearing a hard hat with the name of a local scaffolding company and its phone number shown.

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The South China Morning Post has contacted the company for comment.

“This is a matter of life and death; this person’s licence should be revoked,” one user wrote.

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“Take note before this becomes a Wang Fuk 2.0,” another wrote, referring to the Tai Po fire, which killed 168 people last year.

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